# will ivermectin kill fleas ....



## hailiejade (Dec 7, 2008)

or is it only effective with mites , my vet treated bailey with an ivermectin spot on (xeno 450) for a mite infestation , i was looking through his fur today to see if it had all cleared up or whether he needed another application and i noticed a big black crawly thing in his fur which i am guessing is a flea although i didnt think fleas were that big and this was around the size of a flying ant but definatly not a flying ant


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## Maureen Las (Dec 7, 2008)

Ivermectin is not the usual treatment for fleas. The only product I have ever used is selamectin (revolution) for kitten and puppies. some people use Advantage for kittens. 

Please read these articles

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12922&forum_id=10

the life cyce of the flea is very long and complex and you must safely eliminate fleas from the environment in which the rabbit is living..cage, rugs, straw, hay etc.... in addition to treating the rabbit 

Since your rabbit has already had ivermectin (was it injected?) I am not sure of the safety of applying another product to the rabbit this soon. 

maybe another member can comment ; maybe your vet would know and I will try to find some info myself


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## hailiejade (Dec 7, 2008)

the ivermectin was a spot on treatment applied to back of neck , the vet did it 4 weeks ago and said to re-apply in 2 weeks after he did it which i did then again in another 2 weeks if infestation is still present but if was gone to re-apply in 4 weeks i re-applied it today , will have another look through his fur tomorrow and see if there is still crawlies if there is will prob have to take him for another trip to vets


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## hailiejade (Dec 7, 2008)

how big to fleas tend to be as un-sure it was an actual flea as it was definatly black and about half a cm in size so wondering if it may just be a bug


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## Maureen Las (Dec 7, 2008)

http://www.petmeds.co.uk/p-4115-xeno-450-spot-on.aspx
Xeno 450 is what you used...

they don't specifically state fleas


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## Maureen Las (Dec 7, 2008)

Why don't you get one off your rabbit andplace it in a little bottle and show it to the vet. It may not be a flea.:?


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## Flashy (Dec 7, 2008)

We used it for fleas and it did nothing. The vet may prescribe Xenex and I urge you to steer well clear of that, it killed one of my buns and also has repeatedly had bad reactions in many buns. I believe they can do injections for fleas, of something, can't remember what though.


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## Maureen Las (Dec 7, 2008)

Xenex 450 looks like it just has ivermectin in it???
I'm surprised that it killed your buns unless dosed wrong or has some other ingredient.:?


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## Flashy (Dec 7, 2008)

Not the Xeno, the Xenex. Two different things, made for different uses, just an annoyinlgy similar name. On a UK based forum I'm on it comes up time and time again as causing problems. I've never had a problem with the Xeon 450.

The active ingredient is Permethrin.


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## Flashy (Dec 7, 2008)

http://www.hyperdrug.co.uk/Xenex-Ultra-Spot-On-1ml-pack-of-6-for-small-herbivores/productinfo/XENEXU/

My bun was dosed wrong, which was why she died, but it comes up a lot that the bun gets burnt from it.


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## Maureen Las (Dec 7, 2008)

she used this which is not for fleas as far as I can see

http://www.petmeds.co.uk/p-4115-xeno-450-spot-on.aspx


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## purplepeacock (Dec 7, 2008)

fleas are really tiny. and they jump and are hard to catch. i had a flea on liffey once....thank God only one. poor thing...i haven't had him outside since. i get severe allergic reactions to flea bites so i'm always afraid of getting fleas in the house. but if your bug was that big i doubt it was a flea.


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## AngelnSnuffy (Dec 8, 2008)

As you stated, Ivermectin is normally only prescribed for bunnies with mites, it's also used for horses.

I wouldn't give my bun anything else than what I've read to work and not harm the animal.


Those of you who are seeing/having fleas, you need to use Advantage on the bun you have and others can be used on dogs/cats (Frontline, etc.) You can also get a spray at the vet for your carpet to kill what fleas you may have and any larvae. Vacuum, and done!


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## Flashy (Dec 8, 2008)

*angieluv wrote: *


> she used this which is not for fleas as far as I can see
> 
> http://www.petmeds.co.uk/p-4115-xeno-450-spot-on.aspx


Yeh, I know. My laguage skills are cruddy, but what I was trying to say is that Xeno 450does not work on fleas, but many vets will next try Xenex, which she should steer well clear of. That's all.


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## hailiejade (Dec 8, 2008)

i did see the xenex online but didnt want to risk it as the main ingredient is the same as in some of the house flea sprays which i thought surely should not be used on a rabbit directly , im sure my vet said the xeno 450 would get rid of fleas as i remember asking for the advantage for rabbits incase the problem was fleas rather than mites and he said i just needed the xeno 450 but im sure i read somewhere that ivermectin will kill the larvae but not an adult flea and if that very large bug on bailey was a flea im betting it was an adult one.

think ill give him a call today and get him to have another look at bailey , if it is a flea i doubt ill be able to use anything on him anyway for at least a few weeks as he only had the ivermectun yesterday


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## Flashy (Dec 8, 2008)

I'm glad you didn't get it. That's an interesting fact about the permethrin though.

I am sure that someone (Randy?) said that fleas hate Listerine. If someone can just clarify that I didabsorb that info right then maybe it might be worth putting some on a flannel or something and stroking that over Bailey. Hopefully any fleas would just straihgt off if I have got my facts right (so do it outside, lol).


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## Maureen Las (Dec 8, 2008)

*hailiejade wrote: *


> i did see the xenex online but didnt want to risk it as the main ingredient is the same as in some of the house flea sprays which i thought surely should not be used on a rabbit directly , im sure my vet said the xeno 450 would get rid of fleas as i remember asking for the advantage for rabbits incase the problem was fleas rather than mites and he said i just needed the xeno 450 but im sure i read somewhere that ivermectin will kill the larvae but not an adult flea and if that very large bug on bailey was a flea im betting it was an adult one.
> 
> think ill give him a call today and get him to have another look at bailey , if it is a flea i doubt ill be able to use anything on him anyway for at least a few weeks as he only had the ivermectun yesterday



If this man knows rabbits well he should know this info

are you sure about him....???


As Flashy just said I do think that randy say that fleas flee when listerine is near them...only problem is I don't know about eggs and larvae in the fur. I have never done this myself but might be worth it to pm ra7751 and ask him to post exactly how one does this. 
Reason is ..is that i think that you could use this now despite the use of ivermectin although you wouldn't get listerine on the skin.it is very high in alcohol
i think that he said you place it on a cloth and run it down the fur..not sure though...

Maureen


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## hailiejade (Dec 8, 2008)

he didnt recommend the xenex only the xeno 450 which has the ivermectin at the time we both thought bailey just had mites as he was only showing symptoms of a mite infestation and neither of us found a flea on him , which is why im wondering if it was a random bug , he hasnt been scratching for ages now and theres only a slight bit of flaky skin left , i was looking at different mites online and what i saw could have been a grain mite , that is if they grow that big , the other rabbit doesnt appear to have signs of either mites or fleas but he was treated with ivermectin just in case , i would love to have another look through baileys fur myself but both myself and my 4 month old daughter are highly sensitive to flea bites so i cant go near him unless im covered in insect repellant and then have to shower before going near my daughter so it is only possible to do this once kids are in bed , feel so sorry for bailey hes used to running around everywhere freely and having lots of cuddles and until this infestation is over hes confined to the dining room


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