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stray bunny care, skin trouble and litter training

22 10:18:17

Question
Hi Dana,
I was driving up the street about 2 weeks ago and saw a weird looking ground hog.  Then I stopped the car and realized it was a lop eared bunny.  I picked him up and took him home and put him in our outdoor hutch (we have a great dane so he is not going to be a house bunny.) He was really skinny and his fur was looking really nasty lots of bald spots and dust on his skin.  I have been combing him and his fur is looking better. He is putting on weight eating pellets, timothy hay and sassafras leaves What should I do other than offer a good diet to improve his skin?
Also do you have litter training advice? he in going in the hutch part of the coop now.  My last bunny was a mini lop and trained really easily.  I have put a bin in his hutch with shavings and some poop but he goes all around the bin not in the bin.
Thanks in advance
Bun-Buns new mom


Answer
Dear Eileen,

Aw, poor Bun Bun!  It's not unlikely that he has a case of mange, and this can easily and safely be treated with Revolution (selamectin) from a good rabbit vet:

www.rabbit.org/vets

You can read more here:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/furloss.html

DO NOT use Frontline, which is deadly to rabbits.  And I would give him Revolution even if the vet can't see mites, as they often are hard to find.  A stray bunny like this with bad skin almost *always* has mites that need a good treatment before the bunny's immune system can keep them under control.

Good bunny diet can be found here:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/diet.html

He's not likely to have good litterbox habits until he's neutered:

www.rabbit.org/health/spay.html

but you can find training tips here:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/training.html

And before you give up on his being a house bunny, be sure to read this, on introducing dogs and rabbits:

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/1/dogs.html

Dogs and bunnies can be great pals, given the right training and introductions.  It all depends on the personalities and your willingness to give it a try.  :)

Good luck!

Dana