Is flea and worming actually needed?

[sarahthegemini]

My vet advised me to Flea treat the buns every month, and worm them with panacur for 9 days 3-4 times per year. But is this actually necessary? They have been having flea stuff on the 26th of each month, I’ve got a couple of months of Advantage left. Worming was last done on the 26th October so will be due end of February. I’m wondering your thoughts on this? My bunnies never go outside  (don’t have a garden) and don’t have contact directly with other animals but my mum has two German shepherds that I see regularly  (they get Flea treated routinely) and my boyfriend is a delivery driver so comes into contact with people’s homes and their pets. What do you think? 

[tobyluv]

I had to treat one of my past rabbits for fleas. I think that my husband brought them home from his Mother’s cats. That was the only time I ever treated a rabbit for fleas and none of my other rabbits have ever had them or were given preventatives. Another of my past bunnies was one that we found outside. She did have worms, tapeworms, likely from eating vegetation where other animals had gone to the bathroom. She was treated with one injection of Droncit and that got rid of them. None of my other bunnies ever had worms or were given preventatives. I don’t like to put harsh chemicals or treatments on or in my bunnies unless there is a problem and they need treatment. No vet has ever advised me to routinely treat a rabbit with no signs of a problem.

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By tobyluv on 2/02/2017 3:30 PM

I had to treat one of my past rabbits for fleas. I think that my husband brought them home from his Mother’s cats. That was the only time I ever treated a rabbit for fleas and none of my other rabbits have ever had them or were given preventatives. Another of my past bunnies was one that we found outside. She did have worms, tapeworms, likely from eating vegetation where other animals had gone to the bathroom. She was treated with one injection of Droncit and that got rid of them. None of my other bunnies ever had worms or were given preventatives. I don’t like to put harsh chemicals or treatments on or in my bunnies unless there is a problem and they need treatment. No vet has ever advised me to routinely treat a rabbit with no signs of a problem.

So it would be okay to not treat them with preventatives, just treat the problem if it arises? I was looking on the Advantage leaflet the other day and it said something about only lasting a week or so on rabbits so it seems a bit…pointless anyway. Not to mention, my rabbits get very stroppy when I put it on them! The worming isn’t so bad as they liked the taste of it but I also would prefer not to put chemicals on them if possible. 

[Bam]

The panacur for 9 days is specifically to prevent possible e cuniculi from causing disease. They say as many as 80% of all rabbits could be carriers of this microorganism, but very few of the carriers actually get sick. It has been suggested that bunnies be treated with Panacur for 9 days twice a year to keep the microorganisms from multiplying. There’s no consensus regarding this, though. The company making Panacur of course thinks it’s a lovely idea, but not all vets agree. Panacur has very few side-effects, but many vets feel you should only treat rabbits that you know for a fact have been exposed to (or tested positive for) e cuniculi. Your vet might be of a different opinion, and as a rule, I go with what my vet says if i feel it’s a vet I can trust.

I don’t routinely treat my bun with anything, but last summer I gave both my buns s-methoprene to prevent fly strike, because I let them outside a couple of hours every week. But later i gave them mosquito netting around their runs, so there were no flies that could get to them. In the UK you can get Rearguard and other compounds with Ivermectin that are probably more effective against fly strike, but it won’t protect against the ixodes ticks. Bayvantic protects against ticks, but the tick-repelling substance permethrin is not considered entirely bunny safe. The other compound in the mix, imidaclopride, is bunny safe but won’t kill ticks.

I’ve never dewormed my buns. It’s recommended you deworm buns that live permanently outside (and graze) 1-2 times a year. Or if you find worms in your bun’s poop, obviously, but that’s rather a given =)

[Krista]

I recently found out my vet that I take my dogs to sells liquid panacur for $2 for my Bilbo’s weight. They said it lasts 6 months. If your vet offers a similar deal I would say take it and be safer rather than sorry if EC arises. That’s less than $10 a year which is really quite the deal. That is if your vet offers it. It is for dogs but they said it is just the dosage that matters.

[Q8bunny]

Chewie got treated for both (although the flea treatment was mostly to cure his mange – caused by mites) when he first adopted me. Since, I’ve only done monthly Revolution drops during the months when we go outside to play (a lot of feral cats in Kuwait). So far no problems

[LBJ10]

Honestly, I’ve only treated my buns for fleas once and it was because we found fleas on the dog. If a bunny is kept indoors all the time, the likelihood of them getting fleas or parasites is very very low. As Bam said, EC is common in rabbits and they can carry it since birth (can be passed from mother to baby). Many never show symptoms and treating regularly with Panacur is highly debated. Personally, I’m reluctant to treat for fleas or parasites unless there is a reason to (i.e. fleas present, symptoms of EC appear, etc.). Besides, Advantage is metabolized so fast in rabbits that treating once a month is a waste.

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By LBJ10 on 2/02/2017 11:48 PM

Honestly, I’ve only treated my buns for fleas once and it was because we found fleas on the dog. If a bunny is kept indoors all the time, the likelihood of them getting fleas or parasites is very very low. As Bam said, EC is common in rabbits and they can carry it since birth (can be passed from mother to baby). Many never show symptoms and treating regularly with Panacur is highly debated. Personally, I’m reluctant to treat for fleas or parasites unless there is a reason to (i.e. fleas present, symptoms of EC appear, etc.). Besides, Advantage is metabolized so fast in rabbits that treating once a month is a waste.

Yeah that’s what made me question it. Hmm maybe I’ll worm them regularly but forgo the flea treatment. 

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By bam on 2/02/2017 3:55 PM

The panacur for 9 days is specifically to prevent possible e cuniculi from causing disease. They say as many as 80% of all rabbits could be carriers of this microorganism, but very few of the carriers actually get sick. It has been suggested that bunnies be treated with Panacur for 9 days twice a year to keep the microorganisms from multiplying. There’s no consensus regarding this, though. The company making Panacur of course thinks it’s a lovely idea, but not all vets agree. Panacur has very few side-effects, but many vets feel you should only treat rabbits that you know for a fact have been exposed to (or tested positive for) e cuniculi. Your vet might be of a different opinion, and as a rule, I go with what my vet says if i feel it’s a vet I can trust.

I don’t routinely treat my bun with anything, but last summer I gave both my buns s-methoprene to prevent fly strike, because I let them outside a couple of hours every week. But later i gave them mosquito netting around their runs, so there were no flies that could get to them. In the UK you can get Rearguard and other compounds with Ivermectin that are probably more effective against fly strike, but it won’t protect against the ixodes ticks. Bayvantic protects against ticks, but the tick-repelling substance permethrin is not considered entirely bunny safe. The other compound in the mix, imidaclopride, is bunny safe but won’t kill ticks.

I’ve never dewormed my buns. It’s recommended you deworm buns that live permanently outside (and graze) 1-2 times a year. Or if you find worms in your bun’s poop, obviously, but that’s rather a given =)

I’m a bit nervous about the possibility of E cuniculi, I’ve read horror stories! I think I’ll continue to worm just to be on the safe side. Especially as it has very few side effects. 

[wk]

Unfortunately the deworming information reached me too late. My rabbit got head tilt three weeks ago.

Didn’t know much about panacur or wry neck. My rabbits stay indoor n roam the garden. But they go to a rabbit pet shop for grooming and boarding often. There have been wry neck cases at the pet shop. Some preventive measures would have been beneficial

[Author]

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