Possible Mites?

[FlopsyBunnies4]

Hi all,

Today, my friend mentioned to me that her rabbit was recently diagnosed with mites. I was super bummed on finding this out because I have come in contact with her rabbit recently and then come home and taken care of mine. I should have been more mindful but because her rabbit has bare spots on its body but it didn't even cross my mind that it was mites What do you think the chances are that my four rabbits would have them too? Now that I think about it, I was brushing one of my buns yesterday and a patch of fur on her back came off (she is shedding but this was almost a bald spot)... I just thought I had brushed too hard, but maybe that is a symptom? Do you know if there are any natural treatments I could try? I read Ivermectin and Revolution (selamectin) from a vet are the most common treatments. Help!

 

[JBun]

Rabbits actually will be exposed to a small amount of mites on a normal basis and not ever have them cause a problem. It's usually when the rabbit's immune system is compromised in some way, like from an underlying health condition or stress, that they can develop a mite problem. So if your rabbits are healthy and unstressed, I wouldn't worry about it. Unless you were to see signs of your rabbit having mites. A little bit of fur loss with molting, can be a normal thing if the skin also looks normal. Usual signs of fur mites to look for would be dandruffy skin or lesions/crustiness of the skin.

Medirabbit: fur mites

 

[FlopsyBunnies4]

Thank you! My buns are completely healthy as far as I know. I'll keep an eye out for symptoms, but hopefully, there will be nothing to worry about.

 

[Rabbitgirllove]

I’ve had a lot of rabbits the past few years never had an issue until one named sassy came to us ( we had to put her down last year it was awful ) but our new rabbit Elvis he gets mites we treat them with sulfur dip which completely eliminates them his fur will grow back right away but then 4-6 months later he gets them again this time it’s the worst of all I’m afraid he’s stressed as there’s no other rabbits his cage is sparking clean idk why he keeps getting them this time was the worst his whole neck area lost fur I brought him to the vet who said the only thing they would do would be the sulfur dip too and they had no idea why one rabbit would be getting them .. this is super frustrating I think the vet is used to cats and dogs as at this point I feel helpless

 

[JBun]

I’ve had a lot of rabbits the past few years never had an issue until one named sassy came to us ( we had to put her down last year it was awful ) but our new rabbit Elvis he gets mites we treat them with sulfur dip which completely eliminates them his fur will grow back right away but then 4-6 months later he gets them again this time it’s the worst of all I’m afraid he’s stressed as there’s no other rabbits his cage is sparking clean idk why he keeps getting them this time was the worst his whole neck area lost fur I brought him to the vet who said the only thing they would do would be the sulfur dip too and they had no idea why one rabbit would be getting them .. this is super frustrating I think the vet is used to cats and dogs as at this point I feel helpless

You should not do a sulfur dip with rabbits. Getting a rabbits whole body wet risks injury, possible hypothermia, shock, and cardiac arrest. This is never a recommended practice where it comes to rabbits.

This is in regards to fully bathing a rabbit, but a sulfur dip would also apply.
https://rabbit.org/the-dangers-of-giving-a-rabbit-a-bath/
Mite treatment for rabbits is either 3 or more treatments of ivermectin 2 weeks apart by injection or orally, or topical spot on application of Revolution(selamectin). The fact that your vet didn't try or recommend either of these, tells me that vet isn't an experienced rabbit vet. I would strongly urge you to find a better more knowledgeable rabbit vet to get the proper diagnosis and treatment for your rabbit.

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Mites
https://rabbit.org/vet-listings/