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Could hay carry Myxi???

Sara0099

Young Bun
Not sure where to place this thread so I apologise if it’s in the wrong place! I don’t know if I dreamt what I am about to ask! Or if I read it somewhere...! My question is, could hay carry Myxi? For example, Hay purchased from a farm that hasn’t been ‘cleaned’ properly (hay not farm)? As it could/could it contain insects, fleas, mosquitoes etc carrying the Myxoma virus. My little bun was diagnosed with Myxi on Friday & I just remembered in late August-September I gave her hay bought from a farm. This has really been playing on my mind....
 
Myxi is transfered by blood sucking insects not contact with things like hay. I suppose there is a very small chance there was a blood sucking insect sat in the hay but they would not live in hay. Fleas live on animals and mossy's usually near water. An insect could just have easily have sat on a bag of hay you brought from a pet shop :)

I think the maximum myxi incubation is 14 days so end of August is way out of the time period.

It's much more likely an insect was passing through your house/garden and there was no way you could have prevented it.

On the other hand I bet your bunny really enjoyed the farm hay :)
 
Thank-you that has really put my mind at ease. I began to think it was my fault :( Btw, yeah she did LOVE the farm bought hay!!!!!:love:
 
Still not your fault though, I've known lots of people who have had to treat piggies for mites they got from pet shop hay so its not because you bought it at a farm that the prob. Just unlucky I guess.
 
Fleas don't live on hay they need blood :? If they haven't had any blood they aren't a threat. I suppose flea eggs could get caught up in hay but again as it's the blood that carries the myxi they wouldn't be infectious.

I'm really not convinced about mites either. As far as I understand they don't deliberately drop off in the middle of their life cycle so the odds of one biting an infected rabbit, getting knocked off my mistake, landing on a bit of hay, surviving in storage, climbing back on to another rabbit and biting it sounds a bit unlikely. They are usually transmitted from host to host with close contact eg sleeping next to each other or sharing a sleeping area eg one drops into the bedding, another rabbit comes in and it climbs on.
 
In any case, all rabbits need hay...all hay comes from farms initially, it's just a case of whether you buy it from the farm or pay a premium to have it bagged up and sold to you via a pet shop! You can't avoid it in any case - if some farm hay has mites, then so does some pet shop hay which originates from farms!
 
Fleas don't live on hay they need blood :? If they haven't had any blood they aren't a threat. I suppose flea eggs could get caught up in hay but again as it's the blood that carries the myxi they wouldn't be infectious.

I'm really not convinced about mites either. As far as I understand they don't deliberately drop off in the middle of their life cycle so the odds of one biting an infected rabbit, getting knocked off my mistake, landing on a bit of hay, surviving in storage, climbing back on to another rabbit and biting it sounds a bit unlikely. They are usually transmitted from host to host with close contact eg sleeping next to each other or sharing a sleeping area eg one drops into the bedding, another rabbit comes in and it climbs on.

I think the likehood of the Myxi origionating from the hay is minimal but its not impossible. But as Santa stated all hay comes from a Farm and so buying direct from a Farm is no more 'risky' than buying from a Petshop.

With regards to Cheyletiella Fur Mites this was copied from the RWAF Health Info' Site under 'Skin problems in Rabbits'

'The sources of Cheyletiella infection are hotly debated. Many vets suspect that many bunnies have low grade infestations that are not detectable at all until either something triggers the mite population to flare up from time to time, or the rabbit can no longer keep the mite population in check by effective grooming.
Cheyletiella mites travel on hay, and can carry myxomatosis.'
 
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