Fly strike

[bunnymadhouse]

So
Today I noticed Beryl didn't seem right
She couldn't seem to get comfy and didn't want to come out of the shed
She's had sore hocks again and I thought it was that

I picked her up to check her over and a big maggot fell off her [emoji15][emoji32]

She had fly strike

So this is how fast it happens , last night she was all checked over . Groomed . Tipped up and checked underneath .
I saw nothing .

So folks

Check your bunnies .
Carefully
And often

I thought she was safe
She wasn't

I think we got them all .. I'm hoping she will go ok


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[Foofy]

Crikey what a worry for you I do hope that she will be OK, please keep us updated x

[bunnymadhouse]

doing ok so far today

been to vets
on pain killers and depoccillin injections

looks like they were eating her skin but hadnt broke through .

thank goodness i checked her when i did

[Foofy]

Glad to hear she's doing OK

Quite a few years ago my REW Honey (the one in my avatar) got flystrike I noticed it early one morning and rushed her up to the vets when they opened the maggots must have hatched overnight, they had also started eating her skin on her tail and she had to have her tail amputated but luckily she did survive because I saw it early enough and my vets knew what to do and quickly. It is a truly horrible thing for any animal to get I never want to see that ever again

[sdf76]

well done bunnymadhouse for not just assuming it was a usual problem. I hope Beryl makes a speedy recovery.

Fly strike is dreadful . It is so important to check regularly so you can catch it early.

Even on rabbits who have no health issues ,all it takes is for a bit of poo to get stuck on their back- even if the poo drops off- a fly can smell it and land and lay its eggs. the eggs hatch and the maggots crawl down to the tail and genitals.

When you check your rabbit, it is not only the genitals and tail area ...but halfway up the back you need to check too- Here the eggs will look like tiny grains of rice and will be in clumps. If you notice any patches of fur on your rabbits back like this, then look closely prising the hairs apart or comb the clump. You should be able to see the eggs with the naked eye.

pick off any visible eggs or maggots as fast as you can and get your rabbit to the vet immediately.

We used to use a preventative liquid ( I forget the name ) from the vets to spread from halfway up Coco's back to the tail and underneath around genitals. However- because he had continence and arthritis issues- he sometimes needed to be washed underneath and we didn't realise this reduced the effectiveness of the treatment - he ended up getting flystrike, but we caught it early enough and he survived. We later used a different treatment to prevent it.
sue