I think Bun has a flea…great

[Lintini]

Hello,

 

I am pretty sure Bun has picked up a flea or two from the carpet in my room. The dogs are on advantage but it is Summer now. I was wondering what I could do to help protect Bun? Is there anything I can put on her? Thank you, I don’t want her to be bitten by those disgusting things. All I can do for now is vacume once I put her to bed.

 

 

PS. She got very upset at me for inspecting her all over for fleas. She is such a brat!

[sally]

I think its called Walmart in the states, but over here in asda, you can get a flea treatment especially for rabbits, im actually off to buy some tommorrow for my buns, as my cat has also suddenly got them so i dont want an outbreak!!

[Lintini]

Okay great so they do make a special type just for rabbits? I’ll head over to the feed store and try my luck there. Walmart around here is kinda …for lack of better words…ghetto. Messy,dirty, and “different” people.

[Lintini]

I guess I could have searched for some online @ petco. But I wasn’t sure because I’ve heard of people putting advantage on guinea pigs. Like a speck~

[Furface]

I would be very concered with using any of the over the counter stuff on any animal.
Now having said that:

I called my vet while summering hundreds of miles from home to say,
“Bugsy & both cats have fleas what should I do? There’s no way I can get back to town & no rabbit vet here.”
She told me not to use any of the store bought neck/butt liquid treatments & to absolutely not put a flea collar on a rabbit or on the cat that the rabbit is bonded to. The bunny might chew the collar.
She did say that a cat flea shampoo would be OK to use on the bunny, not a dog flea shampoo, only the cat one.

Last year I got fleas here & after being successfull up north on holidays – I tried to save money & do the store bought treatment.
It was 3 months of fighting trying to get rid of the fleas. I spent just as much if not more than I would have at the vet for flea treatment.
I bathed the 2 cats & dog. Dog & cats also got flea collars.
I took the budgies to mom’s & went through the house room by room.
Cleaned very well & then sprayed everything well with Hearts house spray. No body, even me, got into the sprayed rooms for 2 or 3 days.
The 2 rabbits were only bathed & their NIC cage was only vinegar soaked, carpet tossed, & net flooring purchased.
A couple of weeks later, the fleas were back so, the whole proccess was repeated.
A couple of weeks later, the fleas were back so, the whole proccess was repeated, yet again.
I should point out that I clean with vinegar & the floors get done with bleach water – I’m very chemical nervous because of the budgies. There are no other cleaning chemicals, insecticides or dangerous stuff in my house. The cats were indoor cats. The only poison that has ever been in here was that spray & those collars.
So a month after the fleas are gone, the kitten starts refusing to eat. A short while later the 7 year old cat starts refusing to eat.
A fortune was spent on different foods trying to get then to eat.
Well over $2000 dollars in vet fees later I had to put both cats to sleep because their livers shut down.
Why they had liver problems was never discovered.
After hearing about a web site that is collecting horror stories about that companies flea treatments & different horrific effects they have on some animals, I think the cats were poisoned – by me – using this “safe” over the counter stuff – following proper directions too.
I can’t prove it but that’s what I think.

Please be very very very carefull deciding the best course of action.

[KatnipCrzy]

Call your vet to get proper flea treatment for your bunny based on weight and other animals that you have in the home.  NOT ALL CAT PRODUCTS ARE SAFE FOR BUNNIES!  Frontline whether it is for a dog or cat will KILL a rabbit by affecting the bunnies nervous system- much as it does a fleas nervous system to kill the flea.

Advantage and Revolution are commonly used on bunnies- but you need to get the proper dose by weight and make sure you DO NOT USE ADVANTIX which is a dog only treatment that will kill cats and rabbits.

I have personally seen the affects of people buying over the counter flea products for a Lg Dog Size and splitting the dose between their 4 cats- all 4 cats became deathly ill and only one survived after tremendous amounts of medical treatment and hospitilization.  I have even seen a kitten that played with a dog that had the product applied- the kitten showed mild neurological symptoms and with treatment the cat recovered.  The kitten was affected even though the flea product was not applied directly to its skin- but the skin of an animal it was playing and wrestling with.  Just last week at the vet clinic I work at a kitten came in with flea drops from the dollar store that was wobbly and showing neurological distress. 

So be sure to do your research to make sure you are treating all the animals properly in the house- and it is very important to buy from a reputable source (as expensive flea treatments are often counterfeited)- your vet can provide you with loads of information on how to treat your pets and the house if that is necessary too.

I do use Frontline on my dogs- but I don’t allow the bunnies into the living room for 2 days after I apply it-  and then we vacuum and change the couch cover just to make sure there is no lingering residue.  I am that fanatical about protecting my bunnies!

So bunny safe vet recommended flea treatments are Revolution, Advantage and an oral pill called Capstar that works within 30 min of ingesting the pill and all the fleas on the pet are dead within hours- but the pill only lasts for 24 hours- so the topicals are better suited for home flea treatment management.  But we use Capstar often in the clinic if an animal is admitted to the hospital for a surgery and has fleas- they get a Capstar.

[Lintini]

Good idea. I have also heard of terrible horror stories of people’s pets falling deathly ill to flea meds. Thank you for all the advice, I will just call the vet in the morning and see what he says I should do. It’s nothing serious, it was only one flea but you know how they are. If I wait long it could be more than one if they are laying eggs.

[Deleted User]

Lintini, if your dogs are on Advantage they will kill most of the fleas in your house, so I don’t think you will have an infestation situation. As your bun is mostly white, comb Bun every day with a flea comb before taking any more drastic measures.

[Kafrn]

Have any of you heard of Diatomaceous Earth over there? Or fossil Shell flour?
Its 100% natural, you can brush it into your rabbits coat and it kills fleas by dessication, can also sprinkle it around your bunnys home and in your carpets to kill any ticks, lice, cockroaches, fleas, millipedes etc that are living there. I work for a pest control company in Australia, and this stuff really is amazing, and completely non toxic, so its great for bunnies.  Just make sure you get a FOOD GRADE not a pool grade one, as the pool ones are chemically treated.

http://wolfcreekranch1.tripod.com/defaq.html here is one website about it… its an american site I think.

 

I just found out that you should not feed it to certain breeds of rabbits though. Some people use it as an internal parasite cleaner but apparently some rabbits wont tolerate it.

[BinkyBunny]

Ditto Katnip. I also have only used Advantage or Revolution, called the vet and was given dosage recommendations by my vet based on weight. It’s very important to be careful with this.

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