Ear Mites

[ilovesnugglies]

         I have had the misfortune of finding out that one of my buns has a very bad case of earmites. This scarred me soooo much that I rushed Pokey to the vet this morning. A culture was taken and drops were administered. But, I still feel like something else should have been done besides being asked to come back in two weeks. The receptionist gave me some ear wash but the vet had said it would be too painful for Pokey to have her ears washed. So, I figure to wait a day or two max, and then I will don some rubber gloves and gently have at it.

[jacki fullerton]

Why would you want to wash Pokey’s ears when the vet told you it would be too painful?????

 I am sure the meds they gave you will clear up the ear mites.   

[BinkyBunny]

Welcome Ilovesnugglies!   Ear mites are not uncommon and rather easy to treat (depending on how bad it has gotten)  so you did the right thing to get your bunny to the vet!  Just follow what the vet recommends because the receptionist is not a vet.   Plus ear mites and debris can be deeper inside of the ear and you can’t clean down in there – well you definitely shouldn’t anyway.  

Are his ears very crusty and or scabby inside due to mite debris? Is that why you want to clean them?  IF so,  what did the vet say would happen to all the debris on it’s own? If the ear is still relatively clean of debris then just let the meds do their job.

The reason that they will want to see your bunny again is treatment for mites usually needs to be repeated whether it be topical or injections because the eggs aren’t killed and so they still have to kill those nasty little beasts when they hatch.  So be sure to go back when they say, otherwise the hatched mites will lay eggs, and then you’ll have an ongoing problem.  

I am surprised that the vet didn’t give a shot of ivermectin, then usually  a second injection is given about 2 weeks later.   Do you remember what the drops were?   I know there are topical treatments too, just wondering what was used so that if it works for your bunny, I can continue to make a mental note of treatments.

Here is a link that offers tons of information about ear mites, and treatments to just help educate yourself, and anyone else that might be dealing with this  Seems like there are a few of us here that may be dealing with ear mites or fur mites on our bunnies.

http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/rabrefs.html#mites

Again welcome and let us know how it goes

[ilovesnugglies]

Maybe I should have made myself more clear. I would never do anything to purposely injure any of my buns. The vet said it would be too painful today.  I was given a gentle ear wash at the clinic and I was informed to use it. So maybe I should have put out the question as to when I should first use it and how frequently should I follow up with it.. The vet unfortunately was a substitute. The real vet will be there when i go back in two weeks. I was informed to not use the drops I was given. I know, the vet I saw sounds kind of questionable and I will not be seeing him again. It was a situation of the only vet in my area, open on Saturdays, that cared for rabbits. I did what I could. I am here asking for assistance. As eveyone knows, there is not a magical instruction book on bunnies.             

I was told to bring the drops back with me so they can be used next visit.

[ilovesnugglies]

Thankyou BinkyBunny! Words of encouragement go alot further than those of judgement.

[BinkyBunny]

OHHH, well that does clear some things up as far as cleaning goes.   Also note, it can be very easy for miscommunications to happen online as typos, misinformation and lack of vocal tones on everyone’s part can cause that.   So no worries!   I have gone back through some of my postings that I rushed through (eh…which is most of them)  and wondered how anyone didn’t just call me a big gogglehead!  LOL.   

 So back to the subject on hand: Let me make sure I have this completely clear.The subvet administered drops, and gave you the bottle of drops, but then said not to use them until the next visit.  And then they also gave you a gentle ear wash. I am guessing to help loosen the crusty stuff once the ear starts healing? Is that why they said it would be painful today, but not so much in a few days?  Did i get that right?

So what are the drops and the cleaning solution?  The reason I ask is because sometimes not so rabbit savvy vets give general ear mite solutions to rabbits, and it won’t work.  For example cat ear mites are different than rabbit ear mites.  

i do understand about the emergency vet thing.  It’s very difficult to find one that is knowledgable. I had to research and ask around the rabbit community about a recommended after hours emergency type vet.

 

[jacki fullerton]

Sorry I sounded so judgemental, snugglies. Guess I didn’t understand your directions from the Saturday vet. It’s hard to find a bunny vet, let alone one who is working on Saturday! Maybe you can call the regular vet on Monday? Binky gives great advice and is very knowledgeable. Good luck with your bunny.

