Mites – yuk!

[Chiazoo]

Hi all,

I hope you can share some wisdom words with me :S

I took my new little rabbit to the vet for vaccination (9 weeks old) and discovered to my horror that she has mites. The problem is that she has spent time in the same environment as my other 3 rabbits. When looking at their skin I can see dandraft like flakes on all of them! They are also scratching more than usual. 

Also, the baby one if often in the house, on the sofa, on the carpets, on the bed even! How can I make sure this infection does not spread everywhere?
I will take everyone back to the vet asap, so she can give me treatment, as she said she was not sure it was mites, but now I am! 

I have a few questions:

Does this spread to humans?

What do I do with all the carpets/beddings etc in the house?

Is treatment for the 4 of them expensive? (of course I will have it done no matters the cost, just want to prepare myself)

Should I not let any of the rabbits in the house until this has cleared – if so how long do I confine them to a room?

Last: can I let them go in the garden, or eggs will be layed in the grass and re-picked up on subsequent visits to the garden?

I am so annoyed with myself, as I did not think of quarantining the new rabbits

[Q8bunny]

Bunnies are no strangers to mites – they are usually inexpensive and easy to get rid of. Chewie gets a Revolution (Stronghold) kitten/puppy dose drop once a month to prevent mites since he gets taken to parks and beaches. Of course, mites can be picked up just as easily from good quality bunny hay from the store, for example, so indoors buns aren’t necessarily mite proof.

Common bun mites don’t usually bother humans and the mites living in every house don’t usually bother buns. Humans generally become aware of mites when they’re allergic to their poop and start sneezing etc. We’re all crawling with mites – we just can’t see them with the naked eyes – but it’s what keeps us from getting buried in dead skin cells. lol

So don’t panic. Take your buns in to get checked or pick up the drops, and just clean your house and bun stuff regularly the way you normally would and everything should be fine.

[Chiazoo]

Thank you so much Q8bunny!
I have just ordered some Ivermectin and will treat all of them as soon as I get it delivered

[Q8bunny]

Let the vet have a look just in case – better safe than sorry. But Revolution kicks butt, so once your vet rules out any other kind of skin irritation, you’re all set to manage the usual suspects.

[Bam]

Fur mites are common in rabbits. They are often tranferred from the mother to the kit. They then exist in low numbers on the bunny and might never manage to multiply so they cause trouble. Or they might manage to, when a bunny is under some sort of stress. Being new in a new home among new bunnies is a form of stress. Molting/heavy shedding is another form of stress, radical dietary changes is yet another form of stress. And so on.

My bunny Bam had mites when I found him outside. I treated him twice (you should do a repeat treatment after a few weeks to make sure you get all mites). I did normal cleaning of my house, washed everything fabric the bunny had had, wiped down toys, put them outside in the snow for a few days (you can put them in the freezer). We’ve never seen a mite since. It was 4 years ago.

Fur mites can cause itchy skin on humans, but they don’t colonize us.

[Author]

Messages