I need some help, advice and possibly a hug…..

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 13sd replies, 9 voices, and was last updated 15 years, 7 months ago by Ham Sangwich.

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- 07/30/2010 at 3:51 PM
  CarolCamilla
  Participant
  6 posts
  This is my first post, so i’ll give you a little background. As a child (between the ages of 4-12) I had 4 bunnies who were all outside bunnies. We never had any health problems (that we were aware of) with any of them, mind you, we didn’t have the Internet and all of these helpful resources that we do now. They were all happy and healthy and it was a great experience.
  
  My Husband and I just got a 6 week old Holland Lop bunny on July 3 from a breeder in WA. I was a little unsure if 6 weeks was old enough to be taken from his mom, but she kept reassuring me that he was ready to go, and who am I to question a breeder? I now know he was obviously too young as he started to have a poopy bum a week later and the more pellets he had the worse it was (oxbow 15-25). I took him to an awesome rabbit savvy vet who gave us 10 days of probiotic capsules to give him twice a day, and he seemed to be doing great, he’s affectionate playful and turns into a binkying fool when we let him out to play.
  
  Last week I started to give him bigger serving of pellets and was noticing a few night droppings left over in the morning and they looked a lot bigger than they should usually be. I cut down his pellets which forced him to eat more hay and he was back to normal again. This week I found a whole bunch of different kinds of droppings. Some really small hard jagged droppings and then really big soft ones, some strung together in the “pearl necklace” and some really dark regular ones. I’m also noticing that he is spending more time just sitting in a corner instead of being sprawled out like he usually is and he’s not really as playful as he usually is either. He’s still eating and drinking but I’m still concerned. I also just found what I think are fur some fur mites on him, tiny white specs walking around close to the skin. I made a vet appointment for tomorrow morning so hopefully all will be resolved.
  
  I just need to know what I’m dealing with, in reference to the fur mites. Will I need to get new wood flooring for his cage? Should I throw out the grass mats? He has a wooden den/hideout in his cage as well, will I have to get rid of that too? What about the surrounding carpet? Can they be transferred to humans?
  
  Any tips or help regarding poop would be great too. I’m very worried and I really want to make sure I do everything possible to keep him healthy and happy.
  
  My apologies for the long post. Thanks for reading it.
- 07/30/2010 at 3:57 PM
  Sarita
  Participant
  18851 posts
  Mites cannot be transferred. Did the vet do a fecal test? I would highly recommend having them check for coccidia.
- 07/30/2010 at 4:41 PM
  RabbitPam
  Moderator
  11002 posts
  Those are all good questions. Since you are seeing the vet tomorrow I would suggest you print this out, or write them down separately, and bring them with you to the vet. I think the vet will know what is necessary for you to treat your baby as thoroughly as possible. I recommend writing the questions out so you won’t forget any of them. If you feel dissatisfied once you get home, let us know and maybe we can come up with some additional suggestions.
  
  I’m pretty sure that a normal cleaning with white vinegar and water, or getting a bottle of Nature’s Miracle spray, will be good at least for a start.
  We can also advise on cleaning poopy butt if it’s still an issue after the vet’s exam.
  You sound like an experienced, loving bunny mom.
- 07/30/2010 at 11:05 PM
  KatnipCrzy
  Participant
  2981 posts
  There are different types of mites and lice so it depends on what your vet diagnoses as to the possible treatment and precautions.
  
  I would also agree- make sure to have a stool sample checked for intestinal parasites.
  
  What kind of pellets was the breeder feeding? what type of hay are you feeding?
- 08/01/2010 at 5:04 PM
  CarolCamilla
  Participant
  6 posts
  Ok.. I took him in yesterday, and he doesn’t have coccidia. The vet said that the oxbow 15/23 is just to rich for his tummy (the breeder was feeding CHS 18), and we should switch to a timothy pellet. Everything seems to cleared up already! His poops are normal and there were no left over night poops this morning. Yay!
  
  He does unfortunately have fur mites. The vet guessed that he must have had eggs in his fur that just hatched within the last 7 days. I called the breeder to let her know, just incase she didn’t and sure enough she told me that some of his brothers and sisters were returned to her because they have mites too. He is being treated with Revolution and he has to have 2 more doses in the next 2 months.
  
