Fur Mites

Fur mites can be seen with the naked eye. They look like tiny specks of sand in the rabbits hair. They feed on dead skin and live in the rabbits hair shaft.

Symptoms of a rabbit with fur mites:
* Patch of fur missing, most of the time it is on the back area of the rabbit. Sometimes the fur will be rough on the patch that the fur mites are on. The hair may also be easier to pull out.
* Sometimes the area will be a little bloody.

Treatment for Fur Mites:
* The easiest way to treat fur mites (from what we have found) is to put 4 drops of liquid Ivermectin in between the shoulder blades, at the top of the neck. Repeat in 14 days. Make sure that the treatment is repeated to make sure all the mites are gone. I have dealt with fur mites 1 time in the 10+ years of raising rabbits and this worked wonders.

Prevention:
* If one rabbit has fur mites it is best to treat your whole herd (if you are a rabbitry). Fur mites can spread easily. It does not hurt to treat pregnant does, nursing does, or weanlings. 
* When you are dealing with a rabbit with fur mites it is best to clean out the cage (or wherever the rabbit is staying). Since mites can live in the environment that the rabbit is living in.

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