rabbit/fleas?

Question
wondering if domestic rabbits get fleas on lawn?  if so, what to do, if she already has them, or if not, to prevent.

can you use flea collars on rabbits?
she's a 5 m/o female.

thanks.

Answer
Hi,

never put a collar on a rabbit, they can get their foot caught grooming and start freaking out and scare themselves to death.

Never put a flea collar on a rabbit or near a rabbit, they will chew on it if they can and it will kill them.

Yes, they can pick up fleas (and ticks, and parasites) from outside, which is one reason why house rabbit folks do not recommend letting an indoor rabbit outside. It's a good way to pick up a totally un-necessary and avoidable health problem, that is hard to get rid of.

I am a little adverse to recommend the chemicals and such you can use because they all are potentially dangerous to bunnies because age, health and weight of the rabbit needs to be factored in.  What I would recommend is going in to a good rabbit vet to confirm it actually is fleas, and also to discuss with the vet what is the best thing to use to treat the fleas.

In the meantime I would get a flea comb and see if you can get any out of her fur, and if so, drown the fleas/larvae in a jar of water or alcohol.  Be very careful with the flea comb and if you can find one that appears to have more rounded edges on the comb's teeth, get that one.  Rabbit skin is extremely thin and fragile and scrapes easily, so don't try to scrape hard against their skin, no matter what flea comb you get.  Don't use a grooming comb for a dog that has pointy ends on it.  Get a flea comb that does not feel sharp along the tips of the comb teeth.  

If you can find them on her, get to the vet as soon as you can, and also realize that every area she has gone inside the house will need thorough cleaning with hot water/mild bleach and cleaner solution and the a hot water rinse to get the bleach off the surfaces after it's done it's work.  Some bedding stuff you may rather want to toss out than try to clean.

If you need to find a good rabbit vet (not all are) go here:

www.rabbit.org/vets/vets.html

for a House Rabbit Society recommended vet near you.