incontinent bunny - EC and panacur

Hi,
We have adopted a rather senior bunny after its owner had to emmigrate and we are novices to bunny care.

Over the last 4 months bunny seems to have become incontinent. It started after a flystrike incident (or possible led to the flystrike incident) soon after bunny arrived.

We completed one 28 day course of panacur (and antibiotics incase it was a bladder infection), which was intererupted part way through for a couple of days due to bunny being ill and not eating. The first treatment seemed to stop the incontinace for a few weeks before it returned. so we started a second 28 course making sure there were no interuptions. However following the end of this course incontinace symptoms have returned very quicky and seriously within a week, meaning that bunny is now requring 'bunny baths' freaquently!

Bunny has not been clinically tested for EC howvere incontinace does clear up totally while the treatment is been given. we did our best to steralise the cage as the course came to an end, but bunny has been running round the house, which may i suppose mean reinfection came from the carpets etc!

so now we are a bit concerned! so;

1.so should we go for another run of panacur for a longer treatment time - I have seem 6 weeks recommended

2. is it possible that the infection is so engrained we may need to treat with panacur indefinitly? (bunny is now 5) - can we do this? if it keeps bunny comfy and safaer from flystrike then we may have to go with this

3. next time should we pay much more attnetion to disinfecting the cage and surrounding areas where bunny sits?

4. how long to EC cysts stay active / contageous for?

Thanks for all your help!

Sorry to hear about your bunny's problems. I suspect you are right that the incontinence led to the flystrike, rather than the other way round. The stress of being rehomed could well have triggered her problems. It sounds like she is lucky to have found a loving home though

Has your bunny had any blood tests to check her kidney function? urine tests would be a good idea too to rule out other causes of incontince such as u.t.i.

Does your bunny have any mobilty or other issues?

E.c. spores are shed in the urine and can survive in the environment for several months. the best way to remove them is to clean the cage, bowls etc in a 10% bleach solution then rinse and dry thoroughly afterwards. Carpets may be steam cleaned.

You could try another 6 week course of panacur but it won't necessarily help. The damage done by e. cuniculi cannot always be undone unfortunately, although many bunnies improve in time. There is at least a theoretical risk of bone marrow damage from using fenbendazole for a long time although I don't know personally of any bunnies that have been diagnosed with this after fenbendazole treatment.

Bedding your bunny on a deep layer of vetbed will help you to keep her clean and comfortable (it's a good idea to get at least two pieces so you can wash one whilst using the other). A litter tray is a good idea too.

I hope your bunny recovers very soon xx