What are the preventive measures for rabbit mange? A must-read for rabbit keepers
Rabbit mange, also known as rabbit acariasis, is an external parasitic disease caused by sarcoptic mites or psoroptic mites that live on the surface of the rabbit's body. The disease has a wide reach and a high incidence rate, and is a major disease of rabbits in winter and spring. It is highly contagious, and if not treated in time, affected rabbits can die from gradual emaciation and weakness, making it extremely harmful. Here is an introduction to the disease based on practical experience.
Disease characteristics
Rabbit mange occurs mainly in winter and in late autumn and early spring, because in these seasons sunlight is insufficient and the rabbit's fur is long and dense; it is especially likely to occur when the rabbit hutch is damp and sanitation is poor. It spreads through direct contact between healthy rabbits and affected rabbits, or through indirect contact with contaminated materials such as hutches and equipment contaminated by mites. Rabbits of all breeds are susceptible, but thin and weak rabbits and young rabbits are the most susceptible, and the disease is also more severe in them.
Clinical symptoms
When a rabbit develops mange, intense itching occurs first; this is the main symptom throughout the entire course of the disease, and the itching becomes even more severe when the affected rabbit enters a warm place or when skin temperature rises after activity. When a rabbit is infected with psoroptic mites, redness and swelling occur near the base of the ear at the beginning of the disease, followed by peeling of the skin, sometimes with exudate discharge; after the exudate dries it forms yellow scabs that fill the ear canal like a rolled-up piece of paper. The affected rabbit's ears droop, it shakes its head constantly, and it scratches its ears with its paws; in severe cases the disease spreads to the ethmoid bone or the brain, causing epileptic frenzy. When a rabbit is infected with sarcoptic mites, the disease first appears around the mouth, nostrils, and paws, then gradually spreads to the bridge of the nose, the eye rims, and other areas. The affected rabbit constantly bites its paws with its mouth or scratches its mouth, nostrils, and other areas with its legs; in severe cases it shows special postures such as scratching the ground with the front feet and scratching with the hind feet. Grayish-white scabs appear on the paws, the affected rabbit's mouth swells, feeding is affected, it rapidly becomes emaciated, and finally dies of exhaustion.
Pathological changes
The pathological changes of this disease are mainly in the skin. Hair loss occurs in the affected area, papules or blisters appear, and grayish-white scabs gradually form. As the disease progresses, the skin in the affected area gradually thickens, loses elasticity, and forms wrinkles.
Diagnosis
For mange with obvious symptoms, diagnosis is not difficult based on the season of onset, intense itching, and changes in the skin of the affected area. For cases with unobvious symptoms, scabs should be scraped from the affected area and examined for the presence of mites to confirm the diagnosis. The method of scraping skin debris is very important: choose the junction between affected skin and healthy skin, clip the hair, and scrape until slight bleeding occurs, then collect the material in a petri dish or test tube for examination.
Direct microscopic examination
Place the scraped skin debris on a glass slide, add a few drops of kerosene, cover with a coverslip, and press and rub so that the material spreads out; wait until the skin debris becomes transparent, then examine under the microscope.
Mite concentration method: take a relatively large amount of diseased material, place it in a test tube, add 10% sodium hydroxide solution, soak overnight or boil, and after the hair, scabs, and other material have dissolved, let it stand for 20 minutes or centrifuge at 2000 rpm for 5 minutes, discard the supernatant, and aspirate the sediment for microscopic examination.
Prevention and treatment
Prevention of mange mainly involves isolating affected rabbits and thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting the environment and equipment. Rabbit hutches should be cleaned frequently, disinfected regularly, and kept dry, well-lit, and well-ventilated. Newly purchased breeding rabbits must undergo strict quarantine and can only be raised together after being confirmed disease-free. The rabbit herd should be checked frequently; once affected rabbits are found, they should be isolated and treated promptly, and the cages, equipment, and contaminated environment of affected rabbits should be thoroughly disinfected.
There are many treatment methods for rabbit mange. Based on many years of clinical practice, the author has found that during treatment, in order to allow the drug to fully contact the mites, the hair on and around the affected area should be cut off, scabs and dirt removed, and the affected area thoroughly scrubbed with 5% warm soapy water or 0.1%-0.2% potassium permanganate or 2% Lysol solution; after drying, apply the medication. In addition, because most drugs have no killing effect on mite eggs, medication should be repeated 2-3 times at intervals of 5-7 days to kill newly hatched larvae and achieve a complete cure. The commonly used drugs are as follows:
(1) For ear mange, iodine glycerin (3 parts iodine tincture, 7 parts glycerin) or sulfur oil preparation (a mixture of equal amounts of sulfur turpentine and vegetable oil) can be dropped into the ear, once daily for 3 consecutive days.
(2) Soak 50 grams of cut tobacco in 500 milliliters of edible vinegar for 24 hours, then use the soak solution to scrub the affected area, twice daily for 5 consecutive days.
(3) Add 20 grams of realgar to 100 milliliters of soybean oil after bringing the soybean oil to a boil, stir evenly, and apply once every other day for 2-3 consecutive times.
(4) Scrub the affected area with 2% trichlorfon solution, twice daily for 3 consecutive days.
(5) Apply litsea cubeba oil to the affected area; 1-2 applications are sufficient.