Coccidiosis- All Rabbit Owners Should be Aware of This

[Santa]

Yes its different .. coccidia is species specific ..

But are the different strains so fundamentally different that some are sensitive to fenbendazole and others aren't? I don't know the answer, I'm just curious! Might see if Lou can ask William next time she does in

 

[bunnymadhouse]

But are the different strains so fundamentally different that some are sensitive to fenbendazole and others aren't? I don't know the answer, I'm just curious! Might see if Lou can ask William next time she does in

I dont know ... but would be very useful to find out .

 

[loppy ears]

Thank you very much for this information Jane, you are a wonderful bunny mum and I think an auntie to all the RU bunnys you look out for.

 

[Rykat]

Thanks so much for posting this Jane. I also had heard about it but didn't know much about the illness so thank you.

And sod those who have nothing better to do than make comments. They aren't worth it x

 

[Ambience]

Thanks Jane as always

 

[Heather&Bart-MyLittleBuns]

Thanks Jane, Very informative :wave: x

 

[chloemurray]

Thankyou so much for the information
It's invaluable to people like me who don't know reams and reams about all the different illnesses bunnies can get... those who ignore your advice are silly.

 

[helgalush]

Thank you for the info.

 

[purplebumble]

I had only heard of the intestinal one and its only young bunnys affected etc.

imagine my horror when we have our newest rescue bunny get ill and have to be pts 3 weeks later after arriving. she seemed healthy and happy until a few days before she got ill..she had excess cecals but we thought it was due to a fight between her and merlin. she ended up with a haematoma on her tummy and we and the vets put it down to that.
if the first two vets had taken her temp then theyd have known she was very ill. but by the time she was doing the excess cecals it was already too late.
the hepatic version was present but the vets and the necropsy and bristol vets all agreed it was not the cause of her being uill and dying...no indeed she had an infection cos of the fibrin strands around her organs and probs with her kidneys etc...and when she was speyed her uterine organs were too small. she didnt grow in the few weeks here,whereas her suster did.
it was pulmonary edema that killed her.

i have been advised by my vet who contacted richard saunders at bristol that we needed to go a different way than septrin. john chitty also advised baycox but not till a test was done.
bristol said no..the dose had to be given then a rest then the second dose and then a poo sample.

both said the dosgae in FHBs book was incorrect.

nothing could have been done for dazy-mae..it was a hidden collection of latent health probs that led to her demise...coccidia was just incedental the vet has said.

its broken my heart losing dazy-mae......blubells not been the same and has got aggressive from fear. saw her sister being medicated so much then being pts...so medicating her makes her panic.

i havent been thorough in the cleaning..its my fault..dealing with everything and my mums cancer...ive been so lax...
i need to test my steam cleaner tomorrow.

i have 3 free range bunnies..one of which poos anywhere and everywhere...one who only does it in the dog bed and litter tray. we have lino in the lounge....but ive not done enouh..just swept up and washed the floor with trigene....but need the steam.

thank you for all the info and input....nothing would have made us suspect it in dazy-mae...not the fosterers..not the rescue..not the vet who speyed ehr...not the three vets i saw with her before the 4th vet said she was so full of fever she shouldnt have been alive.

 

[purplebumble]

any info on this oo-cide?

http://www.sphsupplies.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=15&products_id=515

 

[marie_kubiak]

Fenbendazole is not effective against the rabbit Eimeria coccidia (and also isn't absorbed well from the GI tract so wouldn't get to liver-specific coccidia even if it worked). It acts by preventing microtubule formation so works well in worms that rely on these structures and also in E. cuniculi (presumably as the projections from the spores rely on microtubules to be formed) but not in coccidia.
We use Baycox and have had very good results if cases are treated early. Septrin is another option which is more readily available to vets but less fast-acting.
Sadly this is a disease that is often caught too late - once bunnies have secondary dehydration or intestinal bacterial imbalances then it is difficult to treat them successfully.

 

[Jack's-Jane]

Fenbendazole is not effective against the rabbit Eimeria coccidia (and also isn't absorbed well from the GI tract so wouldn't get to liver-specific coccidia even if it worked). It acts by preventing microtubule formation so works well in worms that rely on these structures and also in E. cuniculi (presumably as the projections from the spores rely on microtubules to be formed) but not in coccidia.
We use Baycox and have had very good results if cases are treated early. Septrin is another option which is more readily available to vets but less fast-acting.
Sadly this is a disease that is often caught too late - once bunnies have secondary dehydration or intestinal bacterial imbalances then it is difficult to treat them successfully.

