Rabbit Fur Mites
My rabbit
has dry skin on the back of his ears and the fur is getting patchy back
there. He doesn't scratch them excessively or shake his head or
anything. In fact he acts totally normal. He doesn't mind if I touch
them - they don't seem to be scabby or anything. I took him to my vet
and he was tested for parasites, fleas, and fungus - everything came back
negative. I tried anti-fungal solution, flea powder for cats and nothing
seemed to improve. I feel like the dryness is now spreading to the front
of his ears and I'm afraid that the hair will thin out and he will
look funny like he has bald ears. Could he have some kind of nutritional
defiency? I've tried everything. Any suggestions?
Rabbits get mange, caused by fur mites. Rabbit mange is not at itchy as we see in dogs and cats. Fur mites usually first show up around the ears, for they also are ear mites. They cause the skin to look flaky and dry, and the hair is easily pulled out.
Treatment is both topical and systemic. I use injectible ivermectin for the systemic treatment. Ivermectin enters the blood stream, infiltrates the skin, and kills the deep skin mites. Topically, I prefer lime sulfur dip, however other topical mitacides are available. In general, external mite treatments made for cats are ok to use in rabbits. Some dog only topicals are too harsh for rabbits.
Be sure to clean and disinfect the cage, for the mites also live in the environment. You may need to repeat treatment and cage cleaning at weekly intervals until the problem resolves. Outside rabbitries are vulnerable to reinfestation from the wild animals' mites.
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