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Fly Strike

Ted an Petal

Ted an Petal

Warren Veteran
This is the first i've heard of this. How do you know if your rabbit has got eggs on it and should you be cleaning round their gentils everyday? my rabbits get their litter tray cleared every 3 days is this enough? There never seems to be a load of flies in the hutch like, the odd one. hench the reason i let the spider stay.
 
You should do a bum check everyday to check for eggs, they can hatch within hours. Eggs would be very small white clusters. If you bun has a good diet with plenty of hay and eats all its ceacotophs (sp?!) and has a clean bum then the chances of flystrike are reduced. But its still not unheard of in a clean and healthy bunny. Bum checking every day is the best way to minimise the risk and making sure bunny's bum is clean x
 
Yeah will check them both tonight just to make sure. they mighten like it but tuff luck. Ted is a lionhead and i notice that she has fur stuck round her gentils but not sure how to remove it, i'm doing a regular trim round there for her so sort of thought she'd sort it our herself. taking her to the vets tonight to get her stitches remove so will maybe ask vet to check her.
 
I clean my bunnys litter trays first thing on a mornin befor i go to work, then i check bums n trays when i arrive home at 1, then bring them in around 5pm for a run round the house,clean their trays out again before i lock them up for the night at 9:30pm :)
 
Frig your good, well mine come in at night time like. but does fly strike only happen in the summer? is it related to the weather? I offically hate fly's, they come into your house and like they've this huge open space to fly bout but no they have to get in your house and fly past your ear while your sleeping and frighten the life out of ya., they attack your bunnies which is not on.
 
I too clean their toilet twice a day during the summer months, but always at least once a day at any time of year. They also get bum checks twice a day - morning and night.

I have had the unfortunate experience of one of my bunnies getting this nasty thing so take all precautions I can (she was very ill and was a sitting target). She did survive it but unfortunately we lost her due to the cancer.

Keep some Rearguard in as a precaution at least - this can also be put on if you think you have a bunny which may be at risk or as a general precaution.
 
One of my bunnies also had experience of Fly strike at the weekend. He had been unwell during the week following a dental and consequently had been lying in his own urine. Luckily for him I check them on a morning and on an evening. He was clear in the morning but by late afternoon he was covered in fly eggs and had tiny maggots underneath him. I was shocked at how quickly it had happened. I got most off him and took him to the emergency vet who got everything else off and rear guarded him. I dread to think what would have happened if I hadn't checked him that night to catch it so early. This is the first summer I haven't rear guarded as a standard procedure. I won't take the risk of not doing it from now on, even if I do bum check...it's just peace of mind that if anything else lays any eggs on him at least they won't be able to hatch.
 
charlie82 said:
One of my bunnies also had experience of Fly strike at the weekend. He had been unwell during the week following a dental and consequently had been lying in his own urine. Luckily for him I check them on a morning and on an evening. He was clear in the morning but by late afternoon he was covered in fly eggs and had tiny maggots underneath him. I was shocked at how quickly it had happened. I got most off him and took him to the emergency vet who got everything else off and rear guarded him. I dread to think what would have happened if I hadn't checked him that night to catch it so early. This is the first summer I haven't rear guarded as a standard procedure. I won't take the risk of not doing it from now on, even if I do bum check...it's just peace of mind that if anything else lays any eggs on him at least they won't be able to hatch.
Click to expand...


Blimey poor bun. It does happen so quick doesn't it? Our bun who is unwell and having treatment for leukemia at mo is prone to getting a bit wet or bit messy and we had him rearguarded cos I was very worried about flies. Such horrible things. And maggots are just The Worst ever :evil:
Glad your bun is ok. x x
 
I have only recently got a rabbit and just heard of this. im a little worried as we think he may not have had the best home prior to us (he was a free to good home bunny in a plastic cage)
i am working really hard to gain his trust by slowly befriending him and not being too hands on, but i just dont know what to do for the best. i want to check him regularly but short of pinning him down i cant check. i know this is really important so im in a dilemma, do i do the check everyday and risk losing his trust.

what would you guys do? is there anything i can do as a preventative that isnt so invasive.
i do know how important this is so will do whatever it takes, just wanted to see how others dealt with it with nervous buns?
 
have you ever tried rear guard this is quite good for helping to prevent fly strike. Don't forget overweight bunnies find it harder to groom and clean themselves so are at an increased risk of fly strike even if they are kept in a wellcleaned hutch
 
I have had a bunny with flystrike before and it was the worst thing I had ever seen.

I now use rear guard which is now available at pet shops
 
One of my rabbits is very easy to check as he will lie in my arms like a baby and go asleep.:love::love:

The other does not like being held or picked up. What I tend to do with her is to give her nose rubs to try and gain her trust, then lean right over her so her back is supported by my body, put one hand between her front paws and the other under her bum an hold her close to me to ensure her back is secure. I then slide her into the "baby" position to give her a check. She looks petrified but it I do check her as quick as I can.
 
i check mine every few days but clean litter trays every day, i have them reargaurded every 8weeks from april through to aruond october a that seems to be the worst time for it... rear garud is prescription only from vet and goes on bums back bum and under tum on fur... it soaks into skin and stops any eggs from hatching thus preventing maggots which is a horrible expeieriance i have had once only thank god they did manage to save my bun but at the time i thought she was a gonner.xx
 
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