Ooo, Bunny Ear Mites?

[DellaMyDarling]

It appears at least one of my buns has ear mites. I'll get a pic and post update, can't upload it outside anyhow.

Neighbor 4H kid mentioned it might be mites when I first brought them home. That was about a month ago. I hadn't seen anything concerning with ears til this morning. Shoulda listened to the kid!

I see several random things for treatment on Google. Random things make me nervous. Tell me what I should try first!
Yes, I realize all 3 buns should be treated, just in case.

 

[DellaMyDarling]

Poor bun!

 

[cassie]

Any ear mite medication safe for cats is safe for rabbits. Some of the pour on flea medications like Revolution are effective. You may have to treat more than once.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Ivermectin is the best med but...
There's actually a harder (more manual effort) but natural and cheap fix if you don't wanna go the medication route. Mineral oil.

Mineral oil works by literally suffocating the mites. Technically any oil would work but mineral oil is inert and safe with no risk of bacterial growth or going rancid really and safe to consume in small quantities. I use baby oil.
Rabbit ear mites have a one month (ish) lifespan. The way you do it is you pour a little mineral oil in the ears down the canal and wipe down the entire inside of the ear every day for a week. The rabbit will shake most of the oil out immediately after treatment but that's OK.
After the first week you do it twice a week for three weeks. Every ear on every bunny. The mites will be gone after and you will have caught any eggs that were laid then hatched as well.

I've used this method personally on many, many rabbits and it's been very effective for me.
Otherwise ivermectin should be fine.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Small addendum - mites have a 3 week lifecycle (not four) which is why the treatment is 4 weeks to be on the safe side.

Don't forget to clean the cages very regularly while treating the mites.

The rabbits ears/fur will be oily and messy for the duration of the treatment, and they won't like the oil being put in, but it won't hurt them and they'll be back to normal and should be clean a week after you stop treatment (just my experience here).

 

[Skye'sDucks]

I'll add my voice and say mineral oil, too. I had a rabbit once that had been dumped, a friend of a friend rescued him and when we got him, he had ear mites. (and fleas! Nasty critters) We used mineral oil and it cleared it up.

 

[JadeFarms]

I have had a bunny with ear mites. It got healed in less than a week by tea tree oil. That stuff works so well, and it’s natural. I did 2 drops once to twice a day.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Tea tree oil works the same way as mineral oil, but I would not stop at one week, it could leave a low grade chronic problem behind or a relapse.

 

[DellaMyDarling]

Alright, bought baby oil.

When you say treat cages...
What am I treating with? We have wire cages that have at least one piece of 2x4 under each, chunk of plywood to sit on, and the girls have nest boxes because I thought we might have bunny magic (we don't...)

 

[Duckfarmer1]

I breed rabbits. I use Vet Rex. It’s safe, inexpensive and fast. It also has enough medicinal properties in it to help prevent the mites from spreading to other rabbits. Use apply with a q tip a few times a day until it clears up. My rabbit healed so quickly I was amazed. And it is a naturally based product.