rabbit has worms?!?

[4hgirl]

I was cleaning out my junior mini lop buck's cage today and found a TON of little white worms.....they look like ones that puppies have that you deworm them for....I cleaned his cage like a maniac then put him in a wire one (he was originaly a plastic bottom one I didn't like the idea of him sitting in worms)what should I do? is there something I can get him that will get rid of them .....or will I have to take him to a vet?

thanks, Melissa

 

[DevonW]

Are you sure they were intestinal worms, and not maggots? I've never actually seen a rabbit pass worms but I worm mine regularly.

You can get wormer at almost any feed store. The horse wormer is safe for rabbits the paste is easiest to use. There are several different brands but you should read the labels before you buy because not all of them may be effective on the worms your rabbit may have. Give him a pea sized amount and scrub his cage everyday for a week then worm him again 7 days after the initial worming and scrub his cage every day for several days. Wormer does NOT kill eggs so if you don't dose them twice your rabbit will continue to have worms.

If you're unsure of yourself I would take him to your vets.

 

[4hgirl]

ok Im pretty sure their worms....
but whats the difference between worms and maggots?

 

[DevonW]

The most common intestinal worms (roundworms)

Maggots

 

[eco2pia]

the fact that there were a "ton" makes me think they were maggots too. it is fly season and only a few days will allow flies to lay hatching eggs in the poop.

 

[akane]

Solid bottom cages outside on a farm with other livestock or many rabbits will result in maggots nearly every time. It takes a lot of cleaning to keep things dry enough to prevent that problem.

 

[4hgirl]

..........ok good news! they are maggots thats much better lol Im happy they're not worms! THANKS!

But is there a way to keep them out other than clean the cage a lot?

 

[eco2pia]

Cleaning the cage is best, but I suppose if there was window screening around the whole cage...you know, if flies can't get in there then they can't lay eggs. But better to keep everything clean and dry.

 

[BoxerMom]

We actually just had a discussion on a boxer list I belong to, and the general concessus was NOT to use horse dewormer as the necessary ingredients are not evenly distributed throughout the tube, so you could deworm your dog several times and not get a "hit" and then get too much in one dose and have major consequences. Wouldn't this apply to rabbits, too?

 

[akane]

Use pine pellets because they can absorb a lot of moisture and will keep things dry the longest. Remove any hay that has fallen down on the floor of the cage at least twice a day. Hay will keep any urine under it from evaporating and give the maggots an insulated spot to grow. Do not use straw or hay as bedding unless you are changing the cage daily. Scoop out or stir in to the rest of the pine pellets any wet spots daily and replace with handfuls of new pellets as needed. Remove any fresh foods that are not eaten within a couple hours. Set up fly traps nearby to cut the number of flies. I have used bronco water based fly spray around rabbits now with success. I actually sprayed a nestbox and the floor around it after a kit died and attracted tons of flies which were bothering the other kits and had no negative consequences. All the kits were fine and the flies were gone within 30mins. The adults just freaked over the sound of the spray bottle. I would not spray rabbits directly with any type of insect repellent but lightly misting the floor and sides of the cage seems to work well. We've also used natural defense dog bug spray which is all herbal ingredients. I poured some on the door of the chicken coop when we were having horrible gnat problems and flystrike and it stopped 90% of the bugs from wanting to enter.

 

[arachyd]

Keeping feces from building up in your livestock and pet living areas is a necessity. Anything less is neglect. If frequent cleaning is an issue for you then I suggest a wire floor that allows waste to drop through. You can either rake it up regularly or use pans for it to drop into and compost it. Letting it sit for the animal to step and grow maggots in is not good husbandry and can lead to all sorts of health problems. That said, in this heat I've seen maggots in poop piles that had only lain in place for 1 day so you really have to keep up with it.

 

[eco2pia]

We actually just had a discussion on a boxer list I belong to, and the general concessus was NOT to use horse dewormer as the necessary ingredients are not evenly distributed throughout the tube, so you could deworm your dog several times and not get a "hit" and then get too much in one dose and have major consequences. Wouldn't this apply to rabbits, too?

This doesn't make sense--you know that the paste is mixed in huge batches, and if there was that much variation you would have problems worming a pony--where you may only use half a tube. That sounds like what the dog wormer manufacturers want you to think. If you are that concerned you could squeeze it all out and stir it and repackage it--it is shelf stable, so there is no seal to break as long as it is repackaged so that air/water is kept away, say in a ziploc bag...

 

[SatinsRule]

But is there a way to keep them out other than clean the cage a lot?