[ilovesnugglies]

Oh Great!!! Reading what you all have wrote and reading the labeling on the ear medication… It is called Acarexx.0.01% Ivermectin. Is that anything like Pyrethins? If not, which one is better for buns? The Acarexx says that cleaning is necessary prior to application. So even though the vet said Pokeys ear would be too sensitive…… Maybe the vet should have used some other med. I hope I am making sense.

Yes, her ears are very flaky-crusty inside. I feel like I should have caught this sooner.

I agree, this is a learning process.

[BinkyBunny]

Well, here’s my the most intelligent answer I can muster about the treatment….I don’t know.    Now isn’t that helpful?!

I checked around with my quick online  and book resources and came up empty. So this is something I will need to ask around about because from what I have just quickly read, Acaraxx is used on cats.  I can’t seem to find anything about it being used on rabbits and that does concern me a bit. But maybe it’s new or I just haven’t heard of it, and that doesn’t mean anything bad.  

 And as far as Ivermectin goes, I always thought that was only an injection with rabbits.   At first when you said Pyrethins  I thought you meant permethrin (Frontline) which is not safe for rabbits.    Since I am not a vet and don’t know enough about Pyrethins except for what I research online, I can’t help you there. But that is another thing that I can’t seem to find in relation to mite treatment for rabbits. (mostly other animals)

Again, just because I can’t find it, doesn’t mean it’s bad.  I am not a Pyrethin guru, so I can only research more. 

I will ask my vet and some other rabbit savvy experts to see if I can come up with some informaton.  PLUS, it’s a great opportunity to educate myself further.  I love questions I don’t know as it gives me an opportunity to become a bunny geniiiiuuuuaahs!!.  (eh…genius…yeah)

In the meantime, I know this is no help to you.  But I am working on it.  If anyone else knows more about this, please post!!

 

[ilovesnugglies]

Pokey is doing a bit better this morning. She has eaten her food and drank more water. You see, it was her lack of eating that set off the alarm in my head. I am going to try to find her a new vet first thing Monday morning, even if it means driving a few hours out of the area. I cannot stand the thought of losing her and I will do everything that is best for her. Sometimes what is best for us and what is best for them is not the same. If anyone has any additional information, please let me know.

[K F]

Hi snugglies    Thought I’d post on your issue here, tho we’ve talked on the phone.  as I told you, you are doing the best you can right now, with the knowledge you have.  Isn’t this a great place to come tho?  As you know, I got some great support here with Hercules.  Do keep an eye on the eating and drinking, because those are definite signs of trouble. 

For those here, who stayed with me during Hercules’ illness, you will all be very happy to know that he is doing FABULOUSLY well. 

Also, Snugglies is my sister.  She took one of my baby buns home with her last summer, when I was living in WA and she visited from Cali. She’s a good bunny mommy.  And much like all of us bun owners, the animals are far more spoiled than us humans in the house. 

Keep me posted snugglies.    Love you sis.

[ilovesnugglies]

Thankyou for your post BabyGurl. This site has been lots of help.

I have another bun (Shmello) with very strong urine. I saw some drops at Pet Smart that you put in their drinking water to reduce the odor of their urine and poo. Does anyone know as to whether or not they are safe? I do plan on getting Shmello fixed in another month or so.

[ilovesnugglies]

Good News!!!!!

Pokey’s ear has almost completely healed thanx to a good vet. She still needs to go back for the second round to prevent any possible eggs from hatching. The ear in question looks 110% better. You can tell that she feels better, too. She is eating normally again and wants to come out to play more. Thanx to all those who helped.

Until then…..

I am a bunny lover forever.

That’s why I am ilovesnugglies.

[BinkyBunny]

YAHOOO!!! That’s great news! I bet she’s very happy too! Good for you for getting her the treatment she needed.

[BinkyBunny]

Posted By ilovesnugglies on 04/29/2007 12:56 PM

Thankyou for your post BabyGurl. This site has been lots of help.

I have another bun (Shmello) with very strong urine. I saw some drops at Pet Smart that you put in their drinking water to reduce the odor of their urine and poo. Does anyone know as to whether or not they are safe? I do plan on getting Shmello fixed in another month or so.

I haven’t heard anything toxic about those, but what I have heard is that bunnies don’t like the taste or the smell of the drops in their water, and so they drink less, which is not a good thing.

You will find that his urine will be much less pungent after about a month after surgery.

[Author]

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