I agree “developing mites” sounds puzzling!  There is a simple explanation though. All rabbits have some mites in their fur, they get them from their mum when theyre kits. The buns immune defense keeps the number of mites down, and the mites dont cause the bun any trouble.

When a rabbit is under some sort of stress – not necessarily “bad” stress, it can be from getting a new home or even sth as simple as molting – the mites can sometimes seize the opportunity and multiply into much larger numbers, which is when they might start to cause the bun discomfort.

I dont know why your vet didn’t prescribe Revolution, she might routinely give Revolution in the clinic.

The Meloxicam I would guess is for  itch relief. Itch is sometimes a response to pain stimuli. If your bun has irritated skin, there’s some sort of inflammation going on. The bun scratching itself could make it worse.

Meloxicam can have a short-lasting sedative effect when you start treatment. I just saw this in my bun who got meloxicam for 5 days after her spay. It made her very sleepy, but only for sth like 20 minutes right after I gave her the med. It was very noticeable though, she couldn’t keep her eyes open.

Thank you!

Hopefully the Revolution does the trick, it’s highly effective against mites. Repeat treatment is given to kill off any eggs that might have hatched after the first dose. For really bad cases of mites you often give a third dose, but bad cases of mites tend to be very visible – you see patches of hairloss and “dandruff”, most commonly at the nape of the neck or the root of the tail. You can also feel a roughening of the skin in those spots.

If the itch continues, there could be some other problem. Rabbits can get allergies and some vets can do a skin prick test to suss out what the rabbit is allergic to. Normally you try to change sth in the bun’s environment , for example try a different type of pellets or a different type of hay,  A vet can also prescribe children’s benadryl (antihistamine).