Morgana has flystrike

[vanessa]

When I joined the forum I didn’t want to talk about Morgana and Avalon, because they are my outside bunnies. I brought Guin and Merlin in when he got flystrike and E.C. He passed away. Guin also had a few warbles, but I killed them with ivermectin when they were still small, and she is a very healthy (but overweight bunny). I adopted Lancelot and am working on bonding him with Guin. They are my indoor bunnies. I wanted to bring Morgana and Avalon inside, but I didn’t know where to put them. Guin and Lancelot share the 3rd bedroom. It is divided in two. The 2nd room is a guest room, and then there is my room. So I hadn’t figured out what to do with Morgana and Avalon. I went outside to brush her this evening coz she is shedding like a beast, and I noticed 2 warble lumps. I coudl see one of the warbles, so I pulled it out with tweezers. Gross!!! I couldn’t reach the other warble. She is a light-weight, so I gave her half a baby aspirin (I know it is controversial, but it helped Merlin with his pain). I also gave her a dose of chloramphenicol for her body weight. In the morning I’ll drop her off at the vet, along with Avalon. It’s a 45 minute ride to the vet, and then I still need to get back for the 30minute drive to work – by 8am. I’m so heart-sick.

When I first got my bunnies, I didn’t really know much about bunny care. Now that I know better – I know I have needed to bring them in. I just hadn’t figured out a plan yet. And now I need to. I will have to keep them separate untill her wound heals. She has an open wound from where I plucked the first warble out I don’t want him licking it. For the evening, she is in a large bunny crate, and he is in a larger dog crate, facing each other.

I’ll need to set up a temporary living arrangement for them. Once she is through the flystrike, I have 3 options. Adopt them out (don’t want to do that), keep 2 pairs of bunnies in the house separately, (Guin and Lancelot are not yet fully bonded), or try to bond all 4 (Difficult). Either way, I need to figure out a place for them. It might have to be the guest room. It will take quite a huge effort to get that room cleaned out… 

And I have work travel comming up…

I feel so bad for letting them stay outside for so long. And I also feel bad for getting so many rabbits in the first place. It’s a lot of logistics keeping them all healthy and safe. But I have them – so I have to make it work for their best interest. 

[vanessa]

Got the bunnies back home this evening. Morgana will be fine. The warbles got into her winter fat, not her muscle. She is on antibiotics, but still has a good appetite. She has fly wounds that need to heal some before I put her back with Avalon, so she is in a hospital cage in his pen in the house. Avalon is fine. No flies for him. Now for the new housing plan… I have work travel coming up, and I had planned on bringing Guin and Lancelot with, to keep working on their bonding. Now I’ll need to bring all the rabbits with. With 2 separate pen set-ups. Hopefully – Guin and Lancelot can be put together after 2 weeks of bonding in a hotel. Then I can put Guin and Lancelot in his half of the room, and Morgana and Avalon in Guin’s half – with 6 inches of space and shadecloth or something to restrict their view while the 2 pairs get use to each other’s scent. I’d like to keep them paired off in the bunny room for maybe half a year before deciding if I am going to bond a quartet. And I need to teach Morgana and Avalon to be house bunnies. Just like when I brought Guin and Merlin in – tile floor first, in an air conditioned room, so they can learn not to dig their former cooling-pits. I have a separate window unit int he utility room, apart from central AC, so I can control the temp in that room separately. Then heavily covered carpet, then a combination of fleece and carpet and towels. What a horrible experience. I hope no-one else here has outdoor bunnies. I had researched fly prevention, and it is just about impossible to prevent. The UK has prescription meds that can prevent it – only available int he UK, and non-prescription meds that kill the larvae once they are in the bunnies. But then you have dead larvae releasing toxins, to remove. Bad all the way around. And I’m not in the UK, so I can’t get the prevention. So – bunny logistics here we come!

[BB & Tiny]

I wish you luck with whatever direction you choose

Mine are indoor and I freak if a fly even enters the house. Though I think it is a particular type of fly ? Bottle fly was it ? Can’t recall. Screen all summer here and if a family member holds the door open they best expect to be yelled at.

[vanessa]

It’s a bot fly. Nasty #$%^%^&&. It seeks out cattle, sheep, horses – and bunnies. I have horses and cows one street over from me. There are over 30 types of bot flies. The warbles (worm stage) are nasty and huge. Gave me the heebee-jeebies to pull that sucker out, but I couldnt’ leave it in her overnight. The vet pulled out the second one that I couldn’t reach, but one of his receptionists kept it as a PET!!! That made me mad. She is feeding her pet warble, courtesy of Morgana’s distress. That thing will develop into a bot fly, and hurt some other poor animal. I drowned the one I pulled in rubbing alcohol.
I feel so bad. I’m glad I know better now than when I first got the bunnies, but good grief, what a horrible thing. Thank goodness my boyfriend is super understanding. Coz the sunroom is the dog room, the 3rd bedroom is the bunny/cat room, the utility room is the hospital/quarantine room, and then there is the 240 square foot aviary with 20 birds!

[BB & Tiny]

That sounds horrid

[Author]

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