• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

  • Please Note - Medical Advice

    Please keep in mind that posts on this forum are from members of the public sharing personal opinions. It is not a replacement for qualified medical advice from a veterinarian. Many illnesses share similar symptoms but require different treatments. A medical exam is necessary for an accurate diagnosis, without which appropriate treatment cannot be given.

    You should always consult your vet before following any suggestions for medication or treatment you have read about. The wrong treatment could make your rabbit worse or mean your vet is unable to give the correct treatment because of drug interactions. Even non prescription drugs can do harm if given inappropriately.

    We are very grateful to members who take time to answer other members questions, but please do be clear in your replies that you are sharing personal experience and not giving instructions on what must be done.

    Urgent Medical Advice: If you need, or think you might need, urgent medical advice you should contact a vet. If it is out of working hours phone your vet's normal number and there should be an answer phone message with instructions on what to do.

Rabbit had flystrike :(

R

rocko

New Kit
Found some maggots on my little bun last Saturday. We went to the vet and got it treated but I ended up finding a bunch yesterday too. We took him back to the vet in the evening and they clipped him and removed the maggots, but they had eaten away at the flesh a little bit :( The vet seemed to think it was fine for him to go home- we just needed to check him several times a day and stay vigilant about flies. Anyway, I checked the wound today (feel like I should probe it for maggots but I really don't want to risk infection/further pain) and it seems to be oozing a milky substance. I know the wound won't magically be healed a day later, but I was just wondering if any of you know whether this is part of the usual healing process? My rabbit seems happy; he is eating and purrs when I stroke him, but I hope this wound is alright. I also sniffed it and it doesn't reek or anything like that.

Any advice would be welcome. Thanks.
 
Last edited:
Oh- he has also been given antibiotics (though he did dribble some down his chin :/ ) He's seeing the vet tomorrow too.
 
Last edited:
So sorry to hear about your rabbit :(

I don't know about the healing process but would just say that, especially during the summer months, it is so important to check your rabbit several times a day. I used to comb through my outdoor rabbits fur with a nit comb and I did, once, find fly eggs on her fur.

Is there anyway you could keep him indoors? far less risk.
 
Sorry about your bunny.
It's a normal reaction every time I've seen flystrike.
I'm amazed they let you take bunny home, normally I would have asked for him to stay in for a night so they could keep cleaning the area as more eggs hatch out.

It may be worth asking for something to clean the wound with twice a day as the discharge will likely attract more flies.

It may also be worth discussing pain relief with your vets. Rabbits are so good at hiding pain, it may be better to offer some pain relief to help keep bunny eating.

If you can move bunny inside while he heals that'd be best as you've more chance of preventing flies.

Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk
 
I would definitely ask for continued pain relief and keep him inside while he has open wounds. Whatever attracted the flies to him in the first place needs dealing with, and open wounds will attract flies anyway. Maggot infestations are incredibly painful - hence the pain relief. Ongoing antibiotics would be a good idea, as would something like F10 spray which would kill any remaining eggs, etc. You can't use Rearguard on open wounds and it needs reapplying if the animal gets wet.

Rabbits go into shock really quickly - you need to keep a very close eye on him over the next week or two. It is essential that he eats / drinks / wees and poos as normal. Most rabbits in this situation would, unfortunately, not have made it this far. Sometimes the best advice is to PTS due the horrific side effects of flystrike. I lost one several days later due to shock, and it was not as advanced as yours.

F10 Wound Spray with Insecticide:
http://www.meadowsah.com/home/f10-treatment-products.html
Note - it is toxic to cats - so don't use where cats may have contact.
 
rocko said:
Found some maggots on my little bun last Saturday. We went to the vet and got it treated but I ended up finding a bunch yesterday too. We took him back to the vet in the evening and they clipped him and removed the maggots, but they had eaten away at the flesh a little bit :( The vet seemed to think it was fine for him to go home- we just needed to check him several times a day and stay vigilant about flies. Anyway, I checked the wound today (feel like I should probe it for maggots but I really don't want to risk infection/further pain) and it seems to be oozing a milky substance. I know the wound won't magically be healed a day later, but I was just wondering if any of you know whether this is part of the usual healing process? My rabbit seems happy; he is eating and purrs when I stroke him, but I hope this wound is alright. I also sniffed it and it doesn't reek or anything like that.

Any advice would be welcome. Thanks.
Click to expand...

I'm glad to see he's been given antibiotics, as given the circumstances they would be necessary. Rabbits can also be given pain relief, but that's very much at the discretion of the vet.

I wouldn't spray anything like F10 on him, but that would be your choice of course. It has been known to scald and burn bunnies' skin, and it could really damage an open wound. (Lots of cases on here of that)

Are you keeping him indoors?

