Ear mites in rabbits: signs and treatment at home

Psoroptosis, or psorioptic scabies - an unpleasant skin disease of animals. Ear mites in domestic rabbits are caused by Psoroptes cuniculi mites. These external parasites most often settle inside the auricles of the animal, affecting the auditory canals. Outbreaks of psoroptosis can occur at any time of the year, but are most common in late winter or spring. Animals of all ages are susceptible to infection, but females with offspring are especially vulnerable.

Ways of infection with ear mites and its developmental phases

The disease is most often transmitted from a sick animal to a he althy one.Skin scales fall off the ears of sick individuals. They can get directly on the coat of he althy rabbits. Very often, ticks get on the bedding, household items, and then move on to the inhabitants of the cage. In some cases, the person himself transfers the pathogen from animal to animal. A sick mother infects her young rabbits.

Risk factors are:

congested content;
high indoor humidity;
frequent rearrangement of animals;
non-compliance with quarantine regulations;
bad feeding.

Tick development begins after the fertilized female lays eggs. To keep them from rolling, she glues them with a special secret.

Further development of the rabbit ear mite includes the following phases:

The larva. She emerges from the egg after 4 days. It feeds on secretions in the animal's auricle for 5 days. After that comes the molt.
Protonymph, or nymph of the first age. The stage lasts about 5 days.
Deutonymph. At this stage, the sexual organs are formed. Duration - 5 days.
Imago, or adult tick. At this stage, fertilized females lay eggs, while males continue fertilization.

The life span of pathogens of ear scabies at a temperature of + 35 degrees and high humidity does not exceed 60 days.

Important! The life cycle of males is 14 days, females - 16. Therefore, males are able to fertilize females already at the stage of nymphs.

Signs and symptoms of parasites

The initial stage of the disease can occur without visible symptoms. This period lasts from one and a half weeks to a month. You can identify the first signs with a regular examination of the ears of the animal. The appearance of visible individual foci of reddening of the skin, an increase in ear discharge is a cause for concern.Skin scrapings can confirm the diagnosis.

No complications

If the disease in the ears proceeds without complications, then you can guess about its appearance by the inside of the ear. She always looks dirty and sticky.

Under the plaque, one can distinguish individual reddened areas and nodules with liquid. If no action is taken at this stage, the disease may be complicated by various unpleasant symptoms.

With complications

If ear scabies occurs with complications, then the following symptoms appear:

the animal is worried and almost non-stop scratching its ears, shaking its head, rubbing it against the walls of the cage;
ears covered with brown crusts inside and out, the affected areas are visible on the neck, back, paws;
loses appetite, sometimes not eating at all;
flowing from eyes and nose.

Very often there are such dangerous complications as the abandonment of offspring by nursing rabbits and the development of tumors.

At an advanced stage, numerous pathogens can be detected on particles of the epidermis with a magnifying glass or microscope.

Treatment rules

Proper treatment starts with a diagnosis. To do this, all suspicious animals must be examined by a veterinarian. He will take scrapings for laboratory research. If the diagnosis is confirmed, the specialist will select drugs for sick animals. Self-treatment can be started only if it is impossible to seek veterinary help.

Drug use

Ear mites can be effectively treated with drugs. An animal specialist or owner selects external agents aimed at the destruction of scabies pathogens.

Effective against him:

"Acaromectin" - a spray based on ivermectin. Causes paralysis and death of ticks. Quite popular with amateur rabbit breeders.
Aversectyl ointment - based on aversectin-s, an ointment specially developed for rabbits.
"Neostomazan" is an effective drug against many types of ticks.
"Butox" - is available as a broad-spectrum concentrate. It is used for spraying animals after diluting 50 ml in a liter of water. Highly toxic.

All drugs require compliance with the instructions for use and safety rules.

Folk remedies and recipes

At home, in addition to pharmaceutical preparations, you can use folk remedies. If it is not possible to buy a ready-made preparation against ear mites, then you can combine kerosene with vegetable oil in equal amounts and lubricate the affected areas with this compound every other day.

A mixture of an alcoholic solution of iodine with oil or glycerin has a similar effect. It helps to instill camphor oil into the ears with a syringe without a needle.

Prevention measures

It is easier to prevent a disease than to spend money and effort on its treatment later. The main preventive measures are to maintain a good sanitary condition on the farm. It is advisable to disinfect cages and enclosures where animals are kept at least once a season in regions that are unfavorable for the disease. If there are no cases of diseases, then the frequency of treatments can be reduced to one every six months. The procedure is carried out before the round. For these purposes, metal cages should be burned with a blowtorch.

Whitewash wooden structures with slaked lime with the addition of "Whiteness" or ammonia. Feeders, scrapers and other equipment are also washed with a bleach solution.Newly acquired animals must undergo mandatory quarantine. If a newcomer appears on the farm, for preventive purposes it must be kept separately for 14 days.