Vet Tests Didn’t Show Anything. Maybe Flea Saliva

[Toni-Montana]

I spent $181 on Ford’s first visit to the vet.
They did the checkup and some tests as to why he was losing fur on the back of his neck and why he had these tiny dry skin lumps on the back of his ears.
They also checked his teeth and he had some points and that he needed hay. Luckily I found one that he likes. It’s alfalfa and Idk if I’m allergic to it because I ran out of allergey medication so it could be anything, but unlike Timothy hay, this one doesn’t close my throat.

Anyways the exotics exam was $76.50, the skin scraping $44.50, and the in-house cytology $36. They couldn’t find anything but they gave him one treatment of Revolution anyway which was $22.50. She said he may have come into contact with flea saliva which is basically a mosquito bite to us. The ear issues may go away too because she said they could be secondary symptoms.

My poor bun did not like the bunny burrito blanket and I couldn’t go with him during the tests so now I’m rebuilding his trust ha.

He is doing much much better now. There is less scratching and fur loss. She said to wait a week to check if his hair is regrowing. He’s not even agressive anymore. I can pet him under the couch again, but not when he’s under my bed haha

I don’t think I’m going to risk taking him outside until I have enough money to buy more Revolution if he ever gets something like this again. I live in WA and she said there’s a lot more fleas now.

Also I woke up for the first time to my bunny passing gas. It was quite hilarious. Must be the hay.

[Bam]

I’m sorry to have to say this, but alfalfa hay is not good for adult bunnies except in small portions as a treat. It is very rich, high in protein and calcium and should only be fed to growing buns (under 5-6 months) or buns that have been ill and need to regain weight. It’s very probable that the alfalfa was the cause of the gas. 

Bunnies need grass hay, but it doesn’t have to be timothy. There are lots of other types and most are much better for allergic people than timothy. I have orchard and oat hay. There’s also horse hay like fescue, rye grass, bermuda grass (coastal). They are all pretty much equal in fiber-content and nutrients and good both for the tummy and the teeth.

Flea saliva is highly irritating. But it’s not uncommon for skin scrapings or tape tests to come up clear while the bun still has a parasite, just not in the exact place where the samples were taken. So the Revolution-treatment is really good.

I’m glad you got Revolution, it is a very good, highly effective and bunny-safe anti-parasistic that gets rid of both external (skin-) parasites and internal parasites (worms) – which he isn’t showing symptoms of but since he has access to the outdoors, it can be used empirically (empirically meaning without knowing for certain if there are worms) at least once a year. 

I hope your bun will get well now, it seems very likely. But get another type of hay. Gas is not harmless in bunnies – if the bunny farts it is harmless, problems arise if the bun can’t pass the gas. Make sure he moves around, that’s the best way to get a bun to fart =)

Here’s a whole chart of different hays and their nutritional values. You’ll soon see how very different legume hay (alfalfa, clover) is from grassy hay nutrition-wise. 
hay chart

[flemishwhite]

Posted By Toni-Montana on 4/14/2016 11:26 AM

“I don’t think I’m going to risk taking him outside until I have enough money to buy more Revolution if he ever gets something like this again. I live in WA and she said there’s a lot more fleas now.”

I’m not a flea expert, but I think your house rabbit can nevertheless get fleas….from you!   Fleas don’t like to be on people since we don’t have hair.  But if you’re outside walking in the grass, you are a target for a hungry flea.  There is some possibility one will jump on you and then you can carry the flea back into the house where it’s possible it’ll then get on the rabbit. Not a highly likely possibility, but still possible.  My wife spends a lot of time working in the yard, watering, cutting, trimming.  She often notices a little itchy red bump here and there.  I think it’s likely flea bites.     
 

[Toni-Montana]

thanks for the chart. it’s really helpful. i’m quite frustrated, because he started scratching again. I guess he needs more revolution and now he stays under my bed like 24/7.

[Bam]

Revolution lasts 8 days, after that you can do a repeat treatment, it’s often recommended that you do a repeat after 2-4 weeks. But that should be enough.

He could actually have an allergy, if he’s scratching himself so much. Some buns are allergic to timothy, and even if you cut out giving timothy hay, many bunny-pellets are timothy-based. Check the label on the brand you use. Bunnies can have antihistamine (benadryl for babies) for allergies, but they shouldn’t be given anything with cortison/corticosteroids. Can you see anything on his skin anywhere that looks irritated?

[Author]

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