A simple box fan will often do wonders for keeping flies from lighting on the rabbit "doo" (and keeping proper air circulation on your rabbits), but putting hydrated lime on the ground 1-2X per week will do so, as well. You can buy hydrated lime at most animal feed stores. I know for a fact that Tractor Supply carries it (as well as barnyard lime, which also works well).

 

[JT_Hunter]

I have fans on mine...plus...somewhere I read to add a small amount of vanilla to their water...No flies at all....and I have hay on the ground almost all the time....all waste is drained into 5 gal buckets and emptied once a week....

 

[eco2pia]

fans are what they use in your grocery store to keep fruit flies away...and vanilla helps with the pee smell some, but I use it and I still have some flies.

 

[MaggieJ]

There is no substitute for cleaning the cage often, although all the other things mentioned can help.

 

[hoodat]

Cleaning the cage is best, but I suppose if there was window screening around the whole cage...you know, if flies can't get in there then they can't lay eggs. But better to keep everything clean and dry.

Sorry but wire sceening will not do the job. Flies can lay their eggs several feet away from a food source and the newly hatched maggots will follow the scent trail to it. Newly hatched maggots of many fly species are small enough to go through window screening.
As already noted, not lettting it build enough to support flies is the best way. My garden gobbles up all my manure and begs for more so I seldom have a fly problem. I almost follow my rabbits around with a pooper scooper. :-D

 

[ottersatin]

The idea that the paste wormer is not mixed evenly/thoroughly
throughout the tube is: Hogwash pushed by the likes of PETA and HRS.

IVERMECTINE/Zimectrine Horse Past Wormer

Ivermectine/Zimectrine Horse Paste Wormer

The Horse Paste Wormer IS in fact evenly distributed throughout the tube
and has to be evenly distributed throughout the tube,
or the Wormer could not be used
to treat a Colt or full grown Horse. Any part of the tube
contains an evenly mixed concentration of the medication.
There is NO problem in using Ivermectine/Zimectrine Horse Paste Wormer
in part or the whole tube if the animal you are treating requires it.
This Is A post from A breeder who Researched this question/problem.
According to the post:
Farnam a company that produces Ivermectine Horse Paste Wormer states that the 1.875 Ivermectine IS mixed thoroughly throughout the tube.
You could give a 1200 pound Horse the whole tube- it would receive 1.87% Ivermectine based on the amount given for it's weight. You could set the tube for
a 250 pound Foal and it would receive 1.87% Ivermectine based on the amount given for it's weight. So, hypothetically speaking if a rabbit dose was
a pea sized amount for every pound of rabbit it would still be receiving 1.87% Ivermectine based on the amount given for it's weight, since the Ivermectine paste is mixed evenly throughout the tube.
This is according to the Farnam company representative.
I believe it, and I have never had a problem when using Ivermectine Horse paste Wormer.
I will post again when I find the written document supplied by the makers/producers of the product.
Ottersatin. . ldtimer:

 

[Abbie7557]

My rabbit frequently had worms over the summer months that would come from his intestines, hence coming out in the poo. If they have a litter tray pour boiling water into it before you empty it this will kill off remains worms. For medication use panacura rabbit on a carrot or some cabbage every day. Whilst using the panacura keep putting boiling water into the litter tray as there will still be more worms until they have all left your rabbits intestine. This has nothing to do with the cleanliness of your rabbit, it is normally spread by cats and birds or anything else that has visited your garden.
I hope this information helps!

 

[Deer Heart]

We actually just had a discussion on a boxer list I belong to, and the general concessus was NOT to use horse dewormer as the necessary ingredients are not evenly distributed throughout the tube, so you could deworm your dog several times and not get a "hit" and then get too much in one dose and have major consequences. Wouldn't this apply to rabbits, too?

This doesn't make sense--you know that the paste is mixed in huge batches, and if there was that much variation you would have problems worming a pony--where you may only use half a tube. That sounds like what the dog wormer manufacturers want you to think. If you are that concerned you could squeeze it all out and stir it and repackage it--it is shelf stable, so there is no seal to break as long as it is repackaged so that air/water is kept away, say in a ziploc bag...

I thought the same thing, especially with the comment, "and then get too much in one dose and have major consequences" as a student the first thing I learned (again and again with EVERY vet office) there is no such thing as "too much" when it comes to a wormer - especially pyrantel (though that's an exaggeration obviously but worming drugs are EXTREMELY safe to the host animal - to overdose a bunny you'd basically have to way over dose in a way that's completely negligent... even slightly overdosing is fine and some folks do that on purpose to ensure all worms are killed and none develop a resistance) . In fact, humans can gulp it down too (one or two vets took delight in demonstrating this).

But if you are REALLY worried, just place your thumb over the cap and shake the entire tube between uses If it has somehow separated from settling, that will mix the stuff right up again.