Ear Mites? - the vet seems to think not.... advice?

[HoneyPot]

For the past month Cookie has had a little flakyskin on his ear (on the outside, not on the inside). I'veread lots on the symptoms of ear mites and the treatments, so I amprepared to go out and get Mineral Oil and Invermectin etc. The thingis - the vet doesn't think it's mites. She doesn't think it'sanything at all because to be honest - it was a TINY patch of flakyskin. It goes away then it comes back. It's reallyvery small and the vet said not to worry - if it gets worse, comeback.

Unfortunately Cookie's fur is white - so I can't see if he has white dots anywhere (that could be mites).

It's not really getting *WORSE* - like exploding in size or anything -but I have noticed that he has another patch that is flaky on adifferent part of his ear.

Has anyone heard of just dry skin or is this a good indication of mitesor something else?I haven't really noticed too much morescratching or anything.

Any thoughts? Could I just be paranoid?
Would giving him the Invermectin or the Mineral Oil hurt if it turns out he dioesn't have mites?

 

[dajeti2]

I would hold off on the Ivermectin. Somerabbits are sensitive to it and have bad reactions to it. The mineraloil won't hurt at all and I would try that first. Just rub it on theaffected area.

Is your vet rabbit savvy? If you do have a savvy vet thenperhaps it is just dry skin. I would watch it and if it keeps happeningthan take Cookie back and ask the vet to examine it again.

Where are the spots located on his ears? The reason I ask isCarolyn had a sopt that sounds similar to Cookie's, on Tucker's ear.Come to find out it was where one ear was rubbing against the otherear.

I don't think you are being paranoid, you are a concerned bunnymom and to be commended for being on top of his care as you are.

Tina

 

[Kricket]

Welcome HoneyPot! You sound like a wonderful baby wabbit's mamma! Concern is a good thing.

Just as Tina said, I'd hold off on the Ivermectin. Recently,I took both of my buns to the vet for treatment of fleas andticks. I administered a dose of Ivermectin to both the bunsand within 12 hours, my female fell terribly ill. She spentthe rest of the day at the vet. She did recover and is nowliving flea and tick free. BUT, it was the scariest thingI've ever seen. Drooling, shaking, rocking, stiff, unable tomove. Frightening.

With Ivermectin, it is hard to tell what effect it will have.I have two Dutch buns and AFTER the treatment, I read that Duth rabbitsare terribly sensitive to Ivermectin. Wish I would have readthat sooner...

Good luck and keep us posted

 

[bluebird]

You can also use listerine mouthwash, the old yucky tasting kind.it will clear up fur mites and is an old remedy.bluebird

 

[HoneyPot]

Thanks a bunch guys. I will use the Listerine or the Mineral Oil and see if it goes away.

I'm pretty sure the vetsat my clinicare rabbitsavvy - the clinic was listed on a site for Rabbit Vets in my area andshe seems to know what she's talking about in terms of other thingsI've asked her.

Hmm... don't think it's his ears rubbing together cause they're mostlystraight up in the air, but I'll pay attention to that too and see ifthat could potentially be it!

And thanks for the news on the Invermectin, I will definately hold off on that.

 

[Carolyn]

dajeti2 wrote:

Where are the spots located on his ears? The reason I ask isCarolyn had a sopt that sounds similar to Cookie's, on Tucker's ear.Come to find out it was where one ear was rubbing against the otherear.

Good point, Tina. I almost forgot aboutthat. HoneyPot, Tucker's a Polish rabbit - (Up Ears aswell). I rubbed some Vitamin E oil on it.

I know a breeder that uses a bit of listerine and olive oil. Sprayrabbit down once a day with the listerine and apply Olive Oil to baldspots and ears. Make sure to spray the cage down once a day also withthe listerine. Some people claim the Listerine doesn't work,so just keep an eye on it.

As to the mineral oil, it's messy but the oil clogs the pores in themites and suffocates them. A drop in the ear andwith a cotton ball and some q-tips once a day for 3 days thenonce a week for 3 weeks.

