Flemish Fleas

[supierce]

 Just brought home our new Flemish, Rosco.  He is a year old and he has fleas.  The breeder that I got him from has apparently had an outbreak of fleas and was washing all of her flemmies after having a few of them disqualified from a recent show.  I have read that advantage for cats is the best and I have ordered some but won’t get it until tomorrow.  Is there any other remedy recommended?  He has not been with us for even 24 hours yet so I am trying not to upset him.  He is obviously not acclimated to his new home yet.  He is being very shy and staying in his bunny “condo”.  Which after reading a lot of posts on the forum today might need to be a lttle bigger.  Currently, it is 42 inches by 42 in.  So that is something that we will have to expand.  I haven’t introduced him to my dogs yet.  I figured I would give that a few days.  He is in our enclosed garage that we converted to the kids playroom.  So he is nice and cool and we are hanging out there with him so he can get used to our voices, and us, etc.  He hasn’t eaten much and did have a little soft poop today but I figured it is just from the stress of a new home and a bath…

Any advice would be greatly appreciated…The fleas is my biggest concern at the moment (as I scratch my head literally, can’t stand the thought of fleas…).

 

Thanks so much!!

 

[Sarita]

I would suggest Revolution – you get that from your vet. Definitely NO FRONTLINE though – this is toxic to rabbits.

Yes, that cage is definitely too small – hopefully once you get him neutered and litter trained you can just let him roam free in your home as Flemmies need ALOT of space.

I would also recommend a trip to the vet to check for coccidia – the runny poop could be an indication of this and it’s quite common for rabbits coming from breeders to have coccidia but it is easily treated – ask the vet to do a fecal test.

[supierce]

Yes I def think I am going to expand his pen because I want to get a larger litter pan so hopefully that will encourage him to use it… I don’t think his poop is runny just think he peed and then laid on it and smeared it. After examining it more closely…lol Still want to get him checked out. Hoping to hear back from the vet on getting him neutered very soon!

[bullrider76543]

Do not use advantage for cats, the only safe flea treatment for rabbits that my vet reccomends is Revolution! she said that advantage and frontline can be deadly to rabbits

[Bam]

Frontline is deadly for rabbits!!! It’s clearly stated by the manufacturer that it must not be used on rabbits.

Advantage for kittens is supposed to be safe though.

The drawback with Revolution is that you need a vet to get it. But it’s really potent, yet rabbit-safe stuff and it kills much more than just fleas. Chances are that he has mites as well as fleas, cheyletiella mites are very common in rabbits, and Revolution will kill all types of mites, Advantage will not affect them.

[BinkyBunny]

Advantage is okay as long as you get the right kind and dosage — talk to a rabbit savvy vet for this. I used Advantage for years — but always confirmed with my vet the right dosage for each rabbit .(for mine, my vet has always recommended Advantage kitten dosage and in some cases, bunny weight wise, I had to use half a dose of that).

I have had better results though with Revolution. It’s like some fleas seemed to be immune to Advantage. Also, if a rabbit continues to have fleas, even in small numbers, after monthly doses (over 2-3 months). then that can sometimes mean that there is a problem with the bunny’s immune system – Which is what happened with Jack, who had cancer.

[StickyBun]

As a tip for anyone who has had a flea problem before….you must treat all pets in the house for a minimum of 3 MONTHS or your flea problem will not resolve. The flea life cycle is a nightmare and eggs can sit in your carpet for quite a while before hatching….but when they do, the problem you thought you had under control EXPLODES again and you are left wondering what the heck happened!!

Fleas are awful and they can be so hard to get under control. Not only are they irritating to our pets, it is also how your pet gets tape worms! Yuck!

[Roberta]

Our flea season starts soon, usually around August. I start treating now, then again in July then monthly through the peak season. The problem here is the fleas survive so well in the sandy soil and it only takes one careless neighbour to end up with a plague through the entire street. The owners of the rental next door thought they would never get rid of the fleas that took over whilst the last tennants were there.

[StickyBun]

@Roberta – I know what you mean! I see this problem every day at work and I feel so sorry for the poor pets. So many pets are developing a ‘flea allergy’ and they are just miserable I am in the united states, central Illinois to be specific, and the weather has changed so much over the last few years that we are seeing fleas year round now! It just seems the the winters are not cold enough to get a break from them anymore.

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