Welcome to the Forum by the way :wave:
 
MightyMax;6805580 I wouldn't spray anything like F10 on him said:
Any adverse reactions should be reported back to the manufacturer / your vet - it is supplied for cases just like this so shouldn't cause problems. I've had no reactions and have used it on open wounds where there was nothing else available. It has been a lifesaver for a couple of my rabbits.
Click to expand...
 
rocko said:
Found some maggots on my little bun last Saturday. We went to the vet and got it treated but I ended up finding a bunch yesterday too. We took him back to the vet in the evening and they clipped him and removed the maggots, but they had eaten away at the flesh a little bit :( The vet seemed to think it was fine for him to go home- we just needed to check him several times a day and stay vigilant about flies. Anyway, I checked the wound today (feel like I should probe it for maggots but I really don't want to risk infection/further pain) and it seems to be oozing a milky substance. I know the wound won't magically be healed a day later, but I was just wondering if any of you know whether this is part of the usual healing process? My rabbit seems happy; he is eating and purrs when I stroke him, but I hope this wound is alright. I also sniffed it and it doesn't reek or anything like that.

Any advice would be welcome. Thanks.
Click to expand...

Poor Bunny, I too am a bit surprised that the Vet didn't admit your Rabbit, but I guess the Vet had their reasons for not doing so.

You may find it useful to take a look at these links:

http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/resources/content/leaflet_pdfs/flystrike_sep_05.pdf

*WARNING- Graphic images on this link*

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases/Parasitic/Myiasis/Miyasis_fly.htm
 
Thank you everyone for your advice and support! I really appreciate it.

*lily* said:
So sorry to hear about your rabbit :(

I don't know about the healing process but would just say that, especially during the summer months, it is so important to check your rabbit several times a day. I used to comb through my outdoor rabbits fur with a nit comb and I did, once, find fly eggs on her fur.

Is there anyway you could keep him indoors? far less risk.
Click to expand...

You're right, I've learned that the hard way. I think the best thing will be to keep the fur round his genitals/anus clipped and groom him often. Although he's my rabbit, I still live with my parents and they don't want him to stay indoors. During the daytime I am keeping him in the kitchen to monitor him and try and minimize the amount of flies around him. I googled it and apparently the majority of flies aren't active at night time so he should be okay in the late evening. I've also ordered several rolls of mosquito net which are on their way.


daphnephoebe said:
Sorry about your bunny.
It's a normal reaction every time I've seen flystrike.
I'm amazed they let you take bunny home, normally I would have asked for him to stay in for a night so they could keep cleaning the area as more eggs hatch out.

It may be worth asking for something to clean the wound with twice a day as the discharge will likely attract more flies.

It may also be worth discussing pain relief with your vets. Rabbits are so good at hiding pain, it may be better to offer some pain relief to help keep bunny eating.

If you can move bunny inside while he heals that'd be best as you've more chance of preventing flies.

Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk
Click to expand...




Shimmer said:
I would definitely ask for continued pain relief and keep him inside while he has open wounds. Whatever attracted the flies to him in the first place needs dealing with, and open wounds will attract flies anyway. Maggot infestations are incredibly painful - hence the pain relief. Ongoing antibiotics would be a good idea, as would something like F10 spray which would kill any remaining eggs, etc. You can't use Rearguard on open wounds and it needs reapplying if the animal gets wet.

Rabbits go into shock really quickly - you need to keep a very close eye on him over the next week or two. It is essential that he eats / drinks / wees and poos as normal. Most rabbits in this situation would, unfortunately, not have made it this far. Sometimes the best advice is to PTS due the horrific side effects of flystrike. I lost one several days later due to shock, and it was not as advanced as yours.

F10 Wound Spray with Insecticide:
http://www.meadowsah.com/home/f10-treatment-products.html
Note - it is toxic to cats - so don't use where cats may have contact.
Click to expand...


Ah man, I really hope no more hatch out. I've checked the area twice this morning already and it seems maggot free at the moment. Because he has a tendency to soil himself I'm going to dampen a cloth and clean his bottom a bit later (and keep him inside until it dries.) Providing it's not too painful, I might flush the wound. I don't have any medication for cleaning so I hope water will do until I can ask the vet tomorrow (can also ask about F10 spray too- thanks for the suggestion.) The vet gave us some pain relief and he's now completed the dose. Still waiting for the Rearguard to be mailed :/ I hope we remembered the correct amount as it seemed to go quite quickly :/ If he shows any signs of distress I will contact the vet.

Also, I'm sorry to hear about your bunny Shimmer. I'm going to try my best with mine but I know sometimes it really is out of our control.


Jack's-Jane said:
Poor Bunny, I too am a bit surprised that the Vet didn't admit your Rabbit, but I guess the Vet had their reasons for not doing so.

