Flea Drama!

[Gravehearted]

I noticed a flea on Hareiette, so planned to pick up some Advantage.  We then looked over Viktor and noticed a bald patch on him that had some redness so I called the vet the next morning.  Mites usually give a bunny dandruff, but I wanted to have him checked out anyhow.

The vet  confirmed it  was fleas only and sent me home with enough Advantage for all three bunnies.  She also gave me some spray for the baseboards and such.  So I treat everyone and go out to the store.  I come home to see Viktor licking off Dori’s Advantage.  I freak out wondering if it might be poisionous and make a few phone calls to finally found out it might give a tummy ache, but won’t do serious damage. I separated them for the night to make sure he didn’t injest more of it. 

But now I’ll have to wait 2 weeks to see if the fleas are really gone before I can treat them again.  But I am guessing they are gone.  Now I need to wash all their linens and blankies.

So lesson learned – if you’re going to give a pair advantage, separate them first!

[BinkyBunny]

Good advice.  I wouldn’t have thought of that either, but it does make sense since they groom each other.

Just curious though – Now what happens if Dori grooms herself? 

I am very  lucky that we don’t have fleas – I say lucky,  because it is that time of year, and our apartment building has a few dog owners and it’s easy to pass them along in the main area when I am greeting and snuggling with everyone’s dogs as we say hi.

So sorry you have to go through all that flea stuff.  That is one subject I am still learning about, so keep me updated!

[Gravehearted]

well like kitties, when using Advantage you put it at the back of the bunny’s neck – so they can’t reach around to lick it on their own! 

According to my vet,  fleas come in mostly on shoes – so even indoor only bunnies can easily get them too, like mine did!  Hopefully your house will remain flea free!

[Sarah Jones]

oh god. now your scaring me. rather embarrassingly i was lying on the floor taking polaroids of dougal (not that i’m obsessed or anything, but gotta have a pic for the wallet you know?!) and i swear something jumped off him. now fleas i can deal with but i called my family and was like “he’s got fleas! i’m holding it with tweezers!” but it looked like mites. and mites i do have issues with. i real fear. so it “jumped” from my tweezers and i screamed like a girl and threw my phone across the room.

*cough* i think it might have been like, a bit of coal or lint. nothing else noticed since. i shall not be embarrassed.

[Gravehearted]

if it looks the mites I’d get into the vet so you can get a dose of Revolution or a shot of ivermectin, since they can lead to serious health problems.  Often mites can’t be seen, but with fur mites you’ll see some dandruff from them.

Fleas also aren’t good for bunnies and should be treated – kitty Advantage works well, but the dose is based on weight, so check with your vet at least via phone.  I was able to dose all three bunnies with a single tube.

not to freak you out further, but this article was helpful for me to learn more mites and other skin issues:
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/furloss.html

[ea hurse]

sazemoo, thats hilarious! glad i’m not the only wimp when it comes to stuff like that- (nor the only person to mistake – for example only- a tomato top for a spider and have to call for help…..!)

[Sarah Jones]

haha a tomato. brilliant!

he has dandruff, but went to the vet when he had ear problems and mites were cultured for and he doesn’t have them. if it was mites, it shouldn’t have dropped off when he scratched. cough, nor should it have jumped across the room. and it definitely wasn’t a flea…

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