Rabbit has ear mites HELP!

Question
I have a 12 month Holland Lop rabbit. Her ears are all red and she is scratching them...I'm pretty sure she has ear mites :-(

I just ordered waterless shampoo and Eradimite from www.amazon.com (Eradimite Ear Mite Treatment contains aloe vera and kills ear mites and ear ticks. It also aids in the removal of ear wax)

Do you know if Eradimite will work? Do you know anything else I can do to kill the ear mites?

My rabbit lives outside in a hutch and I keep her hutch pretty clean. How do I kill the mites in her hutch? Maybe spraying bleach?

Thanks so much!

Answer
Hi Kylie,

Personally I would not use any type of shampoo on a rabbit.  The shampoo you bought states it is safe for rabbits but it has pyrethrins in it and essentially that is poison.  I would pick up some revolution (selemectin) from your vet and use that.  It will also aid in killing the mites in the living area.  The medicine goes systemic and lasts for about 30 days.  Every time a mite bites the rabbit it will die.  I would also clean out the cage with a 10% bleach solution but then I would let it dry in the sun.  As long as you treat the bunny every 30 days the mites should all die on their own.

Just a thought for you to ponder, have you considered bringing your bunny indoors to live?  Rabbits that live indoors generally have longer lives.  They are inaccessible to predators and if they do have a health problem we pick up on it faster.  Not everyone can have a bunny in their home but if you can they are really quite a wonderful indoor pet.

Good luck

Pam