You may find it useful to take a look at these links:

http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/resources/content/leaflet_pdfs/flystrike_sep_05.pdf

*WARNING- Graphic images on this link*

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases/Parasitic/Myiasis/Miyasis_fly.htm
Click to expand...



Yeah, I'm not sure why she didn't admit him. As long as he seems happy and relatively healthy (and also providing the wound doesn't get infected), I will keep him here. Thank you for the links!
 
MightyMax said:
I'm glad to see he's been given antibiotics, as given the circumstances they would be necessary. Rabbits can also be given pain relief, but that's very much at the discretion of the vet.

I wouldn't spray anything like F10 on him, but that would be your choice of course. It has been known to scald and burn bunnies' skin, and it could really damage an open wound. (Lots of cases on here of that)

Are you keeping him indoors?

Welcome to the Forum by the way :wave:
Click to expand...






Whoops- I forgot to reply to your response. I will consult the vet before spraying F10 on him, thanks for the warning. I really would prefer him to stay indoors but my parents are pretty against it, so I'm going to try and keep him indoors for as much of the daytime as possible when the flies are most abundant.

Thank you for the welcome :)
 
For info:

Rearguard comes as a single dose bottle. It is inactivated / needs reapplying if the patient is washed. It should not be used on broken skin. It can suppress appetite - not good in a poorly rabbit, but you need to watch out for this and compensate if necessary.

The F10 Wound Spray is much cheaper, can be applied daily and to broken skin. I've found it much easier to use (a couple of squirts from spray bottle vs an awkward sponge applicator which took 2 of us an hour to apply) and I've not had any issues with bunnies going off their food with it.

Both do the job as far as inactivating the eggs from a flystrike attack. Rearguard does not work on maggots, F10 says it does.
 
Last edited:
rocko said:
Whoops- I forgot to reply to your response. I will consult the vet before spraying F10 on him, thanks for the warning. I really would prefer him to stay indoors but my parents are pretty against it, so I'm going to try and keep him indoors for as much of the daytime as possible when the flies are most abundant.

Thank you for the welcome :)
Click to expand...

Vets actually recommend F10, would you believe!

However, several members on here warn strongly against it from their own experience. It made matters completely worse for their rabbit and in fact gave burns where none were there before.

It's not a prescription only medicine, so available anywhere, unfortunately!

Yes, indoors certainly best at the moment :thumb:
 
rocko said:
Ah man, I really hope no more hatch out. I've checked the area twice this morning already and it seems maggot free at the moment. Because he has a tendency to soil himself I'm going to dampen a cloth and clean his bottom a bit later (and keep him inside until it dries.) Providing it's not too painful, I might flush the wound. I don't have any medication for cleaning so I hope water will do until I can ask the vet tomorrow (can also ask about F10 spray too- thanks for the suggestion.) The vet gave us some pain relief and he's now completed the dose. Still waiting for the Rearguard to be mailed :/ I hope we remembered the correct amount as it seemed to go quite quickly :/ If he shows any signs of distress I will contact the vet.

Yeah, I'm not sure why she didn't admit him. As long as he seems happy and relatively healthy (and also providing the wound doesn't get infected), I will keep him here. Thank you for the links!
Click to expand...

Many on here will not use Rearguard either. I have known several rabbits pass away within days of application. For me, nothing beats cleanliness and vigilance :D

Good luck whatever you decide :thumb:
 
Shimmer said:
For info:

Rearguard comes as a single dose bottle. It is inactivated / needs reapplying if the patient is washed. It should not be used on broken skin. It can suppress appetite - not good in a poorly rabbit, but you need to watch out for this and compensate if necessary.

The F10 Wound Spray is much cheaper, can be applied daily and to broken skin. I've found it much easier to use (a couple of squirts from spray bottle vs an awkward sponge applicator which took 2 of us an hour to apply) and I've not had any issues with bunnies going off their food with it.

Both do the job as far as inactivating the eggs from a flystrike attack. Rearguard does not work on maggots, F10 says it does.
Click to expand...


Thank you very much for the information! And MightyMax too. I decided to usw rearguard and accidentally got some in my bunnie's wound :/ I am going to keep a close eye on him, especially after reading that Rearguard can be dangerous.
 
rocko said:
Thank you very much for the information! And MightyMax too. I decided to usw rearguard and accidentally got some in my bunnie's wound :/ I am going to keep a close eye on him, especially after reading that Rearguard can be dangerous.
Click to expand...

Good luck with him :thumb:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

G
Flystrike 😢 absolutely devastated
Replies
10
Views
1K
Shimmer
S
H
Rabbit with erratic heart rate
Replies
3
Views
221
MimzMum
MimzMum
R
Rabbit isn’t eating or doing the toilet
Replies
6
Views
339
InspectorMorse
InspectorMorse
Back
Top