Need some help with a new bunny we purchased - bot fly?

[loganandbelle]

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So we just purchased a new Flemish buck to add to our herd on Saturday at an animal auction. Hes a 4 month old blue buck and absolutely stunning. At this particular auction you cannot really get a good look at the animals until you have bought them so I was only able to do a visual inspection through the cage. Well, after we bought him a gentleman came up to me and told me he was pretty sure this bunny had bot fly....ok, I have honestly NEVER heard of this and I've raised and bred rabbits for years. Well, sure enough I look under his front leg and there is a large lump with a huge hole. He told me the easiest way to remove this "worm" was to put Vaseline on it and have the worm work its way out and then pull it out with tweezers and to make sure I got the whole worm out so it didn't die inside and cause an infection. I ran to the store on the way home from the sale and purchased Vaseline, antiseptic wash, and Neosporin. We got him home and I lathered the whole with Vaseline, dig through the hole to try and find this worm and nothing. I spent a good hour on this. So, I put some antiseptic wash on it, some Neosporin and went out again yesterday morning. The wound actually looked great and had a small scab on it so we cleaned it again. But, still no worm....so im getting worried after reading all this stuff online about not getting the worm out. The area has gone down a lot and not swollen anymore. So, my question is, could the worm have already gotten out and maybe the previous owner removed it and he just had a wound from it...how do I know??? Hes an awesome little guy, great personality, full of energy, eats like a champ.... I just want to make sure im doing everything I can b/c im a newbie when it comes to this certain condition..... any help is appreciated!

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I have only dealt with a bot fly once, so am not an expert by any means, but it sounds like the larvae is gone already.

When I found the bot fly on the dewlap of one of my does, I thought it was a piece of rabbit poop stuck to her fur. When it didn't brush off and I took a closer look, I discovered it was the rear end of a huge maggot. :x

I pulled it out with forceps (which was very difficult- the things are enormous and I think they compress their bodies to be shorter and fatter when you try pulling them out) but I did finally get it out of her. It left a hole about the diameter of a pencil.

I flushed the wound tract with a weak solution of betadine and water and then filled the cavity with honey because it has antibacterial properties. Even so, I had to later express pus from the wound and treat it again.

I would caution you against using neosporin, as it will cause the wound to close over too quickly and an abscess may form. You want it to heal from the inside out. Since my honey treatment wasn't completely effective in that she developed a slight infection, I would recommend filling the wound with Nu-Stock instead.

Nu-Stock is just pine oil and sulfur, is antibacterial and anti-fungal, and will allow the wound to heal from the inside. You can find it at feed stores.

Good luck! :clover: And congratulations on your new rabbit!