fur mites

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This topic has 6sd replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 15 years, 2 months ago by Laura.

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- 01/24/2010 at 1:43 PM
  Laura
  Participant
  182 posts
  So tell me what you know about fur mites. I took one of the foster baby bun’s to the vet on Friday and he has fur mites. I noticed earlier in the week that he was missing patches of fur. It started on the top of his head, so I knew he wasn’t pulling his fur out. Other foster babies are in the same room, but separated. I am treating the others, but they don’t seem like they have it.
  
  I can’t figure out how he got them. I also need to know if I can tell how long he had them before I noticed the missing hair. I’m hoping it is the reason for his agression (he bit me 3 times, the 3rd time I had to go to Urgent Care, but that is another issue I won’t get into here, my fellow bunny bloggers have been trying to help me figure out what his deal is).
  
  Thanks,
  
  Laura
- 01/24/2010 at 4:30 PM
  jerseygirl
  Moderator
  22356 posts
  This is article I reference a bit regarding fur loss. http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/furloss.html#furmite Scroll down to mites and fleas.
  I did read somewhere that it’s normal to have a small population of mites on a healthy rabbit but when it’s health is compromised, this population can grow and become a problem. That is when you start seeing fur loss etc An underlying condition could also be a factor in this buns aggression.
  
  Cats & dogs can carry fur mites without being effected by them. So that’s another way they can enter the home.
  
  Did it start to effect other areas beside top of head? Is the treatment working?
  
  Edit: Also http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases…urmite.PDF This one covers treatment and treating the home.
- 01/24/2010 at 9:31 PM
  Laura
  Participant
  182 posts
  It started on his head and we noticed patches on his sides a few days after we noticed his head. I guess if he wasn’t white we would have noticed the ‘dandruff’ flakes first. So I don’t know if the medicine is working, except that he is not getting worse. I suppose it will take weeks for the hair to grow back.
  
  If I am understanding this correctly, he could have had the mites for weeks before we noticed.
  
  Thanks jerseygirl!
- 01/24/2010 at 10:00 PM
  Lintini
  Participant
  3329 posts
  Thanks for that link Jersey, it answered my question about the mites my pigs have
- 01/24/2010 at 11:17 PM
  jerseygirl
  Moderator
  22356 posts
  If I am understanding this correctly, he could have had the mites for weeks before we noticed.
  
  Yes, i think so. Fur mites don’t always cause fur loss or itching so they can be infested without obvious symptoms at first, then as it progresses more symptoms show. I believe rabbits in general can have fur mites that just live on the skin – like we have our own variety of bacteria etc that lives on our skin. The immune system keeps infestation under control. When a rabbit is under stress, sometimes going thru a shed, suffering from some other health issue, the fur mites numbers may increase as the immune system is occupied elsewhere (or compromised) & so not keeping the numbers under control. This is my understanding anyway.
  
  Edit: Just want to add…I just read what Lintini suspects her piggies have in her thread. She added the paragraph about burrowing mange mite from the first link above. It is less common in rabbits but there was mention of some cases where rabbit became more aggressive when suffering from that mite infestation. I was of the mind that with your bunny it was like: mystery health issue=aggression/stress=fur mite issue – but now i can see with some types of mite and some bunnies the mite issue may cause aggression… Hope you see some improvements soon.
- 01/25/2010 at 12:08 AM
  Kokaneeandkahlua
  Participant
  12067 posts
  Hmmm all I know about mites is: that they can be hard to treat, and that there are several different types… So I don’t know alot-Looks like the link Jers posted is really good though Keep us posted on recovery {{Healing Vibes}}
- 02/01/2010 at 10:26 PM
  Laura
  Participant
  182 posts
  Is it normal for them to look worse before they get better? Calvin has a new spot on his face of missing fur. The next dose of medication is this weekend. Doc says they may need another dose after that. Really the others have looked fine until this last week, and they seem to be missing some fur (but not balding).
  
  I’m wondering if they need a humidifer. We don’t keep the house above 70 degrees. But maybe the air is too warm and dry for them.
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