Treating ear mites in rabbits
Ear mites in rabbits are a fairly common disease. Rabbits are extremely popular breeding animals, so farmers need to know how to properly care for them and treat them if necessary. Rabbits are bred for both commercial and well-selling fur. In addition, farmers are attracted to pets for their ease of maintenance.
Ear mites in rabbits
Despite this, pets often get sick, ear problems are not uncommon, which is not surprising, given the impressive size of the furry organ of hearing. A tick that is not familiar to us all leads to such a disease: the ear parasite has a special oval shape and a yellowish color. The length of the tick is about 0.7 mm.
The most susceptible to ear scabies are small individuals who can successfully catch it from their mother.
In babies, this disease can be complicated. In general, such a disease is quite contagious. As a rule, ear mites in rabbits are transferred from one to another. The mite willingly lives inside the pet's ear and builds tunnels there, where it lays eggs, from which offspring are born, therefore it is important to devote extra time to the cleanliness of both the pet and the cells in which it lives so that ear scabies does not develop into a brain tumor, which happens quite often. You can find out what ear mites look like in a photo or video.
Symptoms and manifestations of an ear mite
With ear scabies, when the tick wants to bite, the pet changes its behavior and scratches its ears. It may seem that the rabbit is simply behaving too actively, frolicking behind the rods of the cage, but this behavior is a reaction to a disease that is not easy for him.
The next symptom follows from the previous one: wounds appear on the ears of rabbits, which are precisely the result of the fact that the rabbit is constantly itching. Already at these stages, you need to contact your veterinarian for appropriate treatment. It is important not to delay with this, because if you do not pay attention to it in time, this seemingly small problem will turn into a more serious one that undermines the health of the rabbit.
With a more serious lesion, the crawl stops eating, sharply loses its weight and begins to gradually weaken. Further, the pet may develop purulent otitis media or meningitis, which can be fatal. It is also easy to spot the disease just by looking at the rabbit's ears. In the ears of animals attacked by parasites, noticeable changes occur, such as:
- bloody ulcers;
- an increase in the temperature of the ears;
- accumulation of sulfur.
In order to find out about the presence of the disease before the first symptoms appear, it is necessary to periodically do special tests in the laboratory or at home. For an independent analysis, you need to take a scraping from the rabbit's ear and place it in liquid paraffin heated to 40 ° C. The resulting mass must be examined with a magnifying glass, and if a tick or larvae become noticeable during examination, then it is time to start treatment.The main thing is to start treatment early, then it will be quite simple to defeat this terrible ailment.
Traditional methods of treating ear mites
You can also help a rabbit to remove parasites at home using folk remedies, because not always and not everyone has the opportunity to contact a specialist, and you don't want to risk the health of a little rabbit, and there is nowhere to waste time. You can do everything at home with improvised, so-called folk drugs, which will help as well as special medications. There are several recipes that can help you treat sick rabbits at home.
The first method of treatment
Ear mites in rabbits and treatment should be carried out immediately upon diagnosis. At home, some farmers make such a solution: they mix turpentine and vegetable oil in a one to two ratio. With the help of a syringe, you need to draw up the mixture and wash the pet, after which the animal's ears will immediately be left without ticks. This procedure must be carried out every few weeks.
Second way
At home, you can cure an ailment with the help of several elements. This method is also for washing the ears, only here you need to mix not only turpentine and oil, but also add kerosene and creolin to this. The procedure must also be performed once every 2 weeks. From such an aroma, the subcutaneous mite on the ear should pass. A similar method of treatment is also used on hares.
Third way
This time, you will need a glycerin-iodine mixture for treatment. You need to mix 4 parts of glycerin and 1 part of an iodine mixture. Such a remedy will help remove the crust from the ear, due to the emollient effect in the mixture. You need to use the product daily, and then the result will soon appear.
Fourth way
The last remedy to help with home treatments and folk remedies is camphor oil. Thanks to him, you can pull the parasite to the surface from the skin of the ear, after which it makes sense to remove or destroy it.
Treating ear mites with medication
In order to get rid of ear mites and prevent the terrible consequences of the disease, there is a whole list of special professional medicines. There are many such drugs for the disease, but the most effective are sprays and drops. Medicines presented in the form of injections and solutions also help well. But no matter what drug is chosen, initially you need to consult with a specialist in order to remove the parasite with high quality.
Of course, a meeting with a veterinarian is not always possible, but you need to consult with a knowledgeable person. So, in the pharmacy you can clarify all the details, the same applies to ordering the necessary medicinal products for rabbits by phone or the Internet. For each individual, the dose of the drug is selected individually, since the specialist takes into account the physical data of the pet, the stage of the disease and other features. The same medicine can be prescribed to different individuals in different dosages.
Sprays
In order to overcome the ear mite in rabbits, aerosol preparations should be used: cyodrin, psoroptol, acrodex. They work well against various types of ticks and have an antiparasitic effect. They also work well against the itch mite. In order to process the entire surface of the ear, the rabbit needs to be picked up. The spray must be sprayed 10-20 cm from the wound within 2-5 seconds.
The procedure should be carried out once a week. The entire treatment time takes only 2 weeks. Rabbits tolerate sprays well, but, as veterinarians advise, on the first day after applying the medicine, you need to observe the pet.
These drugs are very effective and, as practice shows, the benefits of them are about 80% after the first use, and subsequent use allows you to completely get rid of the tick.
Ear scabies injections
The drugs Baymek and Ivomek have proven themselves well in the fight against ear mites not only in rabbits, but also in cattle and pigs. These drugs are produced by injection. Rabbits should be injected in the back of their heads, but only after consulting a veterinarian. This drug has contraindications: it should not be administered to lactating and pregnant rabbits.
Ear mite emulsion
Valexon is one of the most popular and effective emulsions against ear mites. Ears should be treated with such a drug at home according to the instructions or on the recommendation of a veterinarian. This drug also has an antiparasitic effect. The method of application, period and frequency of use is the same as for aerosol preparations. Before any method of treating a pet for a tick or other ailment, it is important to remember that qualified advice from a veterinarian is required.
Disease prevention
Prevention of ear mites in decorative rabbits should be carried out regularly, only then the effect will be noticeable from it. To prevent the disease of rabbits from ear mites, it should be remembered that preventive actions are needed, even if the pet has not undergone this terrible ailment. Scabies has an incubation period of about 5 days, and this is very difficult to notice. If a nursing female becomes ill, she should be immediately isolated from the rest of the herd and immediately seek help from a veterinarian.
To avoid getting your pets sick with this or any other disease, you should follow the simplest rules: clean the feeders and cages, change the water in the drinkers, and avoid moisture in the cages. Cells should always be treated with disinfectant solutions: if they are dirty, pathogenic bacteria are introduced into them first. Rabbit ears should be checked regularly. If you follow these simple rules, the risk of disease in animals is significantly reduced.