My rabbit has worms!!

[charlie82]

Yesterday I was reading a post on rabbits united about a forum members bunny having pinworms, thought how lucky I was never to have experienced it then walked in to find one on my baby bunnies poo!! I couldn’t believe it and was actually quite freaked out…I am no good with this sort of thing. I guess it’s my fault because she is 11 weeks old and I should have had her on panacur from first getting her…

I have started them all on panacur now but what about the nursing doe?

[kimberleyanddarren]

pinworm is contagious so keep ur other bunnies away from the infected one not sure about the nursing doe though.. sorry

[Sarita]

I’ve had pinworms with one of my rescued rabbits and it seemed easily cured with the panacur – I think that’s what the vet described. Not certain about the nursing rabbit though – I think I would get advice from the vet on this.

[charlie82]

Thanks..

I think more than likely she had them when I acquired her, I could just kick myself for not following usual protocol of routinely worming all new buns.#
Yes I have read that pancur should be effective, I’ve only actually seen that one worm so far, although I’m sure the eggs are too small to see with the naked eye. I will check with the vet about the nursing doe. I don’t think she would have contracted it though as she has always been kept well away from my rabbits. I know it’s a specific species only parasite but i’m going to work the dogs and cat too since they are due for worming anyway. Thankfully it isn’t transmissable to humans!

Sarita – sorry to sound gross but what was it like when your bunny had pinworms? were there lots of them and were they alive when excreted?

[Sarita]

I didn’t even know he had pinworms – I always have the vet do a fecal float for my new rescues and she discovered them. She said he wasn’t totally infested though. I didn’t notice them in his fecals either.

[bunny04]

Hi,

when i got my mini rex he had pinworms also. He had them for about 6 months, he’s my first rabbit and i just thought in the beginning it was mucus or slime. Then later on one day when i was cleaning up the poops in his cage i looked at them and a couple had this little white stuff moving around. I freaked out!!!. Next day went to the vet with a sample and i was told he had pinworms. The vet gave me panacur as well. The important thing is that it is a 2 week treatment. So just say you give it on monday then would have to give it 2 weeks from that monday again. The treatment is a 2 part treatment because that is how the medication kills the lifecycle of the eggs. If you just give it once it wont work and wont get rid of the pinworms. Im not sure about the dosage, just to make sure you should contact your vet. If you saw one im sure their are more they reproduce quite fast.

I used panacur it got rid of them, but you have to give it two weeks apart not 3 weeks or it is not effective.

[charlie82]

thanks!!
I’m giving all of the buns panacur and it’s a nine day course. I have weighed all of the buns to get accurate weights and will panacur the babies once they are old enough. I’m going to take a stool sample to the vets in 12 days time to see if it is clear.

[Spacehopper]

God you poor thing, i know exactly how you feel. When I found a worm on Brian’s poop i went into a mad cleaning phase, not just for it making my skin crawl but the fact i couldn’t do anything to help my BriStar until i could get him to the vet. What made me mad was the boyfriend refused to believe me and claimed he couldn’t SEE the horrible thrashing thready worm on the poop i showed him…and neither did the vet! THAT was the boyfriend’s fault too as he laughed when i had a go at him for not washing the greens before giving them, so if those worms came in from anywhere, it was the dirty great handful of dandelions and grass he ONCE “lovingly” collected for Bri. The pillock.

Make sure you clean out the litter more regularly than usual to stop reinfecting whilst medication is getting to work too. Your poor bun.x

[charlie82]

Posted By Spacehopper on 02/04/2008 1:14 PM
God you poor thing, i know exactly how you feel. When I found a worm on Brian’s poop i went into a mad cleaning phase, not just for it making my skin crawl but the fact i couldn’t do anything to help my BriStar until i could get him to the vet. What made me mad was the boyfriend refused to believe me and claimed he couldn’t SEE the horrible thrashing thready worm on the poop i showed him…and neither did the vet! THAT was the boyfriend’s fault too as he laughed when i had a go at him for not washing the greens before giving them, so if those worms came in from anywhere, it was the dirty great handful of dandelions and grass he ONCE “lovingly” collected for Bri. The pillock.

Make sure you clean out the litter more regularly than usual to stop reinfecting whilst medication is getting to work too. Your poor bun.

Thanks! It makes me feel better knowing that other people have experienced this and it’s not because my rabbits are  ‘dirty’. I’m fairly certain that she must have had them before coming to me. I noticed mucus on occassions when I first got her but didn’t concern myself too much, thinking back it was most likely worms that I saw. I have been lucky enough not to see any live ones as the original one I found was dead.  I’ve been religiously checking everyones poop (how lovely) and so far she seems the only one actually infected although they are all on panacur. Tonight I checked her tray and there were a lot of dead worms of different sizes on her droppings so I think it must be working already. I’ve had to confine her to her cage though which I feel awful about and disinfect my bedroom where she spends most of her time  It broke my heart when she tried to climb out of her cage tonight.  x

[Spacehopper]

Looks like it’s definitely working, i know I was quite urgh! at the dead worm stage and like you, it broke my heart having to shut Brian in his cage at night, but I turned into a weirdo (says the boyfriend!..like he can talk..lol) after a Google overdose reading up on how the eggs can be airborne, and get into clothes etc…i was non stop cleaning & washing…jesus I was even “checking” myself…lol (don’t fret tho, non transferrable to humans and vice versa!!!!)…it’s almost like winning a war knowing those horrible little bstrds have been defeated. 🙂

[charlie82]

Posted By Spacehopper on 02/05/2008 1:14 AM
Looks like it’s definitely working, i know I was quite urgh! at the dead worm stage and like you, it broke my heart having to shut Brian in his cage at night, but I turned into a weirdo (says the boyfriend!..like he can talk..lol) after a Google overdose reading up on how the eggs can be airborne, and get into clothes etc…i was non stop cleaning & washing…jesus I was even “checking” myself…lol (don’t fret tho, non transferrable to humans and vice versa!!!!)…it’s almost like winning a war knowing those horrible little bstrds have been defeated. 🙂

 

He he yeah I’ve been reacting the same way I dread checking her litter tray too. I just can’t stand this sort of thing, When I first moved into this house 18 months ago  it turned out it was totally flea infested and within a day my poor bunnies were crawling with them. I felt ill, and had to sit and pick them off them because I just couldn’t wait for the flea treatment to kick in. Luckily within 24 hours it had worked so most fleas left were either dead or dying. I had to douse the house in industrial flea spray (probably over did it) all of our furniture beds etc…. We then put the dogs and cat on programme all year round and the bunnies get treated regularly as does the house. Luckily we haven’t had a repeat episode since…..until the worm thing 🙁 I just feel sorry for my baby because she is so little and must be infested judging by how many I saw yesterday I’ll be having them on a course of panacur at least three times a year now!!  (By the way it’s only 3.55 per syringe on http://www.vetuk.co.uk rather then 6 at the vets….I’ve ordered a good supply!).

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