holland lop parasites

Question
Hi Dana,
And thank you for taking time like this for us :) I have a 4 month old lop that scratches her ears and shakes her head. Nothing drastic but I am trying to fix the problem before it gets worse. So far I have applied some mineral oil once a day in the last 3 days. I use a syringe (w/o the needle) and drop a few drops in her ears and with a cotton swab, I coat the inside of her ears along with the top of the ears and neck. She still scratches and the top of her ears are more red after treatment. Can the mineral oil irritate the exterior part of her ears? I don't see any black nor crusty deposits inside nor outside her ears. Can it be fleas attacking her ears?
Thank you for the help,
Michelle

Answer
Dear Michelle,

> And thank you for taking time like this for us :)
You are very welcome!

Your little guy may have an early case of ear mites or fleas, and mineral oil will not help.  The best and safest treatment for this problem is Revolution (selamectin) from your vet.  It is topical, and kills mites and fleas for about 30 days.  It's fantastic stuff, and we use it all the time with excellent results.  (Do NOT use Frontline, which can be deadly to rabbits).

For complete information on this type of problem (and worse), please see:

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

You can find a good rabbit vet to help you here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

which you'll need, since Revolution can be dispensed only by veterinarians.

I hope this helps!

Dana