Ear Mites in Indoor Rabbits?

[laurabee]

I recently adopted two now 18 weeks old mini rex bunnies.  They were kept outdoors before I brought them home at 16 weeks old.  Today, one of them started shaking her head and scratching her ears repeatedly.  From what I’ve read about ear mites, they usually happen with outdoor rabbits.  Can indoor rabbits also catch them?  Is it possible that they had ear mites when I adopted them, but the symptoms are just showing up now?  If they do have ear mites, what is the best way to treat them? Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks,

Laura (plus Max and Penny)

[Deleted User]

Hey Laura, Max and Penny! I just treated my boy who has always been an indoor bunny, for mites and fleas. If he came home with them (mites), I feel terrible cause Henry has been part of our family for 10 months now – doh! And the fleas I know he would have gotten from my dogs. It was strongly recommended that I use ‘Revolution’ for puppies and kittens, as some of the other brands like frontline have an ingredient that can kill your bun. The Revolution worked a treat! I haven’t seen Henry scratch once since applying it about 3 weeks ago and not 1 flea to be found. Mites can also cause some flakiness that has also cleared up on Henry since the application. So yer, go the Revolution for puppies and kittens. Cheers Laura.

[Sarita]

Indoor rabbits can definitely be susceptible to mites. I would recommend first of all that you bring them to a vet for a thorough check up and check for coccidia and mites if they are new to you.

It is definitely possible for the mites to show up later too.

Before you try anything over the counter and I don’t recommend that with rabbits, see a vet – the vet is the only person you can get Revolution from anyway :~)

[BlueMoods]

Min occasionally get mites or fleas. Either because I took them outside for a few hours or because someone brought the pests in with them. That might be one of us that lives here or a guest that has pets.

There are some over the counter treatments for ear mites, like VetRX Rabbit Remedy but, consult your vet before getting anything and, if the rabbit has not had a heath check recently, take them to have that done. Many over the counter treatments you might read about or see for sale are not safe for rabbits so, follow your vet’s advice before doing anything medical to your rabbit.

[bunnluff]

I’ve been through the ringer the last year with my 2 girls. Fleas, ear mites and fur mites were among those maladies. To help along with the ear mites I used a water and vinegar solution applied every other day inside the ears with a dropper (1 part vinegar to 2 parts water). Medications didn’t entirely clear the problem for us and Pippin was dealing with head tilt as a result. I still follow up with this solution about every week. Good luck!!

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