Constantly itching

[Nieceybun]

I'm a first time rabbit owner!!! Am I just over worrying?.

My 9 week old male bunny itches himself all day. The vet confirmed he doesn't have any parasites at all but he continues to itch. What could it be? What can I do to soothe his itching? He also spent the whole day sleeping and itching today. Is he OK?

He is a mix of mini lop and haliquin, he eats well poops well I reacently started him on leafy greens. He is usually energetic and binkies all the time. He's usually zooming around the room. Today he just wasn't interested in playing.

I'm worried but the vet said he's fine.

 

[JBun]

Did the vet do skin scrape to determine if mites were present? Any dandruffy, scaly, or red irritated skin? Any fur loss? Any signs of flea dirt?

Is your vet a knowledgeable rabbit vet?

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-...abbit-friendly-vets/rabbit-friendly-vet-list/

 

[Nieceybun]

Did the vet do skin scrape to determine if mites were present? Any dandruffy, scaly, or red irritated skin? Any fur loss? Any signs of flea dirt?

Is your vet a knowledgeable rabbit vet?

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-...abbit-friendly-vets/rabbit-friendly-vet-list/

Hi thank you for your response. No the vet didn't do a sink scrape. She just looked through his fur and used a flea comb. There is no signs of mites or fleas no dirt no redness or dandruff nothing. I even looked through his fur with a magnifying glass. He just itches all day long the poor bunny must be getting stressed by it

The vet is a common vet they are a vet linked to pet stores. They are called vets4pets. That was his first visit to a vet.

 

[JBun]

You can't see mites just by looking through the fur visually. It requires a skin scrape and a microscope. If your vet thinks mites can be seen just by looking through the fur, you really need to find a better rabbit vet. So it could be mites, or your rabbit could have skin sensitivities. You don't use any sort of product on your rabbits skin or fur do you? A sensitivity to the bedding you use, or cleaning products used in the rabbits environment or on a blanket are some possibilities. But mites would be the most common cause of excessive itching due to a skin problem.

Rabbits will scratch at themselves a little bit each day. This is normal. But if you think it's happening excessively, I would suggest taking your rabbit to a more experienced rabbit vet. If you are anywhere near Beaumont Sainsbury Animal Hospital, they come recommended as being very experienced with rabbits.

 

[Rambobunny]

I had the exact same thing with my 9 week old mini lop. When I first took him to the vets they checked visually and with a flea comb and said they couldn’t see anything. He continued to itch so I took him there again, this time they did a skin scrape and gave parasite treatment to see if this helped. I still wasn’t happy so took him to a vet recommended by the rabbit welfare association. After a thorough check, he couldn’t find anything and said to finish the course of parasite treatment and if he still continues to itch, to come back as he may have allergies which would require further testing.
Luckily the itching seemed to stop towards the end of his treatment (this took about 2.5 - 3 weeks to kick in).

I hope my experience helps! My bun is a free roam so I purchased an air purifier and I hoover everyday in case it is allergies.

 

[Nieceybun]

You can't see mites just by looking through the fur visually. It requires a skin scrape and a microscope. If your vet thinks mites can be seen just by looking through the fur, you really need to find a better rabbit vet. So it could be mites, or your rabbit could have skin sensitivities. You don't use any sort of product on your rabbits skin or fur do you? A sensitivity to the bedding you use, or cleaning products used in the rabbits environment or on a blanket are some possibilities. But mites would be the most common cause of excessive itching due to a skin problem.

Rabbits will scratch at themselves a little bit each day. This is normal. But if you think it's happening excessively, I would suggest taking your rabbit to a more experienced rabbit vet. If you are anywhere near Beaumont Sainsbury Animal Hospital, they come recommended as being very experienced with rabbits.

I'm going to take him to a different vet. He seems to be back to his happy bouncy self today just itchy. I've changed his hay. I'm no longer using the litter just incase its that that's causing it I use Timothy hay for his litter. He has no interest in eating the dry yellow Timothy hay they sell at pets at home which I originally brought to mix with his alfalfa hay.

I clean his area daily I'm always checking for signs but there's no walking dandruff or anything.

 

[Nieceybun]

I had the exact same thing with my 9 week old mini lop. When I first took him to the vets they checked visually and with a flea comb and said they couldn’t see anything. He continued to itch so I took him there again, this time they did a skin scrape and gave parasite treatment to see if this helped. I still wasn’t happy so took him to a vet recommended by the rabbit welfare association. After a thorough check, he couldn’t find anything and said to finish the course of parasite treatment and if he still continues to itch, to come back as he may have allergies which would require further testing.
Luckily the itching seemed to stop towards the end of his treatment (this took about 2.5 - 3 weeks to kick in).

I hope my experience helps! My bun is a free roam so I purchased an air purifier and I hoover everyday in case it is allergies.

Thank you for your response. I'm going to get an air purifier and I'm going to take him to a different vet. After Christmas... Hopefully I'll get an appointment on Monday.

My bun is a free roamer too so I'm constantly cleaning to avoid dust. Lucky for me he is litter trained. I use baby safe laundry detergent I clean his area with a vinigar solution.. Sigh... I've tried almost everything so I 100% have to get him to a new vet for a second opinion