Hello, we’re new!

[k8rock]

 Hello everyone,

 I need some help and hate my intro post to be one like this. We have a house rabbit and he never,ever goes outside. I run a guinea pig rescue and he is our only rabbit. My concern is that when I was petting him tonight, there was some spots where he was maybe biting or scratching and I see lots of what looks like coffee grounds? It is all stuck in his fur. Please someone help, I have no idea what it is, I see no bugs or fleas on him. Thank you so much!

[bunnytowne]

Coffee ground stuff.   Sounds like flea debris.   Rabbits can get flea oil like Advantage from the vet.  One of the flea things is deadly to rabbits and I forget which one.

Is his fur coming out too?  Rabbits can get skin mites too.  LIke a mange.  Sounds like a trip to the vet is in order.

So he is a foster?  And you do guinea pigs too.   Cute squeaky little things. 

Welcome glad to have you and we love peoples pictures of their pets too.  OH you can post a pic of buns skin but still a vet will be able to give proper treatment.

[KatnipCrzy]

One way to test for fleas to to take some of the debris- put it on a white paper towel or white piece of paper- add a drop or 2 of water- and mix it/smear it- if it turns red or “rusty” looking it is most likely flea poop.  Fleas only eat blood so their poop contains a lot of blood “debris”. 

You should call your vet to get the bunny looked at- or if it is fleas ALL the animals in the house will need to be treated for a couple of months to get rid of them by treating thru the whole flea lifecycle- so you will need to get Advantage or Revolution from your vet.

Frontline, Advantix and some other topical flea treatments are toxic to rabbits- so you need to make sure you are getting the right product and dosage.

[BinkyBunny]

katnip – Great information about how to test the flea debris! That’s great!

It does sound like flea debris to me too. Normally if you look long enough you will see fleas eventually, but the most flea debris is normally where they hang out the longest – where the rabbit can’t get to them. So you’ll see more towards their middle to lower spine area.

[k8rock]

Well it is fleas! We got some Advantage from the vet today. Now, Bugsy is avery big guy and I will post pics, so with he 9llbs and over dose, should we still only use half? He is definitely more than 9 lbs. Thanks for all the help!

[k8rock]

[Deleted User]

That photo is super-sweet.
— did your vet not weigh Bugsy? What color Advantage did he prescribe? It is very effective so you don’t need to use more than exactly the dose suggested.

[k8rock]

They gave us the purple. They gave it to us without seeing him because there is no way unless it was a dire emergency that Bugsy would go to the vet. He is big and doesn’t like to be picked up or held.

[k8rock]

We weighed him ourselves tonight, to my surprise he is only 12 lbs, I would have sworn he was at least 15 lbs. So, my question now is should we do the full dose of the purple for him? Thanks everyone!

[KytKattin]

I always do a half dose of the 0.4ml for my rabbits, but they only weigh 3lbs and it is more as a preventative measure. Since your boy does have fleas and he falls into the weight category for that dose (0.8mL unless i’m mistakin!) I certainly don’t see a problem with giving him that dose, and I have given it to rabbits similar in size to him before. Who recommended you only give half a dose?

[k8rock]

Some friends on another forum had said they do that with their small and medium bunnies. I feel safe giving him the full dose. Is there anything I should look out for, symptoms that mean he is having a reaction to the medicine?

[KytKattin]

Uh, just anything out of the ordinary. Since it is topical it would most likely result in something like fur loss, hives, ect. Just make sure that you put it on the back of the neck where he can’t groom himself and get it into his mouth. I do imagine that that in large amounts might cause a problem. Otherwise, I haven’t actually heard of allergic reactions, but I suppose there is a first time for everything. (*crosses fingers and hopes that doesn’t happen*)

[k8rock]

I’m so grateful to everyone for the help, we applied it for him this morning and all seems good so far. I have a question about treating my carpets, is flea busters a safe product? Considering that Bugsy will sometimes chew the carpet for a second, (until he gets caught). Anyone have experience with the product?

[RabbitPam]

I haven’t tried it, but I would be reluctant to use anything on the carpet other than a natural carpet cleaner, like sprinkled baking soda or corn starch that you would then vacuum up. Where he is already being treated with a flea med, I am concerned about any chemical interaction either through ingestion or topically. Can you wait a couple of weeks until his treatment is finished? Maybe cool down the house? I think it’s cold temps. that fleas don’t like.

He’s a beauty, btw. I love that they are sharing an apple.

[k8rock]

That sounds good, it has been cool here. I may not even need to do anything but steam the carpets, I hope. We have guinea pigs too and none of them have any symptoms.

[k8rock]

Thanks so much everyone, he is treated and doing so much better! I look forward to spending more time here learning from all of you! 

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