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I knoew I joined for a reason! Help!

polly2

New Kit
As you will have seen hopefully in the photo thread I am a newbie but not new to rabbits! Holly gets cleaned (ie big clean) every week but last week I was away and she did not get done. Her litter tray was emptied though and fresh hay etc put in. Anyway, I have just gone out to sort her this week and there are flies everywhere and these yellow spider things - loads of them! I have imediatly got rid of her hutch cover and thrown everything out but the pet shop is closed. Any tips?! Is this fly strike? I am going to checks Holly's bottom as soon as her hutch is clean and if she is ok I am going to bathe her in case she has eggs in her fur or anything! Please help I am horrified with what I have just seen!
 
I'm no expert but I'm sure I've read not to wet a rabbit as if they do have eggs it's harder to get them off as they are often shaved to remove them.I hope someone more knowledgeable comes on soon for you (I'm sorry if I've got this wrong :oops: ) Hope everythings ok.
 
Well I am soaked but I don't care - there are no longer any flies in her hutch! I have a lice comb (I am a teacher and I get loads of them) so I may just run that through her fur!
 
what does her bottom look like? Is it clean and dry? If she is clean and dry then hopefully none of the flies would have laid their eggs on her bottom which would be fly strike. They are attracted to the dirty bottoms/poos.
 
Not sure what the yellow spider things are, how big are they? Fly strike is when fly eggs are laid on the rabbit or in the poo and maggots have hatched. Give her a really good check over, the eggs are tiny, like minature grains of rice, but very small. Young maggots are just very small maggots, the next stage, when they start growing is the dangerous stage, when they eat flesh. I wouldnt wet her unless she's dirty with poo or wee. As for the hutch, I'd just clean it out really well and let it dry, if you have no bedding tonight make do with shredded newspaper. :)

ps the eggs are usually too small to be caught in a lice comb.
 
Please make sure she is thoroughly dry before you put her back outside - the flies will be attracted to damp fur too if they weren't already.

Did her skin look normal around her bottom and legs?
 
I won't bathe her unless she looks wet. Not inspected bottom yet but going to - but her litter tray looked normal! I have wood shavings and straw so she should be ok. Her hutch has been well and truely soaked and the neighbour has just laughed at me. The yellow spider things were tiny - about the size of a pin head - they were not on the poo but on the outside of her hutch. I think I may have been lucky. I have just finished off with spraying it liberally with rabbit disinfectant and will not put fresh bedding in until her hutch is dry! Fingers crossed she will be ok!
 
I would suspect the little tiny yellow things are baby spiders :wink: Seems to be baby boom time for them.. I don't worry about them as the having spiders around helps with the flies :wink:
 
ok, checked her bum. She is dry but a little dirty - not overly so. Should I leave her to clean herself or bathe her bum?!
 
What do you feed your bunny on (and quantities)? The dirty bum might have been caused by the diet rather than the non-cleaning (especially since the litter trays had been done). :?

I keep seeing those horrible little spiders everywhere at the moment.
:shock:
 
Well she has had nothing out of the ordinary! She has fresh grass and hay daily and she has rabbit museli as a supplement. She drinks plenty of water. He hutch is dry so I have put fresh bedding into it! I have wiped her bottom so that is now clean. I don't think I can do anything now. I have put her in her hutch for the night as she was a biit stressed by my cleaning her bum so I thought it best to let her settle. I will check on her in an hour or so and then an hour after that and then check on her in the morning. At least the flies have gone! Thanks everyone! You have been fantastic!!
 
They were probably baby spiders. I try not to remove spider webs from the hutch...natural fly killers!! :lol: Have you thought about using Rearguard?
 
:lol: :lol: I think rearguard is available only through vets, and it is just an extra defence (sort of Rearguard action!!). You are doing all the correct things anyway, and being aware of the potential problem is more than half the battle.
 
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