  The vet told us to wash everything in his cage, throw away the hay mats that were in his hideout and vacuum the area that his cage is in. I have a sheet that I put down under his playpen which I washed twice in bleach last night. Will that be enough to kill mites? Also should I throw away his wooden hideout and the wood I put over the wire floor? I gave it a good scrub with water and vinegar, but I’m not sure if thats enough. Has anyone had any experience with this?
- 08/01/2010 at 5:07 PM
  Sarita
  Participant
  18851 posts
  That should be fine. You should not have to throw away the wooden items. The revolution should kill them.
- 08/01/2010 at 6:44 PM
  lashkay
  Participant
  1548 posts
  Is that him in your avatar? He’s just adorable! What did you name him? Here’s healing vibe that you and he are rid of the mites quickly and that you and he have a long healthy happy life together!
- 08/01/2010 at 6:47 PM
  lashkay
  Participant
  1548 posts
  Sending HUGS your way as well, how I’d love to hug that little one! lol
- 08/01/2010 at 6:49 PM
  Kyoshi
  Participant
  234 posts
  I always thought that babies were ready at 8 weeks……….
  But Glad to hear he’s better!
- 08/01/2010 at 11:10 PM
  CarolCamilla
  Participant
  6 posts
  lashkay – Yes that is him, his name is Toby. He really is adorable, and so playful too.Thanks for the vibes we need them right now
  
  Kyoshi – I always thought that too and my vet agrees that he was too young to leave his mother. It’s probably why he’s so sensitive.
- 08/01/2010 at 11:12 PM
  jerseygirl
  Moderator
  22356 posts
  A rocky start for you but it’s great to hear he’s on his way to better health. He’s super cute!!!
  
  @ Kyoshi, it’s not uncommon that the kits are sold at 5-6 weeks. Not ideal, but not uncommon. They would be eating solid foods and have weaned off the mothers milk. Ideally it would be better if they stayed until 8 weeks to build their immune systems and good gut bacteria from ingesting the mothers cecals.
- 08/12/2010 at 12:06 PM
  CarolCamilla
  Participant
  6 posts
  Does anyone know when the white flakey skin is supposed to go away? He was given revolution almost 2 weeks ago and the mites look like they are gone but the flakes still remain. He seems to have started shedding in the last day or two, I’m wondering if that is related to the mites/meds or if it’s just a coincidence. Any ideas?
- 08/13/2010 at 9:09 AM
  bunnytowne
  Participant
  7538 posts
  OH my what a handful. I dont’ know anything about rabbit mites. People mites yes unfortunately.
  
  Toby is very very cute.
- 08/13/2010 at 11:39 AM
  Ham Sangwich
  Participant
  31 posts
  Posted By CarolCamilla on 08/12/2010 12:06 PM
  Does anyone know when the white flakey skin is supposed to go away? He was given revolution almost 2 weeks ago and the mites look like they are gone but the flakes still remain. He seems to have started shedding in the last day or two, I’m wondering if that is related to the mites/meds or if it’s just a coincidence. Any ideas?
  
  I am assuming he is an indoor bunny. If so, fur mites can’t live very long off the hosts body (they need the body heat). Now that it’s been a couple of weeks i wouldn’t worry about reinfestation, just keep with the revolution schedule. It is shedding season at my house with the buns and at the shelter I volunteer at so i wouldn’t worry too much about it unless there are bare skin patches. Flaky skin could be for a number of reasons, it’s so close to when the mites were there that it could be residual effect, i’d give it some more time.
  
  That breeder really needs to stop what they’re doing, it sounds as though they are a bit clueless. 6 weeks is way too young to give away the babies. And mites? Mites are pretty obvious if there’s an infestation, it could be an innocent mistake/coincidence, but coupled with giving away at 6 weeks i have my doubts. That being said, I am prejudiced against breeders as a rabbit shelter volunteer.
  
  Good luck with the little bun, glad you have a good Vet and I’m sure the problems will clear up in a little bit of time.
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