Fleas! Help me

[Mtowsley]

Bad news. The bunny I just “rescued” last week from a friend had fleas a few months ago. She told me they were all gone after she gave her a flea bath (I know it’s a really bad idea, I would have never done that). I had inspected her head to toe, and I couldn’t find any. But this morning, my brother was holding her and found a live flea crawling deep in her fur. The worst part is she us a jersey wooly (very thick, long fur). I was thinking of shaving her so I could get to the fleas easier and brush her good with a dawn soap dipped flea comb. Also, I was thinking of using diatomaceous earth to do a deep clean of all of her things. Does this sound like an okay plan? I’ve had rabbits for years and have never had any with fleas, so this really stresses me out. Please help!

[Bam]

You can use Advantage or Revolution for fleas (corrected this now, I originally wrote mites).  Revolution is prescription pnly in most countries, but Advantage is OTC. Dont use any compund containing Fipronil (Frontline, Sentry, Effipro and other brand names), fipronil is deadly toxic to rabbits.

It’s probably a good ides to cut her hair or even shave it  but if you do shave her, take great care not to nick her skin.

Diatomaceous earth should be carefully vacuumed up after use before your bun is let back into the treated area. Diatomacious earth isn’t toxic, but its a very fine powder that shouldn’t be inhaled. Ingestion of too much of it can cause GI blockage.

You should probably do repeat treatment with advantage or Revolution, a few weeks between doses.

[CutieMoosh]

Yeah, I recommend shaving her fur. Try not to cut it too short, to avoid shaving her skin (hurts thinking about it). I’m not too good with medications and stuff, but I do know a little about how to help.

Have you tried using a cat flea comb? Get the ones with dual sides, since they work really well. You could even try human lice combs, for extra support. When using the metal combs, be careful not to brush too close to her skin, since it could pinch and hurt her. I don’t really know much about Dawn, but you should probably dilute it before you dip the comb in.

Make sure to vacuum her room and even the blankets she uses, maybe even vacuum the entire house or at least places she travels, since they could spread. Vacuum especially after you comb or shave her out, and don’t let any fleas escape! Kill the fleas as hard as you can. This is your time to let all your anger out. Don’t leave a single one alive. Let us know how it turns out, dear!

 

Wish you the best! xoxo

 

 

[Mtowsley]

Thank you both!

We ended up shaving her, and the poor girl looks pathetic. It turned out to be a good thing since she hadn’t really been properly groomed before we got her, so her fur was really matted. She’ll get a fresh coat and stay cool this summer. Definitely doesn’t look like an infestation, we saw a total of 3 the entire day and a small amount of dirt. Spent most of the day cleaning everything she’s ever touched and using the flea comb on every square inch of her fur. Hopefully it works

Mostly I hope they don’t get to my other bun Howard. They haven’t really been near each other all that much and I’ve been checking his fur like a hawk.

Fingers crossed

[LBJ10]

Sometimes it’s just better to “start over”, so I think shaving was a good idea. If you see the fleas return, definitely get some Revolution or Advantage.

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