HELP! What is this??? Insect on rabbit

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Dani13563

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Very new bunny owner here! I noticed my bunny has some thin hair around the back of his ears, but then I thought that maybe they were small bald spots. Also, as I was taking a picture of the supposed bald spots, a little creature ran right across the spot!!! Luckily the photo was live, so I could take a better look. I killed a little bug that I thought had maybe fallen off of him yesterday as well. Seems too big to be a mite, or maybe I don’t know what I’m talking about. Please help!!! Are they bald spots or is it just the way I was moving his ears? And what is this creature? Now that I think of it, he grooms quite often but I figured it was normal since bunnies are known to be very clean. I’ve had him for almost three days, and I don’t know much about him and his previously situation, or even if he was kept outside or not, so I have no clue what this could be. I appreciate any and all ideas!
 

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Mileybun

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It's quite big isn't it! Too big to be a mite or a louse I would think. I agree, it could be a flea!
 

Dani13563

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I guess it is a flea then! My other pets haven’t had fleas in years, so I couldn’t exactly remember what they look like. I don’t think he has too many yet, since I searched his whole body and couldn’t find it again. But he is black and it’s harder to spot them. Any at home treatments I can do? I know for dogs that you can put some of the milder essential oils directly on them, or dilute an oil in water and spray it on them. Can I do this with rabbits, or are they too sensitive?
 

Mileybun

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I would think they would be too sensitive for essential oils. Have a chat with your vet, they should be able to recommend a bunny safe product for you! 😊
 

Blue eyes

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I guess it is a flea then! My other pets haven’t had fleas in years, so I couldn’t exactly remember what they look like. I don’t think he has too many yet, since I searched his whole body and couldn’t find it again. But he is black and it’s harder to spot them. Any at home treatments I can do? I know for dogs that you can put some of the milder essential oils directly on them, or dilute an oil in water and spray it on them. Can I do this with rabbits, or are they too sensitive?
Click on the link provided by @JBun above. It has details on how to treat rabbits for fleas.
 

Dani13563

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Thank you so much everyone for the advice!!! I think I’m going to start out with a flea comb, and go from there. Luckily, a family friend is a veterinarian and has always given my family really good advice. And thank you, JBun, for the link!
 

JBun

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It's also possible it was just a single odd non biting bug that had crawled onto him. If you comb through him carefully and don't see any others or any signs of flea dirt, I wouldn't feel the need to treat anything yet. But I would periodically check him.

But if you're still concerned or do think it is fleas and there are more on him, Revolution(selamectin) dosed at 18mg/kg (the dose needed to effectively treat fleas on rabbits), is one of the better flea treatments for rabbits.
 

Dani13563

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It's also possible it was just a single odd non biting bug that had crawled onto him. If you comb through him carefully and don't see any others or any signs of flea dirt, I wouldn't feel the need to treat anything yet. But I would periodically check him.

But if you're still concerned or do think it is fleas and there are more on him, Revolution(selamectin) dosed at 18mg/kg (the dose needed to effectively treat fleas on rabbits), is one of the better flea treatments for rabbits.
Hopefully it is just a random bug!
 

Dani13563

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I think this is a flea 😂. Found him with a magnifying glass in the exercise pen on the towel we currently use to keep the bunny from eating the carpet. It was already dead. At least I know what he has now. Bunny obviously doesn’t have too many but still some.
 

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