Fleas

[Sonn]

I found some fleas on Pacey Friday and took him to the vet that evening to get some Advantage or Revolution but the vets around here apparently don’t perscribe those only Frontline and I know that will hurt him so I declined. I went to 4 different vets within 1 1/2 hours near me and all told me the same to buy some Carbaryl (5% sevin dust) or kitten flea powder and rub it into his skin. I bought the 5% sevin dust but I am terrified to use it wouldn’t it hurt him if he licks it off? I don’t have many options since I live in an extrememly small town.

[bunnytowne]

oH noooo I wouldn’t use that.

Can you go to houserabbitsociety     and find the link to help you find a vet in your area?  that knows about rabbits?

[Sonn]

yeah I looked there before I got a rabbit the only one’s listed there are 3-4 hours away from me.  I am using a flea comb to help until I find something else safe

[Scarlet_Rose]

Hi Sonn, 5% sevin dust is for severe cases of flea infestation and you are to advise your vet immediately if your rabbit acts strangely.  I must warn you that Sevin is a known carcinogen and messes with the nervous system and truth be told I would not use it, regardless if the vet told me to or not.  On a personal level, I think the risks outweigh the benefits.  Instead, I think that your best bet in this situation unless you can get a hold  of Advantage or Program is to use an old fashoned flea comb and dip it in some warm soapy water.  Have you treated any areas of your home?  There are many products you can use like Flea Busters, Borax and salt on your carpets.  For hard surfaces like linoleum and wood floors, clean them with Murphy’s Oil Soap (it acts as a natural repellent).  Wash all the rugs and bunny towels in hot soapy water.

Here is more info:

http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/carbgen.pdf

[Sonn]

I am going to call around to a few more places tomorrow hopefully someone will have Advantage or Revolution. I have treated my house because I have dogs.

[KatnipCrzy]

Advantage can also be found on-line or thru some pet stores (I have seen it at Petco I believe).  Usually I am not a big advocate of buying on-line flea meds- but if you are purchasing from a reliable source such as maybe Doctors Foster and Smith the risk of getting a counterfit product should be minimal.  Advantage should be available for purchase without a prescription- just make sure it is straight Advantage- treats fleas- nothing else like intestinal worms, heartworm, etc.  Make sure you are getting the appropriate cat size for your bunny based on weight.  How much does Pacey weigh?

Revolution is also commonly used in bunnies- but it has a heartworm prevention in it- so it is a prescription and you would need a prescription from your vet to buy it on-line or at another vet.

I have not ever ordered fleas meds or other meds on-line- so I am not sure the best place to look.  I would avoid e-Bay as there is no control over the product and counterfit products would be more dangerous to a rabbit than a cat.  Maybe others have some suggestions??  But I personally think it would be better to treat with a great product that really works, like Advantage (or Revolution) than to use out-dated (in my opinion) powder methods.  Since you have fleas in the house- you should take steps to avoid re-infestation due to the flea lifecycle.  Do you have any other pets in the home?

How long have you had Pacey and in what areas of the house has he been in?  and do those areas have carpet?

If you want to be 100% sure that you are killing all the fleas and killing the fleas that have not hatched yet- topical flea treatment for 3 months in a row for all pets is recommended.  But if you did not have Pacey in many areas of the home- it is possible to maybe get away with less- with vacuuming and emptying the vacuum right after (immediately- get it out fo the house as it will have flea eggs it has picked up and those can hatch in the vacuum).  Wash any bedding that the pets have been on. 

The flea comb method/soapy water works well to control the adult fleas that you find on Pacey- but if you want a topical method that does not require as much labor, or is someone has a flea phobia (like I do)- topical are very convenient.

EDIT- I just read that you have dogs (not sure how I missed that the first time)- if you are treating the dogs with anything topical- if it is not rabbit recommended make sure to keep the dogs away from the bunny until it is completely dry.  Cats and bunnies can get ill from coming into contact with the dogs flea/tick meds from playing with them.  (It should not take more than 2 days max to be safe for contact).  I use Frontline on my dogs because I get free product from the company rep- so I just make sure I don’t let the bunnies play with the dogs for 2 days.  Actually one of the rabbits likes to try to boss the dogs around.  Just be sure to check the active ingredient to know if you have to limit contact.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

What about 1800 petmeds?? I see ads for them all the time, there is a website too…

http://www.1800petmeds.com/

They seem/look very legit to me…If it were me I would use them!! What do you think Katnip?

[MooBunnay]

One of my bunnies got fleas as well. What we did to treat it was a dot of advantage between the shoulder blades, and that was also what I used when we rescued two bunnies from an outdoor situation and they had fleas. It gets rid of them pretty quickly, so once you are able to find some I’m sure you will be able to get rid of them right away! The reason that the advantage should be dotted right between the shoulder blades is because it is one of the the few places where a bunny can’t really groom themselves, and lick the Advantage.

[KatnipCrzy]

1800petmeds should be OK.  The only reason I don’t like them is that I hate their commercials.    They make it sound like by ordering from them you do not have to take your dog or cat to the vet- which is not true.  To order heartworm prevention, and dog NSAIDS (Rimadyl, Deramaxx) you need a prescription from you vet which mean your dog must be examined at least yearly and some testing may be needed for safety.

So sometimes I think they are misleading about their commercials.  And I know that they have been busted a few times for selling European or Australian labeled products in the U.S.- which means they are not FDA regulated products then.  Also the dosing will be confusing as it is not listed in the typical “pounds” as we are used to seeing.

Advantage is not regulated by the FDA (Federal Drug Admin) but the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) as it is not a med that gets into the bloodstream- it is a topical insecticide basically.

 

[TARM]

I wouldn’t use 1-800 pet meds. When I worked for my dog vet the vendors for the flea products AND the RX meds said they don’t guarantee anything that comes from them. Generally if you buy a product from a vet the company will cover medical expenses if your pet has an adverse reaction to it.

I know you aren’t supposed to bathe bunnies but if the fleas are really bad you can give them a bath using dishwashing liquid. It kills all the fleas. I don’t think it does anything for the eggs though so you might have to repeat that process if you don’t find the meds you need.

[Sonn]

He only has 1 or 2 fleas a day that I can see. But we have an appointment at a vets office that is way back in the woods where I live they only see small and farm animals and carry every flea medication under the sun. I will be having him checked for mites as well since he has some dandruff looking flakes. Hopefully it isn’t mites but we’ll see. But he has loved getting all the extra attention while I flea comb him lol.

[MooBunnay]

From what I understood from the rabbit rescuers I asked about Juli’s fleas, generally rabbits do not get flea infestations to the extent that rabbits and cats do – something about how the fur or skin or something is not as good for fleas to lay eggs. I hope that the new vet will get the flea treament for you! Remember to put it between the bunny’s shoulder blades so they can’t lick it.

[JK]

So many pet stores carry Advantage.  I would think you could find it.  i order things from http://www.discountpetdrugs.com.  They are the cheapest and they ship quickly and 100% authentic.

[Sonn]

Lol I don’t think people understand how small my town is there are 0 pet stores within an hour of where I live. I went to one last weekend and it took exactly 1 1/2 hours to get there. The only pet stores we had here were destroyed by floods and never reopened. I have actually been contemplating opening a pet food/supply store here just so people have other options besides the internet and walmart.

But I went this morning and got his flea medicine and he had another check up no mites thankfully.

[Author]

Messages