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Over- Treating Our Rabbits?

Jack's-Jane

Wise Old Thumper
I have recently been thinking (it wasnt very painful but I try not to do it too often :lol: ) how many drugs are now almost routinely given to our Buns. There are the flea treatments, the Panacur Rabbit, and although not 'drugs' there are the two vaccines (Myxi and VHD).
Am I the only one to be becoming a bit concerned about using so many chemicals on a Bun :? along with the vaccines?
Of course the vaccinations are essential, I am not implying otherwise. But I am not feeling comfortable about the Panacur Rabbit (dont know why, just a feeling :? ) and the flea treatments are nasty toxic chemicals.
Maybe I am just having ANOTHER neurotic moment :oops: , but I am concerned.

Is it just me???????????

Janex
 
Is Panacur the thing against worms?

I think the vaccinations are essential, but anything else should only be given when really necessary only. I am not a supporter of routine treatment, it can cause more harm than good. I also have my doubts about homeopathic treatments, especially when it comes to vaccinations.

So my answer is yes, a lot of bunnies probably get too many unnecessary chemicals. It's the same as with humans, we do take too many extra vitamins and minerals and other substances, instead of eating the right things and living a healthier life.
 
As you know, I'm having the same thoughts. :(

Apart from the cocktail of chemicals, I have other worries too. As a human, I don't take 'routine' medicines that I don't need. I don't even have vaccinations that aren't strictly necessary (don't have the flu vaccination etc). Equally, it has been proven that dishing out too many antibiotics has caused antibiotic resistant diseases and antibiotics also compromise people's immune systems. So, things like Panacur Rabbit used routinely...?? I don't know - just doesn't seem like a good idea to me. :?
 
i'm with you too

i have mine vaccinated as i think that is a real need but i dont routinely treat them for anything else

gus has just had a course of mite injections but only because he actually has mites - i havent even bothered treating the other 4 as the vet had a quick look, couldnt see any evidence of mites and so i didnt think it was necessary

i dont see how overloading their systems can help - i would imagine if they ever really needed treatment then its effectiveness would be reduced.
 
When it comes to worms and fleas, I treat on observation of them not as a precaution. We don't treat ourselves routinely yet we have a vast amount of creatures living inside us and the problem with worming I feel is that it also wipes out all freindly organisms too.

I don't even take paracetemol myself! Im very much a herbalist so tend to eat and feed my pets food that has natural properties to protect us....

As for vaccinations, although an absolute must that we adhere to our vets advice, again I feel we over vaccinate. The States regime is 2 and 3 yearly for cats and dogs yet over here its annual.
We once used to have tetanus every 5 - 10 years dependent on our exposure, now its only 3 in a lifetime.
There are bloodtests available to have a cats titre level tested for leukaemia antibodies so you can just vaccinate when and if the levels show it is needed and it is only around £15/20 but as far as I know no other vaccines have this option for bloodtesting yet....
 
Yes, I think over-vaccinating of any species (us two-foots included!!) is a problem. I wish I was clever and understood more about it but when I look at delicate little Buns and then think of all that is now being put into the pharmacologically....... :shock: :?

Like I said, I have no qualified basis for my worries but........ :? :?

Janex
 
As regards Panacur Rabbit, I've heard it said, and I agree, that it has been devised as a treatment for EC but is being marketed as something different - ie a routine wormer.
 
I definately feel this. Mine have and will continue to have, the annual Myxi and VHD but anything else only if absolutely necessary. I'm dreading the day mine fall ill and they have to start on medication. I feel the same way about medication in general. It takes a while for me to even take a headache pill. I understand medication has its place and works but I'm not happy about it being given routinely.
 
I wouldnt worm my buns routinely but I have had to use a chemical flea treatment a few times on them :( I dont like doing it but obviously wouldnt leave them with fleas and I have already tried the combing them out approach but couldnt get any out. I do use assisi grooming lotion every week though to try and keep the fleas away as its a bit of a problem and I dont want to have to use flea treatment from the vet every month or anything

But yes I do feel the same

It takes a while for me to even take a headache pill. I understand medication has its place and works but I'm not happy about it being given routinely

Same here, I only take medicine if I am really sick. I never take headache tablets or anything
 
Having watched Harley struggle against EC and eventually die because of it I would not wish it on anyone or their rabbit. I worm all the foster bunnies as a precaution as they have never been done in their lives and as 1 in 2 rabbits carries EC without even presenting it can be hard to tell when an infected bunny is in your midst. As a result of this all my own bunnies are wormed twice a year to prevent them contracting anything from the foster bunnies.

