Maggots in the condo??

[Laurie]

Hello all!

Has anyone else ever seen maggots appear under a water bowl (collection for the spillage from the water bottle)?  My one rabbit has a habit of sticking his nose under the spout of the water bottle, and gets water everywhere.  I went to clean the bowl (it’s detachable for easy cleaning), and there were MAGGOTS!   Needless to say, I cleaned EVERYTHING and made sure that the bun was fine – he seems to be doing just fine, I’m the only one freaking out! 

Aside from cleaning MUCH more frequently, is there anything else I could do?  I used those pet wipes that are safe for the bun to be around, and I don’t see maggots in the other bun’s condo.  Even called our 24-hr emergency pet ER to check with them that all should be ok, and they said as long as bun is pooping / peeing / behaving normal that all should be good!

[Azerane]

Ooh that is unusual to have maggots just on the water bowl. They weren’t in the bowl? Was the bowl sitting on the floor and they were in between the bottom of the bowl and the flooring?

You could plant some insect repelling plants around the cage (out of reach of bun as many (not all) aren’t safe for buns). Otherwise perhaps placing a larger bowl underneath the bottle will prevent water getting on the floor and will mean you only end up with water in the bowl. Was there also poop or wee in the area of the bowl? Keeping the litter tray and cage clean in general will help with reducing the attraction to flies.

Also just adding, check bun over thoroughly for maggots. They burrow under the skin so can be very hard to detect. Usually they’re around the rear end by their bottom, between the legs etc.

[Laurie]

Yes, perhaps a bigger bowl. No poop / pee around the area – he has a 2 story condo and this was on the upper portion with no litter nearby. There was a small gap under the bowl and very thin carpet liner – checked bun over as well as I could, he and his poops / litter seems to be fine. Think I caught it early enough! But still, just gross! I have since thrown out the carpet – there’s doggy piddle pads until a new carpet will arrive in the mail (I should be able to see if there’s any poop problems as the pads are white). I also changed & cleaned the rest of his condo to be safe.

[Azerane]

Sounds like you have things under control

Just keep a close eye with the pee pads to ensure he’s not chewing them as they can be dangerous if ingested. If he leaves them be that’s no issue.

[Laurie]

Thanks!  He has been leaving the pads alone – he hates them!  Should get a new carpet in the mail tomorrow, I’m sure he can’t wait.  Haven’t seen anymore larvae / moths since clearing out his condo. 

[Azerane]

That’s great news. I’m glad you managed to clear it out without any further issues

[MaddieRabbits]

I actually found a maggot in Fern’s cage the other day when cleaning her out due to a similar situation. She is currently living in an indoor rabbit cage until around next month when she is spayed and can then live free roam with my other rabbit Apollo, but obviously in those indoor cages they don’t have much space so poops can end up everywhere. I’m working everyday at the moment and after coming home the other day I noticed Fern had tipped her water bowl and it caused a few poops in the corner of her cage to become soggy but when cleaning them up I found a maggot (eww). I reacted exactly as you did and immediately checked her over, making sure her backside especially wasn’t dirty or irritated but she was completely fine and I think it was just a result of the amount of flies in my house during summer as we live by farms and keep the windows open. Its super disgusting and can obviously be harmful if it gets out of control but in both your situation and mine we caught it very quickly and now keep an eye on it. After finding the maggot in Fern’s cage I took everything apart and cleaned it thoroughly with the Beaphar deep clean disinfectant which is safe for rabbits as well as vinegar and water.

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By MaddieRabbits on 9/06/2018 6:37 AM

I actually found a maggot in Fern’s cage the other day when cleaning her out due to a similar situation. She is currently living in an indoor rabbit cage until around next month when she is spayed and can then live free roam with my other rabbit Apollo, but obviously in those indoor cages they don’t have much space so poops can end up everywhere. I’m working everyday at the moment and after coming home the other day I noticed Fern had tipped her water bowl and it caused a few poops in the corner of her cage to become soggy but when cleaning them up I found a maggot (eww). I reacted exactly as you did and immediately checked her over, making sure her backside especially wasn’t dirty or irritated but she was completely fine and I think it was just a result of the amount of flies in my house during summer as we live by farms and keep the windows open. Its super disgusting and can obviously be harmful if it gets out of control but in both your situation and mine we caught it very quickly and now keep an eye on it. After finding the maggot in Fern’s cage I took everything apart and cleaned it thoroughly with the Beaphar deep clean disinfectant which is safe for rabbits as well as vinegar and water.

Don’t know whether you are aware but just in case: once your doe has been spayed, you need to go through a bonding process. You can’t just immediately let her free roam with Apollo. Also if her indoor cage is too small, you can use a pen set up instead

[MaddieRabbits]

Posted By sarahthegemini on 9/06/2018 11:01 AM

Posted By MaddieRabbits on 9/06/2018 6:37 AM

I actually found a maggot in Fern’s cage the other day when cleaning her out due to a similar situation. She is currently living in an indoor rabbit cage until around next month when she is spayed and can then live free roam with my other rabbit Apollo, but obviously in those indoor cages they don’t have much space so poops can end up everywhere. I’m working everyday at the moment and after coming home the other day I noticed Fern had tipped her water bowl and it caused a few poops in the corner of her cage to become soggy but when cleaning them up I found a maggot (eww). I reacted exactly as you did and immediately checked her over, making sure her backside especially wasn’t dirty or irritated but she was completely fine and I think it was just a result of the amount of flies in my house during summer as we live by farms and keep the windows open. Its super disgusting and can obviously be harmful if it gets out of control but in both your situation and mine we caught it very quickly and now keep an eye on it. After finding the maggot in Fern’s cage I took everything apart and cleaned it thoroughly with the Beaphar deep clean disinfectant which is safe for rabbits as well as vinegar and water.

Don’t know whether you are aware but just in case: once your doe has been spayed, you need to go through a bonding process. You can’t just immediately let her free roam with Apollo. Also if her indoor cage is too small, you can use a pen set up instead

Thanks for your advice, but yes I am aware so no worries about that! She is let out for a few hours daily to free roam I’m just reluctant to keep her in a pen in the same room as Apollo as he managed to get in the last one I had and I can’t keep them in any other rooms due to my dogs

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