Thank you Marie :wave:

 

[Maizey]

Jane you diagnosed my rabbit without even seeing her and after a poo sample you were right.my vet told me to use baycox after consulting GWR.I would just like to say and sorry for causing any upset this drug made both my rabbits,used at different times,anorexic/go into stasis.It did cure the coccidiosis though.Please can someone tell me why this is the preferred drug rather than septrin?

 

[Maizey]

Fenbendazole is not effective against the rabbit Eimeria coccidia (and also isn't absorbed well from the GI tract so wouldn't get to liver-specific coccidia even if it worked). It acts by preventing microtubule formation so works well in worms that rely on these structures and also in E. cuniculi (presumably as the projections from the spores rely on microtubules to be formed) but not in coccidia.
We use Baycox and have had very good results if cases are treated early. Septrin is another option which is more readily available to vets but less fast-acting.
Sadly this is a disease that is often caught too late - once bunnies have secondary dehydration or intestinal bacterial imbalances then it is difficult to treat them successfully.

Sorry Marie,I have just read your answer after posting my question about septrin

 

[marie_kubiak]

Jane you diagnosed my rabbit without even seeing her and after a poo sample you were right.my vet told me to use baycox after consulting GWR.I would just like to say and sorry for causing any upset this drug made both my rabbits,used at different times,anorexic/go into stasis.It did cure the coccidiosis though.Please can someone tell me why this is the preferred drug rather than septrin?

The downside to baycox is that it is very alkaline (it was originally designed to be in-water medication for poultry and isn't very soluble so the active drug is amalgamated with a strong alkali to allow it to dissolve). This high pH can be very irritant to the throat lining and cause a lot of discomfort if given neat. We mix it with an acidic liquid (usually coca cola!) to neutralise the pH first and haven't had any problems. However, as most bunnies are fairly unwell to start with it is very easy to assign any problems, especially non-specific ones like stasis, to the original disease rather than a drug side effect so they may not be linked at the time.
Septrin partial resistance is fairly common too which is another reason why I prefer to use baycox where possible.

 

[Tasmin's MOB]

I have only recently found out about coccidiosis, it's something that most pet owners have never even heard of until it attacks so this thread is extremely useful. Thanks for posting it xx

 

[purplebumble]

we were warned about the anorexia side effect of the baycox.....

ooh how much cola to the baycox?

i didnt realise it affected their throats

 

[Santa]

It would be interesting to hear if those bunnies who have had anorexia problems with baycox have had the doses from the FHB book or whether they've had much lower doses, because Sharon Redrobe said at the conference that it can cause anorexia if overdosed but she hasn't found any particular problems with it at the correct dose (and of course because many vets consult the FHB book for the dose, they might not be aware that it's incorrect in there). So I'd be interested to hear how much those with problems were having - although from what Marie is saying, it sounds as if there are other reasons why there might be problems with anorexia etc anyway.

Thanks for the info on why panacur doesn't work, Marie. Makes perfect sense and good to know

 

[purplebumble]

yes i guess thats the case. BUT i guess our vet had to say so anycase...like you get the side effects you could have with meds.:lol:

i am grateful our vet consulted john chitty them richard saunders....for the advice on drug...drug dosage etc.

well i could not see any anorexia in our three.....:lol:

 

[Maizey]

It would be interesting to hear if those bunnies who have had anorexia problems with baycox have had the doses from the FHB book or whether they've had much lower doses, because Sharon Redrobe said at the conference that it can cause anorexia if overdosed but she hasn't found any particular problems with it at the correct dose (and of course because many vets consult the FHB book for the dose, they might not be aware that it's incorrect in there). So I'd be interested to hear how much those with problems were having - although from what Marie is saying, it sounds as if there are other reasons why there might be problems with anorexia etc anyway.

Thanks for the info on why panacur doesn't work, Marie. Makes perfect sense and good to know

Hi Santa,
Honey who the baycox was originally for weighs just under five kilos and the pot I have left,says give 1.6mls for two days,I'm pretty sure I had to repeat the dose a week later.Blue my other bun was given it as a precaution.