Dewormer.....Grapefruit seed extract?

[Zass]

The vet gave me 2 doses

I would think that the vet would also have given you instructions along with the medication.

 

[MaggieJ]

Easy Ears... Zass is right. Call the vet and ask for clarification. There should be no charge for that.

 

[Miss M]

Unless your vet has a form of fenbendazole that none of us is familiar with, that two-dose treatment (no matter how it's done) is not going to work.

Definitely call your vet to make sure this is not some newfangled long-acting fenbendazole. Maybe post pictures/information about the specific fenbendazole you have?

This is what Merck says about rabbit pinworms and fenbendazole:

Pinworms

Passalurus ambiguus, the rabbit pinworm, usually is not clinically significant but often is upsetting to owners. It is common in many rabbitries and is distributed worldwide. Transmission is by ingestion of contaminated food or water. The adult worm lives in the cecum or anterior colon. Diagnosis is made by observing the adults at necropsy or by finding the eggs during examination of the feces. Single treatments are not very effective because the life cycle is direct and reinfection is common. Piperazine citrates in the water (3 g/L) for alternating 2-wk periods or fenbendazole (50 ppm in feed for 5 days) are effective treatments. Rabbit pinworms are not transmissible to humans.

They actually extend the dosage two days past Dood, probably in an abundance of caution, to make absolutely sure that all of the worms are killed, and that none are left to develop resistance to the med.

The 50 ppm in feed it's talking about is actually medicated feed you can get at a feed store. You can usually buy it by the pound... or half-pound, or even quarter-pound. And it's cheap. Now... getting a rabbit to eat it may take some persuasion. :roll: Like... soaking it in applesauce, canned pumpkin, or pineapple juice... or coating it very lightly with molasses.

You can also buy fenbendazole in paste form, for larger farm animals. You need such a small dose for a rabbit, though, that it becomes difficult to accurately dose it. That's why it's typically given in feed for rabbits. You can do the math by the weight of the rabbit, and come up with the weight of feed you need for the correct dose. This works if you have a scale that can measure grams, really, but it could be converted to volume, perhaps, if necessary.

 

[Easy Ears]

I attached pics. She gave me no instructions. It's like $10 a dose, so I've already spent over $60 on de-wormer alone...shouldn't the vet give you the correct dosages first time? I'm just so confused and frustrated. I asked the vet in e-mail, and she said "we can set you up an appointment with a doctor to find you a better medication." They just don't listen to my questions! :evil:

Oh, and someone, mentioned I asked someone else if they would sell me more rabbits. That is true, but I'm just trying to set something up for like Feb. or something. I do NOT want to get them now, but would like options in the future.

Hmm...it only showed one picture.... :?

 

[Dood]

Sounds like you need a different vet!

That drug could be fenbendazole but it is illegal for vets to hand out prescription medicine without the name of the compound, the concentration and how to administer in Canada :shock: maybe things are different in the USA :shrug:

I need to know how much is in the tube but without the concentration that info is useless and I cannot advise you, sorry.

 

[MaggieJ]

Easy Ears, emails are fine for some things, but they are not so good when the people on the other end are not paying attention to your questions. I strongly suggest you TELEPHONE the vet tomorrow. It is much harder to be evasive when the person calling insists "That's not the information I need. I need to know..." It's a good opportunity to practice being assertive.

 

[Zass]

Wow :shock: No wonder you are confused and frustrated. I would be too if I'd been given medication with no information and instructions!
My vet usually prints out paperwork to give me if the information isn't on the label.
Sometimes you have to be forceful to get whet you need though.

Once, I had to call three time before the receptionist was willing to actually ask the vet to instruct me on how to help a severely constipated kitten someone had foisted upon me.
When she was willing to actually ask, I was given immediate answers.
You might even be able to go into the office without an appointment, and ask the person at the desk to give you instructions. It's hard for them to ignore your questions when you are physically present.

Being polite only goes so far. Keep in mind, veterinarians are still part of the service industry.

 

[Miss M]

Hmm...it only showed one picture.... :?

I took a look to see if there was something I could tweak to show the other one, but there's only one attachment there. :shrug:

She gave me no instructions. It's like $10 a dose, so I've already spent over $60 on de-wormer alone...shouldn't the vet give you the correct dosages first time? I'm just so confused and frustrated. I asked the vet in e-mail, and she said "we can set you up an appointment with a doctor to find you a better medication." They just don't listen to my questions! :evil:

Sounds like you need a different vet!

:yeahthat:

Wow. Yeah... that's not a good situation at all... I have no clue what is up with the vet or the syringe. I have no idea how to advise you on the syringe. Like Dood said, without the concentration, even the amount is useless.

-edit- I see others have given some good suggestions about dealing with the vet.

That drug could be fenbendazole but it is illegal for vets to hand out prescription medicine without the name of the compound, the concentration and how to administer in Canada :shock: maybe things are different in the USA :shrug:

I don't know about on-hand prescription medication sent home in small amounts with the pet owner... but actual vet prescriptions are tightly regulated: https://www.avma.org/KB/Policies/Pages/ ... Drugs.aspx

I know it's asking a lot of you to say, "ignore the vet, here's what you should do", yet it's something that our members have found themselves doing quite a number of times. Most vets are not rabbit-savvy. Your vet may be treating your rabbit like she would treat a cat -- seems like a reasonable thing to do, except that cats and rabbits aren't much alike except in size. They have strikingly different digestive systems, which would mean their bodies wouldn't necessarily metabolize medication in the same ways.

