do you worm your bunnys???

The vet said I should do it 4 times a year x

yes but I normally only do it twice a year

No never, because my vet who is very bunny savvy and only works with rabbits, has explained to me that rabbits don't tend to get worms like cats and dogs do, and a lot of natural food stuff that bunnies eat, such as carrots, actually contain some worm killing whatever (can't remember the proper name he called it). If your bunny ever develops head tilt, or EC, the only treatment for it is the Panacur wormer, but if used regularly, bunny's can become immune to it and then the only probable option you would have is pts.

So in short, chances of your bunny getting worms if looked after and fed correctly is practically zero. Chances of your bunny catching EC, developing head tilt is very high, and then you will have no treatment for it.

I would always err on the side of caution with vets that recommend worming, as that kind of implies that they aren't very specialised with rabbits.

No I don't - and my rabbit-savvy vet has never suggested it.
I don't routinely dose them with anything - I consider it to be a bit like the over-prescribing of antibiotics for people which can lead to them not being effective.

No, never.

Interestingly, a young vet at my practice asked that a couple of weeks back. She looked at me disapprovingly when I said "no". At the time, I was wondering. Thanks for posting this. I may mention it to the vet I normally see there

Nope my rabbit savvy vet hasn't recommended it either, and Dee is the only rabbit to have ever had worms (once) and she is 6yrs old.

RogerRabbit999 said:

No never, because my vet who is very bunny savvy and only works with rabbits, has explained to me that rabbits don't tend to get worms like cats and dogs do, and a lot of natural food stuff that bunnies eat, such as carrots, actually contain some worm killing whatever (can't remember the proper name he called it). If your bunny ever develops head tilt, or EC, the only treatment for it is the Panacur wormer, but if used regularly, bunny's can become immune to it and then the only probable option you would have is pts.

So in short, chances of your bunny getting worms if looked after and fed correctly is practically zero. Chances of your bunny catching EC, developing head tilt is very high, and then you will have no treatment for it.

I would always err on the side of caution with vets that recommend worming, as that kind of implies that they aren't very specialised with rabbits.

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Exactly what our vet says. X

Never in 14 years and my rabbit savvy vet has never mentioned it either.

RogerRabbit999 said:

No never, because my vet who is very bunny savvy and only works with rabbits, has explained to me that rabbits don't tend to get worms like cats and dogs do, and a lot of natural food stuff that bunnies eat, such as carrots, actually contain some worm killing whatever (can't remember the proper name he called it). If your bunny ever develops head tilt, or EC, the only treatment for it is the Panacur wormer, but if used regularly, bunny's can become immune to it and then the only probable option you would have is pts.

So in short, chances of your bunny getting worms if looked after and fed correctly is practically zero. Chances of your bunny catching EC, developing head tilt is very high, and then you will have no treatment for it.

I would always err on the side of caution with vets that recommend worming, as that kind of implies that they aren't very specialised with rabbits.

Click to expand...

I must admit I wasn't impressed with her, the previous vets Ive had there have been great. But she seemed very mechanical in her ways and her check up of Tonic was extremely brief, so brief I missed her checking teeth and I was watching him! :shock:

RogerRabbit999 said:

No never, because my vet who is very bunny savvy and only works with rabbits, has explained to me that rabbits don't tend to get worms like cats and dogs do, and a lot of natural food stuff that bunnies eat, such as carrots, actually contain some worm killing whatever (can't remember the proper name he called it). If your bunny ever develops head tilt, or EC, the only treatment for it is the Panacur wormer, but if used regularly, bunny's can become immune to it and then the only probable option you would have is pts.

So in short, chances of your bunny getting worms if looked after and fed correctly is practically zero. Chances of your bunny catching EC, developing head tilt is very high, and then you will have no treatment for it.

I would always err on the side of caution with vets that recommend worming, as that kind of implies that they aren't very specialised with rabbits.

Click to expand...

Yep, totally agree with this!

Totally agree with the above. My vet doesn't recommend worming, but they do recommend washing all greens before giving to your rabbtis as apparently this can lower the odds of giving them worms in the first place (?)

I have wormed my bunnies yes, last year, but not this year and for a couple of reasons. Giving oral medication is very stressful for a rabbit especially one of mine as she's not stupid and won't take panacur on food (I can fool her with metacam as this soaks into pellets - and even then sometimes she refuses) so I have to give it to her via the syringe. So no, I haven't this year. I do check their poo twice daily when I change the litter tray so keep a check this way (not that the worms are obvious anyway). If their behaviour changed or they became unwell and the vet wasn't sure if worms were to blame, then yes of course I would. But would you take a painkiller if you weren't in any pain? No. So why worm when there aren't any - as far as I am aware, panacur is not a preventative; it's a treatment.

Hesperus said:

Totally agree with the above. My vet doesn't recommend worming, but they do recommend washing all greens before giving to your rabbtis as apparently this can lower the odds of giving them worms in the first place (?)

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Really, didn't realise that, but I do always wash greens first, in case they might have been sprayed with something.

moi said:

I must admit I wasn't impressed with her, the previous vets Ive had there have been great. But she seemed very mechanical in her ways and her check up of Tonic was extremely brief, so brief I missed her checking teeth and I was watching him! :shock:

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I'd have refused to pay until my bunny had been given a 'thorough' check up. My bunny's check up's are usually 20-30 minutes, by the time we've discussed whoever he is seeing. My vet will always put them on the floor as well, to observe how they move. It was during Dipsy's first check up with Simon, that he could see he was a 'special needs' bunny and had neurological issues, because when he was moving about, I could then see, that yes he was actually a bit wobbly, and that his head whilst moving, constantly nodded up and down. Don't even want to think about how many vets would have seen Dipsy probably throughout his whole life, and never discovered that themselves :roll:

If I'd realised, I could have called him Churchill, after the advert with the nodding dog :lol::lol:

I asked her to check the teeth again, I also had to ask her to look at his claws and cut them for me. She said they were fine but she would trim the edges. Even I could see they needed doing.

Such a shame really that some vets are rubbish x

I've only wormed Benjie once when there were some obvious pin worms on his pooh on arrival.
Apparently they're a different species to the ones that humans can get. I certainly didn't catch them from Benjie!!
My vet didn't advise a worming programme afterwards either.

My excellent bunny savvy vet never advised that Thumper should be wormed.

Benjie soon discovered how to deworm himself from any recurrence before I saw any signs at all. About every 3 months he hops into the box where I keep dried blackthorn leaves, has a munch, & next day maybe 6 very dead pin worms come out. He hasn't done this for over 8 months now.
It is also said that giving thyme regularly, as a treat prevents worms, but I've not tried it.

Personally I see no point in stressing him out with panacure for a condition that neither affects him adversely, nor any other family member, especially when he's found his own solution.

Cats & dogs have totally different types of worms which can occasionally present serious issues in humans. I agree with a regular worming program in that very different situation only.

I have never wormed any of my guys and my vet is very rabbit savvy so I trust his advice.