Twofold question here.

[sibelabmom]

Ok, let me start with please don't judge, we are doing the best we can. I live in an area where there are no bunny vets for miles in any direction, and both our vehicles have broken down. We have a baby that has walking dandruff. He does not have interaction with my other two, but I've been advised to dust not only him but the entire rabbit area with diatomaceous earth, and to place a drop of injectable ivermectin on his neck, since I have no way, currently, of getting to the vet. This brings me to the second question: I was told that the mites are often carried in hay, and therefore there is no avoiding them. Is this true?

I'm asking these questions because I don't want to cause any harm to my baby, but this needs to be taken care of whether I can get to the vet or not. Thanks for reading.

 

[JBun]

I wouldn't use diatomaceous earth. It can cause internal damage.

The easiest and most effective is to treat with the recommended rabbit safe antiparasitics. Which are ivermectin or Revolution (selamectin, rx). I prefer Revolution as it seems a safer option, but it's rx. Ivermectin is fine, but some breeds of rabbits can sometimes be sensitive to it (BEW, Dutch, etc).

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Mites
Medirabbit: safe antiparasitics

Usually nothing else is needed except a general cleaning of the environment and getting rid of contaminated hay if that's the source. Not all hay will be contaminated. I never had an issue, but I usually didn't use my hay for a few months after I bought it. And I stored it somewhere inaccessible to critters that could contaminate it with mites or other diseases.

If you're already using ivermectin, I would stick with just using that to treat the mites. The injectable 1% solution (10mg/ml) given orally, 0.4mg/kg (0.04ml/kg of the 1% solution) for 3 treatments 10-14 days apart, is something I've used in the past. It's a very very small amount. Always do your own calculations, or better, consult with a vet if you aren't comfortable or experienced calculating and administering meds to animals.

https://rabbit.org/veterinarians/
If the equine paste is what you have, would strongly discourage using it, as it's meant for large animals and risks OD when given to a small animal like a rabbit.

 

[sibelabmom]

I wouldn't use diatomaceous earth. It can cause internal damage.

The easiest and most effective is to treat with the recommended rabbit safe antiparasitics. Which are ivermectin or Revolution (selamectin, rx). I prefer Revolution as it seems a safer option, but it's rx. Ivermectin is fine, but some breeds of rabbits can sometimes be sensitive to it (BEW, Dutch, etc).

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Mites
Medirabbit: safe antiparasitics

Usually nothing else is needed except a general cleaning of the environment and getting rid of contaminated hay if that's the source. Not all hay will be contaminated. I never had an issue, but I usually didn't use my hay for a few months after I bought it. And I stored it somewhere inaccessible to critters that could contaminate it with mites or other diseases.

If you're already using ivermectin, I would stick with just using that to treat the mites. The injectable 1% solution (10mg/ml) given orally, 0.4mg/kg (0.04ml/kg of the 1% solution) for 3 treatments 10-14 days apart, is something I've used in the past. It's a very very small amount. Always do your own calculations, or better, consult with a vet if you aren't comfortable or experienced calculating and administering meds to animals.

https://rabbit.org/veterinarians/
If the equine paste is what you have, would strongly discourage using it, as it's meant for large animals and risks OD when given to a small animal like a rabbit.

Thank you. There were a number of people telling me diatomaceous earth. I bought the 1% injectable ivermectin, and I have syringes with removable needles for those tiny dosages, and I very much appreciate the formula to work the dosage out for myself!