Well, nope.... I just thought I'd look up the regimen for a cat.

Fenbendazole is normally available in an oral suspension. The recommended dosage is usually 1/2ml of the liquid drug per 2 1/5 lbs. of body weight in a kitten and double that for the adult cat. This means that a 12-lb. adult cat may get 6 ml in a dose. Vets prescribe giving the drug once a day by mouth for three days straight because the mildness of the drug will not kill all of the parasites within a single application. http://www.ehow.com/about_5420721_fenbe ... -cats.html

Corroborated by http://www.merckmanuals.com/vet/digesti ... imals.html

So one dose now, another dose in 21 days or whatever just is not the correct routine for fenbendazole, even for a cat. I don't know what to tell you.

If it were up to me, I'd go to a feed store, and pick up 1/4 pound of Safeguard fenbendazole dewormer feed (make sure to note the strength before you leave the store, because they will probably scoop it into a little brown paper bag for you). It should cost about $1 or so. Come back on here, tell us the strength, and the weight of your rabbit, and we will help you figure the dosage for your rabbit. If you don't have a scale that can measure grams or fractions of an ounce, we'll work with you.

You can measure the proper amount in individual baggies, and make sure you have applesauce or pineapple juice on hand to mix it with, in case your bunny decides he does not like it. Force-feeding ~a Tablespoon of medicated feed to an unwilling bunny is not fun. Tip: put just enough applesauce or juice in the feed to wet it and have a little standing, then walk away and let the pellets break down. Be patient. Come back, stir, and feed.

I don't know how well you can swing this with being away, but... we can help with only so much.

 

[Marinea]

Just a thought- did your vet give you a printed bill? Mine adds medication information to that. If it's not on there, the bill should have the charge for the medication and maybe it will show what it is and what strength.

I am sorry you are going through this.

 

[Easy Ears]

Ok, so UPDATE!

I called a lady who has been raising rabbits for about 30-40 years I believe...somewhere in there. Anyway, she is now a blind retired vet, who still owns rabbits! She knows a exotic vet, who she contacted and here is what I'm supposed to do:

Give each rabbit 3 doses, 10-14 days apart. I give them a dose and wait about 12 hours, then clean their cage thoroughly with a bleach mixture.
Once back in their cage, I wait another 10-14 days an repeat the same process. Seems to be going well! Their next dose is due tonight!


Also, I couldn't find the post where we were talking about vent disease.....but here is an update:
My buck now has just the 2 pimples on his sheath plus two other small ones on the other side. No other signs of anything else...what are some of the other symptoms? It's been about a month I think since I found his first one...so it wouldn't be vent disease right?

 

[Celice]

I hope you get your bunnies fixed up Easy Ears!

 

[JenerationX]

Why does everyone else and everything I've found elsewhere say one dose for 3 straight days? If you're giving a single dose and then waiting 10-14 days, you're not going to get rid of the worms. Good luck, but I don't think it's going to work unless you give it properly.

 

[Miss M]

It's to kill the worms that haven't hatched. You give one dose, wait 10 days, give one dose, wait 10 days, give one last dose. It makes sure that all hatching eggs are accounted for.

 

[Prisma]

Box directions aren't always right and neither are sites. Like Miss M said, you have to not only clear out the initial worms but any in 10-14 days (I figure 7-10 days though) later that hatch. Worming for 3 days straight won't take care of that and will leave eggs behind that hatch and reinfect the rabbit (or in case of another animal, same idea) again. Too much will lead to resistance and it'll end up not working at all (if pay attention its also suggested that those that do that worm every 2-3 months OR in some cases every month).

 

[Easy Ears]

Ok, so what do you guys do if your rabbits have worms? I know everyone can't afford the $10 a dose vet de-wormer....so in the future, I would like other options. Some people use ivermectin, but it wouldn't work for my rabbits since they are Dutch/dwarf crosses. I also wouldn't know what dosage to use....
I'm guessing the pinworms came from our irrigation water.... it would break my heart to not be able to take them for walks around my yard...but I just can't spend the money every time they get worms! Suggestions?

 

[Prisma]

I use combination of Wazine (off brand of Piperzine which can be purchased at most farm stores) and Safe Guard horse dewormer plus pumpkin. Wazine I use the chicken dosage directions for it, can't recall if off the top of my head which shows how often I use it lol. Safe Guard use 0.10 cc per pound, now my rabbits tolerate that well, but others may not. With any medication, any rabbit can have a reaction. I've used Ivomec 1% injectable, but several vets/vet techs on other boards I've seen say that it doesn't actually work on internal parasites so I question its usage for that even though it seems to have done its job in the past.

 

[Easy Ears]

My friend says she uses Grapefruit seed extract in their water to deworm.....? :shock:
Anyone tried it? :?