Ear Mite Help...

[lobanz]

I have been raising meat rabbits for about 4 years. I currently have a 3 NZW does and an Altex buck for meat rabbits. We've only had one problem with ear mites in the past, and it wasn't bad. I noticed our previous buck shaking his head a little, so I did some research and dosed all the rabbits with Selamectin and the problem went away.

Anyway, the following is a description of how we have treated a bad ear mite infection so far. I'm wondering if we are handling it right and if anyone has any suggestions to treat it better and how to prevent them from happening in the future.

On Friday we went out of town for 1 night and my wife and kids got the bunnies squared away. Well, when we got back the next day (Sat, Day 0), our buck had a horrible looking case of ear mites. His whole left ear was covered with thick beige colored crust and it was heavy, drooping and quite warm. Couldn't even see down in it. The right ear has a little bit of flaking scabbiness down in it. One question I have is Does an ear mite problem really proceed that quickly?

So, we moved the him into a portable cage and put him in our sunroom. We dosed him (and all the other rabbits and cats) with Selamectin to kill the mites. ~12 mg/kg for the infected rabbit and ~6 mg/kg for the 3 does and the three cats. We also put some baby oil in both ears of infected rabbit.

On Day 1, the less infected right ear looks noticeably better just overnight. The left ear was maybe a little better but is still looking pretty bad. Some crustiness had come off and the ear didn't seem quite as warm as it did when we first found him. I could't tell if there is a secondary infection or if it's just crusty from the mites and from scratching. They cleaned his cage also.

On Day 2 we sprayed some topical Benadryl on both ears and then coated the crustiness in baby oil. We also gave him 1 ml of Children's Benadryl by mouth. We did this to relieve the itching some so he wouldn't claw it so much. When we put him back in the cage, he immediately started clawing at his ear so I had the kids hold him for about 15 min for the medicine to kick in. After 15 minuted or so, they said that he actually started holding both ears upright and that he didn't start clawing when they put him in the cage. They cleaned his cage also.

This morning, Day 3, the left ear looked MUCH better. Most of the crustiness was gone and we could see the ear. There was some pasty green stuff that had the consistency of mushed up wet alfalfa, but I doubt it was. We gently removed it with a q-tip. We sprayed some topical Benadryl on both ears and gave 1 ml of Children's Benadryl by mouth. When the topical Benadryl was dry, we coated the underside of the ear with baby oil. They held the rabbit for about 15 minutes and cleaned his cage.

I'm still not sure if there is an infection in the inner ear and I don't really know how to tell. We are going to start examining ears weekly and applying baby oil as necessary.

• Does it sound like we are going about this correctly?
• Anyone know how I can tell if there is an inner ear infection?
• Any other advice for me?

I've ready some about treating this with honey. Any experiences with honey? How about garlic oil?

Thanks!

 

[Imbrium]

I generally hear a selamectin dosage of 18 mg/kg for rabbits... http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/Anti_parasitics/safe_antiparasitic.htm says 15-18 mg/kg. Rabbits have a *much* faster metabolism than cats and dogs, so they require a stronger dosage of selamectin (which is incredibly safe for them).

Oh, and I don't know about honey or garlic oil, but I've heard of people using mineral oil (not 100% sure it's ok to combine it with selamectin, though).

 

[majorv]

I've never heard of it advancing so quickly before, but we have limited experience with treating mites. I've only heard of using mineral oil in the ears, and I do know that you can also give ivermectin for mites, either orally or topically. Since you're using selamectin then just make sure to followup with another dose in 10-14 days, to kill any mites that may have hatched from eggs.

 

[JBun]

The dosage frequency for selamectin is different than when using ivermectin. Ivermectin is given once every 10-14 days, for at least 3 doses. With selamectin, usually only one dose is needed, but in more severe cases a second dose may be required, and this should be given 30 days after the initial dose. A stronger 18mg/kg dose would probably be better for at least the rabbit with the more severe case. To determine if there is an ear infection, you would need to have your rabbit examined by a vet.

There are a few things that you can do to try and limit mite exposure to some extent. Keeping your rabbits healthy and in good condition, and frequent cleaning of their cages will help some. Mites can be brought in on other animals, from the ground, bedding, or hay. If you keep bedding and hay in an area not exposed to critters(including mice), and let it sit for a month before using it, that may help eliminate any mites that could be in it. And also keeping other animals away from your rabbits will help.

WARNING: link contains disturbing photos
http://medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases/Parasitic/earmite/Psoroptes.htm

 

[majorv]

Hmmm, my source says that for selamectin if it's an active infection to re-apply after 14 days; otherwise, in 30 days. Either way, I wouldn't give just one dose in this case.

 

[Imbrium]

I've heard 30 days for mild/light cases or when given as a preventative but as often as bi-weekly (14 days) or even weekly (7 days) in moderate to severe cases (again, because of their faster metabolism). I also usually hear two doses total even for lighter cases, just to make sure everything has been taken care of. Heck, the Houston SPCA gives every rabbit that comes in two doses of selamectin as a precaution - one when they arrive and another a month later.

 

[lobanz]

Rabbit is looking much better today. When I looked in on him this morning (Day 5) he was holding both ears upright. Has been for a couple of days. The kids are going to do the oil treatment again and clean his cage.

I'm surprised at how fast this is healing.

Yes. I think the Selamectin dosage for Rabbits is higher. I was using an older article. THIS article is more recent and says that the dose should be more like 15-20 mg/kg every 7 days because Selamectin does not stay in the rabbit's system as long as it does in dogs and cats.

But I'm about out of Selamectin. I'll give him what I have left. We'll keep doing the oil treatment. I guess rabbits are like machines -- gotta keep em lubed up. :bunny24