Fly-strike in rabbits
We have seen a couple of rabbits at work this week with Fly-strike. This is a particularly horrible condition that rabbits get and I thought that I would write a short article about it in the hope of making as many rabbit owners aware of this condition as possible.
With fly-strike adult Blowflies are attracted to rabbits’ bottoms and lay their eggs on and around them. These eggs then hatch into maggots, which in turn can cause tremendous damage to the skin in this area. It is often only a matter of hours for this whole process to take place and if severe, it is not uncommon for a rabbit to die from fly-stike.
Poor husbandry, overweight rabbits (which are unable to turn around to clean their bottoms), arthritic older rabbits and rabbits that have diarrhoea are most at risk but it can happen to any rabbit - even the most fit and healthy of rabbits! It is particularly common in the hot summer months which is probably why we have seen a couple this week.
Make sure that you keep your rabbits’ hutch nice and clean and dry and if your rabbit gets diarrhoea try and slow down on feeding greens.
It is also really important to check your rabbits bottom at least twice a day
There is a product called Rearguard which comes in the form of a shoe polish applicator and you sponge it on to the fur on the area around the rabbits bottom. One application will last upto 10 weeks and although it doesn’t prevent the Blowflies from laying eggs it does stop any maggots from developing and it is these maggots that cause the damage. It is well worth considering using a product such as Rearguard, especially in rabbits that are more prone to fly-strike.
If you have any questions on fly-strike please feel free to ask.
Sarah
May 28th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
Two weekes ago, ignorance turned from bliss into horror. We had 3 rabbits. Now we only have two. I live in Rhodes, Greece. The weather suddenley got very hot. One of the rabbits didn’t come running as usual when she heard the food bag. As It was very hot on the ground around their hutch, I put up an umbrella and decided to wait until the sun moved before getting her out of the hutch. My plan was to clean the hutch anyway and if she was still not feeling well, visit the vet during his afternoon clinic. A little while later she began to eat so I wasn’t particularly worried and left any further investigation (I thought) for the vet later. When I took her out of the hutch a few hours later, her belly was swarming with maggots. They had eaten all her soft belly skin and were crawling about inside her. The vet put her to sleep. She had been suffering with wry neck for 2 1/2 years so we regularly washed her bottom as she couldn’t do it herself. I still feel so terrible that it could have perhaps been avoided if only I had looked at her earlier, or put a mosquito net over the hutch as I have now. My vet said if we inject the remaining rabbits with IVOMEC that should protect them. I hope so. I will ask him if Rearguard is available in Greece. Thank you for the information.