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Flystrike!

petticoat74

petticoat74

Alpha Buck
My boss' son has 5 rabbits (all un-neutered:evil: ) and he thinks he is this wonderful animal expert, y'know the type always ready to tell you where you going wrong with your animals...but not exactly trying to bond with his own! His rabbits are fed and watered are run, but he isn' t the cuddly kind of man... well today I went into work to discover over the past few days, his elderly lop has had flystrike! (YUK!!:( ) They have washed her over and cleaned up her bum put castor cream and gentian violet spray over her, after washing it with dettol!! They say she is okay now, they phoned the vet, but cos it would have cost £70 they said they would treat her at home... Have they treated her properly? I have never had this happen to me, so I haven't a clue...!
 
It depends what stage they caught it at - if the eggs were just laid then they could get rid of them, but they do hatch quite quickly and if there are maggots on the fur there are usually one or 2 maggots inside, at least - very easy to miss, but a vet would basically do the same as what they've done - only difference being a vet could administer painkillers for the poor bunny - otherwise it will likely die of shock :(
 
Yes, thats why I'm upset and thought I would raise it here! They said her bum dirty.. but then she is BIG!! and they washed her and the next morning she had maggots!! Yeuch!!:( So they dipped her in a bucket of dettol:evil: and then removed them and clipped her hair, put castor cream on her and then the gentian violet spray... his girlfriend has horses and that is what she said to use!!!!
 
They should see a vet, even if it costs money. They let her get fat so that she can't clean her bum any longer, I guess. So it is their responsibility to get her treatment. They can't assume that things you can use for horses are also suitable for rabbits. And dettol will irritate the skin and the lungs, the poor bunny probably has a sore bum now. :(
They won't be able to tell if some maggots have found their way inside the skin. The bunny might be eaten alive by the maggots if nothing is done to check her over properly.
 
I'm not sure what the cream and spray are that you mentioned, but it is my understanding that if removal of one or some maggots are missed and a vaseline/petroleum gel type ointment is put over them accidently, they can then bore inside the rabbit.
In addition to pain meds, I believe antibiotics are often given in case of secondary infections, for flystrike.
 
They need to take her to a vet. I have just checked my bottle of dettol and on the back it says do not use directly on animals, I really dont even understand why people think its ok to put stuff like this on an animals skin when it says on the label not to :evil: Poor bunny :cry:
 
Yes I am going to tell him all this tomorrow when I see him!!:evil: Believe me I am not happy... The poor girl is 9 years old too and a ... rescue!! from RSPCA!! The smell of dettol is bad enough, let alone on your skin!!
 
petticoat74 said:
Yes I am going to tell him all this tomorrow when I see him!!:evil: Believe me I am not happy... The poor girl is 9 years old too and a ... rescue!! from RSPCA!! The smell of dettol is bad enough, let alone on your skin!!
Click to expand...

Good luck :( Hopefully he will listen and take the bun straight to the vets x
 
Do you think his other bunnies are in an ok state? If they refuse to take the bunny to a vet, it would be worth calling the RSPCA. But then your boss will know who reported them, which is awkward, too. :(
 
He says they have been keeping buns for years and this is the first time it ever happened... but she is alot older than the others and fatter:( :( feel so sorry for her, if I have no joy with him, then yes I suppose I will have to call RSPCA.... oh well was going to look for new job anyway!:)
 
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