Coccidiosis in living room

[annabolic]

Hi all. I'm wondering if anyone has any advice about getting rid of coccidiosis from inside the house. My gorgeous boy bun Arthur recently had to be put to sleep after contracting hepatic coccidiosis, and when I thought about it I realised my previous boy Jim died of very similar symptoms (which at the time I thought was EC). My female bunny Dot has been tested and shown to have no coccidia in her system so apparently she must be naturally immune (thank you God!) but my vet has said that anywhere the two boys had been will now be infected with coccidia.

All the info online that I can find relates to outdoor bunnies (i.e. use 10% ammonia solution to disinfect patios etc). The problem is my bunnies are indoor bunnies who live in a puppy pen in the corner of my living room and are let out to free-range in the evenings when I'm in the living room for the night. I can replace the lino floor, pen, toys, bowls etc but can anyone suggest how to get rid of the coccidia in my carpets and sofas? I definitely can't afford to replace them (not to mention that my bright pink sofas are my pride and joy!). Presumably I also have to think about things like the clothes I was wearing when the boys used to snuggle on my lap (and quite frequently poo there) - will a 60 degree wash do?

At the moment Dot is living on her own while I sort this out. I hate it because I am sometimes out for long periods and I feel bad that she is bored and lonely so I want to get this sorted ASAP. My options seem to be: a) keep Dot on her own (downside: she'd be bored and lonely for the rest of her life and she is only 1); b) find a new room for the bunnies to live in (not really an option because the whole point was that they would be company for me (I live alone) and also they will need supervision while free-ranging as Dot is a terrible chewer); c) replace everything that can be replaced, attempt to clean the sofas and carpets somehow and hope and pray that by getting another rabbit I won't be sending it to its doom like I did the last two

Any advice would be really welcome - I'm still devastated about losing Arthur last week and I'm feeling very helpless at the moment, especially since Dot and Jim were my first ever bunnies and it feels so unfair that this is happening to me when I adore all my bunnies so much and try so hard to take good care of them!

 

[Jack's-Jane]

I am very sorry for your losses


The main reason I prefer not to keep my Rabbits on carpet is because of the risk of cross infection of diseases such as coccidiosis.

You could hire a good heavy duty steam cleaner for the carpets/furniture. Steam kills coccidia

In the longer term could you look at having a different type of floor covering. Or covering the carpet areas they have access to with something that can be cleaned daily, an old off-cut of vinyl flooring maybe ?

 

[RedFraggle]

I was also going to suggest steam cleaning. I'd get a professional company in though with the proper industrial steam cleaners and explain that you want a prolonged contact time.

 

[annabolic]

Thanks for your replies! Steam cleaning sounds like the way to go. I hadn't thought of getting a professional company in but that's a good idea. I can't really change anything in the long term - I have a very big living room which the rabbits have the full run of and it wouldn't be practical to change the flooring or lay lino every time I let them out, unfortunately. Also Dot is a little ball of energy and loves nothing more than racing around the room at full pelt, hopping over her cardboard boxes, jumping on and off sofas and binkying like a lunatic so to restrict her to a smaller space would feel mean.

Out of interest, has anyone got actual experience of steam cleaning having killed coccidia or is it a second-hand recommendation? I know I'm going to be absolutely terrified once I do get a new bunny and knowing someone who has had experience of this would help put my mind at rest a bit. I also thought I could potentially get the new bunny tested after a couple of weeks to see if he's picked anything up as if he does it would be easier to treat in the early stages.

 

[Jack's-Jane]

These may be useful to read

http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00dis/Parasitic/Hepatic_coccidiosis_rabbits.htm

http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00dis/Parasitic/Coccidiosis_Hedgehog.htm

 

[Dustyrabbit]

Definitely steam cleaning. Also my vet told me UV light kills it too so anything that can go outside on a sunny day.