Rabbit fur mites

Question
QUESTION: hi i am a breeder and 9 days ago sold a 9 week old rabbit to a lady. she is very upset as she noticed scratching on day 8 and took to vets next day and he took a scrapping and said it is fur mites and she must come back to me and has been very rude . she also had some hay from me which her vet said could be the source, but all my rabbits have the same bale so surely i would notice on one of them? i dont mind taking the rabbit back for the sake of the rabbit as she does not want to pay for treatment! her vet has said 8 treatments at 10.00 a time? but I am surprised she has not bonded with him and wants to give him back as it is treatable? but -  1. i am worried how prolific this is and my other rabbits being infected when i take it back. I have checked the mum and she does not appear to have anything, so do you think it is likely that her rabbit has caught it after it left? or that my mum or possibly some of the other kits (all gone) could have it without me noticing yet?. 2. what is the incubation period as i feel it could be possible for her rabbit to have got these mites after it left me but there has been no discussion just accusation. I certainly did not sell it knowing it had mites and as i say mine dont appear to have it so I couldnt have known, i am very upset as i love all my rabbits so much. i did speak to her on day 7 about handling him and she never mentioned the problem or scratching.
3. Should I be treating mine as a precaution but i have quiet a few but am obviously worried now and dont want to let anything else go at the moment just in case, so what is the best way to go with this? many thanks in advance

ANSWER: Hi,

I'd take the rabbit back.  If you love the rabbits you breed take him back, you'll do your rabbit a favor in the long run and hopefully get him to a better class of owner.  Keep him isolated from the rest during treatment.  If you don't already have a room set aside for a quarantine/isolation area, now is the time to have one.  It's good to have one set up anyway for whatever can hit your rabbits.

You will also need to clean yourself off well before going back into the other rabbits.  It's just something those who breed rabbits have to contend with, just like owners.  It's not something to put a rabbit down for, just be highly anal-retentive about your cleanliness and wash your gear after dealing with your 'mitey' rabbit.

I wouldn't necessarily treat yours unless you also see symptoms.  You might consider it as a preventative measure, but I really am not in favor of giving medications when they aren't totally necessary.

And as far as mites in the hay, fur mites usually don't hang out in hay very long, as their food source (mammals, rabbits) does not live in the bale.  It is possible that they were in there for a very brief time and then were on hay that was given to the rabbit.  The question is where they came from because if your guys aren't exhibiting symptoms (and you either) then they're not from your hay.  Hay mites will hang around in hay, but they are not interested in rabbits or people as a source of food.

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QUESTION: Thank you very much for your advice, can i just ask, when i take him back do i have to take him to the vet for treatment or can i use rabbit shampoo or ive heard 'cat mite powder' is very good? also to keep an eye on the mum of this kit, how long before i would notice/see anything, ie, from having a mite on her, to being able to see the 'dandruff'?

ANSWER: Hi,

personally, I'd just take him to the vet because treatments can be different for different kinds of mites.  I would not use any cat or dog product as most are too strong for rabbits and can kill them.  A good rabbit vet will be able to tell you what kind of mite it is and what the treatment protocol will be.  It would also be a good time to discuss with him/her your quarantine setup and the cleaning that will be required going between that area and the rest of your areas, and how to make sure you won't transfer anything on clothing/boots etc when you leave that room.  The vet has to deal with the same issues when they get animals in to their cages and holding areas.

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QUESTION: hi and thanks, sorry just that bit about the mum, not treating her unless necessary, how long if she caught it from the kit, would i see any signs?

Answer
well, I think you'd see it rather quickly, they would be scratching a lot more than normal.  You'd start seeing fur loss and dark residue from the mites.  I would also ask this question to the vet.

You may want to consider this as a indicator to you to perhaps do a good thorough cleaning of your building. I know you don't want an epidemic of anything sweeping through your animals.  But if it's been awhile since you did a good deep clean, maybe now's the time to do that.  It's spring cleaning time anyway.

Not saying that's where it came from, I suspect if none of your other rabbits have this problem, the mites were picked up after the rabbit was out of your building (her house, or pet carrier).