Preventative against lice/mites?

[LaylaLop]

So my gerbils (RIP) had mites/lice that caused a very sudden and deadly anemia. I'm treating the remaining one(s) with ivermectin.

Since they are in the same room as the rabbits, should I pick up some revolution or something else from the vet for the buns? I don't think ivermectin is safe for them, right? I have not seen any signs of parasites on them, but don't want them to fall ill to these pests. I've heard of vets using revolution for guinea pigs and young kittens/puppies so I'd assume they could use it for rabbits?

What would be the doseage on a 3lb and a 5lb rabbit? Just in case I do stop by the vet and they need to know weights, I also want to know they aren't way under-dosing or over-dosing.

 

[LakeCondo]

I would sprinkle food-grade diatomaceous earth around, as I;m not a big fan of the powerful chemicals.

 

[Imbrium]

frontline is VERY unsafe and potentially deadly for bunns... ivermectin, revolution and advantage are all safe for bunnies.

for revolution you want the kitten/puppy dosage... this site has dosing info for ivermectin for rabbits - http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/Anti_parasitics/safe_antiparasitic.htm

 

[LaylaLop]

I have green apple flavored ivermectin so I'll be weighing them and dosing them tomorrow when I deep clean their cage just to be safe. Thanks!

 

[Nancy McClelland]

ray: So sorry to hear you lost some.

 

[JBun]

If you are using ivermectin, keep in mind that rabbits with the dutch rabbit gene are very sensitive to it, and in some cases it can kill them. I'm not sure what breed your rabbits are.

It sounds like you are using the horse wormer paste. Ivermectin is pretty powerful and you want to make sure you get the dosage correct so you don't overdose. Usually the paste is 1.87%, so that's 0.0187mg/0.01cc. This isn't exact and you'll want to double check, but for a 3 lb. rabbit I think it would be around a rice sized dosing and for 5 lbs. a small pea size.

 

[missyscove]

Yes, there are some concerns with vienna marked rabbits and ivermectin.

Do you know what sort of mites your gerbils had? Some ectoparasites are species specific.

revolution is the parasiticide of choice for ectoparasites on rabbits.