I agree that pumping chemicals into a bun is not good for it but having seen how devastating EC is as a disease I will not take the risk.
 
Right, but if there is an active case of EC, surely the 9 days isn't going to touch it? :? This is confusing.
 
its to protect the other rabbits from an active case of EC....as some bunnies are carriers who dont show symptoms and thus go undiagnosed.
 
Sooz22 said:
its to protect the other rabbits from an active case of EC....as some bunnies are carriers who dont show symptoms and thus go undiagnosed.

I have been in correspondence with a VERY Rabbit savvy Vet (not Christobel this time!! :lol: ) and have been advised that Panacur Rabbit is NOT appropriate for treating Buns in contact with a confirmed case of 'active EC' ie a 9 day course is not enough and a full 28 day course should be given. (In this Vet's opinion) I will try to obtain permission from the Vet to pass on the info she gave me re Panacur Rabbit and its licensing.

Janex
 
What Im trying to say is that unconfirmed cases....where EC is not even suspected as no symptoms present.....I would not want to administer a dose of toxic medication for 28 days unnecissarily to rabbits living in the vacinity (not together) so the 9 day is a compromise. If the buns were sharing hutches/Runs and therefor in contact with the urine and a case was confirmed then those buns would be on 28 days.

Does that make sense? Its hard to explain.
 
I'm glad this thread has been started..... my vet was talking to me on Wednesday about rountine worming of my rabbit . I'm not totally convinced either and said I'd get back to him as it is a fairly 'new' thing to do. Something just doesnt feel right but I do know that if a rabbit has worms and is left untreated they can get brain damage. It happened to my aunties friends bunny, they treated him but not in time apparently, and he developed severe brain damage and had to be pts. So I really dont know what to do for the best. :?
 
You dont need to routinely worm your bunnies...only at times of high risk such as when a new rabbit enters your house hold and when you first get your rabbit.

I think that all young rabbits should be wormed as EC is often cauight through the mothers placenta, then unless a new rabbit is introduced there is no reason why they should be wormed again.

As I constantly have new bunnies in my house I need to protect my own rabbits by worming them routinely, that is twice a year.
 
I asked my rabbit savvy vet about routine worming, and he said he was not 100% convinced about it, but that if I insisted he would prescribe the pancur. I'm not going to. I've no qualms about vaccinations for myxi and VHD though. Just, as Jane says, "a gut feeling" which has made me question the need for pancur as a routine medication.
 
capel said:
I asked my rabbit savvy vet about routine worming, and he said he was not 100% convinced about it, but that if I insisted he would prescribe the pancur. I'm not going to. I've no qualms about vaccinations for myxi and VHD though. Just, as Jane says, "a gut feeling" which has made me question the need for pancur as a routine medication.

Lets hope our gut feelings are not due to......WORMS :shock: :lol:

Janex
 
My vet took down the Panacur poster - presumably to stop people asking about routine worming.
 
I think many vets do over-medicate rabbits, and from what I've seen in people's posts here it seems very routine. Nobody in the US routinely worms their rabbits except rescues and breeders as the larger numbers of rabbits mean larger likelihood parasites. I wouldn't regularly treat for fleas unless the rabbit is outdoors (although many of yours are) or I have seen a problem.

My other issue, and my vet very much agrees with me here, is over-medicating for GI stasis. There's a lot of vets who will treat a rabbit that hasn't pooped for 12 hours with the whole pharmacy- gut stimulants, painkillers, laxatives, probiotics, and an enema. Meanwhile with proper supportive care (syringe feeding, fluids, warmth, etc) many early cases of GI stasis can be treated without prescription meds (gas meds are considered necessary but not damaging) as long as the underlying cause is treated. He does xrays to look for blockages and checks the teeth as those are the most common causes. My vet actually doesn't like handing out painkillers for rabbits as he's seen them cause GI issues, and two of mine do get that sort of reaction from them. He'll give them with surgeries or with more difficult GI cases or other illnesses, but not immediately for stasis.
 
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