Also, a drop of rosemary oil in between the shoulder blades, or feedingyour rabbit some rosemary, has been noted as another preventativemethod of getting mites.

-Carolyn

 

[HoneyPot]

Awesome info. Thanks again.

Should I dilute the listerine or isstraight listerine ok forhim? And should I wash the cage down after I spray it, orwipe him off after spraying? I'm just thinking of him lickingoff all the listerine (although it tastes gross, so he might not)

 

[Carolyn]

Hi Honeypot,

Don't have to dilute the Listerine. Straight Listerine won'thurt him, he'll just have excellent smelling breath. Don'twipe off the Listerine, rub it in. Of course you don't wantto get him soaked, just moisten him down. As I said, someclaim that it doesn't work very well others say it does, so just keepthat in mind.

Mites don't reside on the wire unless the cage is wood or there issomething absorbant that can harbor them. They can survive for bit onceoff the rabbit and ina moist environment. Otherthan that, not necessary to really scrub the cage after treatment, butit can never hurt!

You might try putting some Vitamin E oil on the spot that is havingtrouble. See if it helps clear it up.

Don't blame you for wanting to be safe rather than sorry and asking foralternative ways of treating the little guy. Keep us postedon how the little one is doing.


-Carolyn

 

[Carolyn]

P.S. With all types of treatment, repeat process in 10 days for any mites that have hatched after the first treatment.

You might give the little one some NutriCal just to boost his immune system.

Psoriasis or a skin condition is also possible if your vet is certainit isn't mites. Did he/she give you any ideas on how to treat the areayou're concerned about?

Is the little guy scratching a lot? If you have any other rabbits, I'd treat them too as mites can spread easily.

 

[HoneyPot]

Carolyn wrote:

P.S. With all types of treatment, repeat processin 10 days for any mites that have hatched after the first treatment.

You might give the little one some NutriCal just to boost his immune system.

Psoriasis or a skin condition is also possible if your vet is certainit isn't mites. Did he/she give you any ideas on how to treat the areayou're concerned about?

Is the little guy scratching a lot? If you have any other rabbits, I'd treat them too as mites can spread easily.

Yeah the vet said if the patch got bigger (ie. she could see it - causewhen I took him in, it had conveniently dissapeared) then she couldeither do a scraping to test for mites or she was thinking it could besome kind of skin irritation. She didn't really say anythingabout treating the area - probably cause she couldn't see it.

No excessive scratching - I think it's just the normal amount.

I don't think the vet was "certain" it wasn't mites - but she wascertain she couldn't see the flaky patch so she told me to come backwhen it got worse, but it hasn't really gotten worse - still comes andgoes. So if I can get rid of it with this Listerine/VitaminE/Mineral Oil treatment (not all at once- I'll start with theListerine) then that would be better that waiting for it to spread Ithink.

 

[Dwarf lover]

my cat had ear mites it was horrible and grossthe poor thing was scratching at her ears 24/7 and the worst part wasgiving her ear drops she would meow it was sooo sad but it went awayafter awhile.

 

[Lissa]

Iszy sometimes has dry, flaky skin on her earswhich resembles dandruff. The vet instructed me to usemineral oil which helped.

 

[Carolyn]

Any improvement?

-Carolyn

 

[HoneyPot]

Carolyn wrote:

Any improvement?

-Carolyn

It's inthe"there's-no-flaky-patch-you're-imagining-things" stage, sowaiting for the patch to come back and then going to get on it.

 

[HoneyPot]

So yesterday Cookie was having a mad scratch athis ear and I noticed he was scratching at a flaky spot that justshowed up again.

So I wiped him down with listerine (he thought he was being bad becausehe only gets wet when he's naughty - poor thing), I washed all hisblankets and towels and mats in hot water and I gave his cage alisterine spray.

I'll keep doing it for the next couple days and see what happens.

I think he likes the taste of the listerine though.... I got a spritzon his hay while I was spraying his cage, and he went in there and justwolfed the entire pile of hay like it wascandy.Such a wierdo that little one.