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This question was provided by Manson Publishing as part of the OVAL Project. See more Small Mammals questions |
A rabbit living in an outdoor hutch is constantly shaking its head and scratching its ears. There is crusting in the external ear canal. On physical examination, the skin under the crusts is erythematous and moist. The organism shown is found on a mineral oil scraping of the debris.
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| What is the organism and is it responsible for the head shaking and ear scratching? | The rabbit ear mite, Psoroptes cuniculi, which causes inflammation and crusting in the external ear canal. This condition is sometimes called ‘canker’.
Identify Psoroptes mites by their long legs with suckers on a long, jointed stalk on pairs 1, 2, and 4 in the female and 1, 2, and 3 in the male. |
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| How would you treat this condition? | With ivermectin placed directly into the ear canal over the lesion at 10–14 day intervals for three doses. The ears do not need to be cleaned because the ulcerations will heal and the crusts fall out within 10–14 days of the initial treatment.
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