Fly strike in bunnies

[bunnybuns]

I just read a sad story of a bunny that got infected with maggots on here and sadly died on the BB forums. I’m just wondering, how does a bunny get fly strike? Do they get it if they have a poopy butt or UTI, or they can get it if a fly just lands on them and lays eggs (while the bunny doesn’t have UTI or a poopy butt)? I know that they get infected frequently in the summer and wanna prevent my rabbits from getting infected.

[joea64]

From my own reading, the best protection against fly strike is, firstly, to keep your bunnies indoors rather than outdoors, and secondly, to keep their cage/habitat and most particularly their litterbox clean. Change out the used litter for fresh litter every couple of days, clean the litterbox (white vinegar is recommended, with a spray bottle) every week, and do regular checks on your rabbits as part of their overall health check, say when you’re grooming them, to make sure their butts are clean and there isn’t any fecal matter (regular poops or cecotropes) stuck to the fur there.

[tobyluv]

It is definitely safer to keep rabbits indoors. A rabbit doesn’t even have to have a poopy butt to have problems with flies. I know someone who let her rabbit run around outside in a small fenced in area adjacent to the house, that was overgrown in parts by various vegetation. The rabbit did not have a messy bottom. Some flies, like the bot fly, lay eggs in the grass or in vegetation, then the rabbit hops by and picks up the eggs when brushing by them. This poor rabbit got 7 warbles. They were removed and she was treated with antibiotics and other medications. It was also thought that she might have nibbled on some plants that might have been toxic. She was given all kinds of treatments by a very qualified vet, but she didn’t make it.

[bunnybuns]

Oh god i had no idea they can pick up fly eggs from the vegetation! I once let Mile out on a leash and i was scared of him getting fly strike so i let him inside the house to play. I clean litterboxes every day and their cages also, they’re indoor bunnies but i don’t check their bums. I know Bella when she eats her cecotropes they sometimes fall down on the floor but she eats them all, i’ve never seen any poops stuck to her fur but i’ll check both of their butts.

[Bam]

They can pick up warbles from vegetation, but actual flystrike, when bottle flies (blow flies, Calliphora), lay eggs on a bunny and the eggs hatch to maggots, is primarily related to poor hygiene or open wounds. Poopy butt, urine scald, compromized skin, open wounds attract bottle flies, because they signal a food-source for the fly offspring.

Richard saunders (British rabbit vet) says to check the butt of bunnies housed outside 3 times/day during hot spells in the summer. The fly eggs can hatch in 6 hours if the conditions are optimal.

When I take my Bam outside, he has mosquito netting around his cage/run. I still check his butt when he goes back inside of course.

The cage/run Bam has at my mother’s. 

[joea64]

I just looked it up and the common green bottle (blow) fly is present in Northern Virginia, so I will have to be very careful about that.

[Author]

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