Flystrike in rabbits, , also called Myiasis Cuniculi, is real, its scary fast and its deadly. And it can happen in even the most loved and looked after rabbits if they have certain medical conditions.
We experienced 16 Flystrike episodes (4 of our own, and 12 brought in to us upon discovery) over a period of 5 years, and I want to make this clear:
It is NOT a shame if your bunny gets it, it IS a shame if you do not find it fast enough and get help. Immediate Vet help. We lost only two of the bunnies, who were brought in too late, already in stage 3 maggots.
You CANNOT even begin to compare Rabbit Flystrike with maggots in wounds from dogs and even cats. Rabbits have a super thin skin, maggots eat through this skin in mere minutes, and starts burrowing.
After the 3d rabbit we saw and treated, we realized the info that we have regarding timeframes are very wrong – and read up online that it differs in heat and humidity, So, We did over 25 experiments (3 per time, to monitor the same conditions), with chicken or beef liver, in order to ensure we know exactly what to expect in flystrike in rabbits.
The timeframe I give below is for the average of upper Southern Cape/Karoo climate, where we have average 27- 38° in summerdays. We also did experiments for 22-25°, and for specific 34-37° If it is hotter, or more humid, the cycle goes even faster. In the slight cooler weather, the cycle was a lot slower.
This is our findings and time frame for our average summer temperure where we stay.
Green bottle flies are 99% of the time the culprits in flystrike of rabbits, and lay their eggs in wet fur, usually in the late morning or afternoon. It takes 6-8 hrs for these eggs to hatch, depending on humidity. The 1st phase worms are tiny, about 2 to 3 mm, and have no teeth. They extrete a slime containing a lignocaine like (topical anaesthetic) substance so the rabbit does not even feel them. This also loosens the hair from the body and create even more wettness.
They “eat” on the outer keratin layers (epidermis and dermis) of the skin.
After about 6-8 hrs more, they develop into 2d phase maggots. These Maggots have “teeth” and will be about 7 – 10mm long.
The maggots will start eating through the skin and and into the fascia, to get to the organs. We most often find the rabbits are discovered in this phase. There are severe discomfort when the maggots get to the fascia, as the body responds with swelling and inflamation. The rabbit still does not feel the bites itself due to the lignocaine like substance excreted by the worms. But because of discomfort, they sit and will not eat, and are noticed as unwell by their owners.
After 16-18 hrs from hatching, the maggots develop tubular teeth, (so a whole circle of teeth in their mouths) and they eat through all fascia (muscle and tendon sheeths) into the rabbits abdomen. We have never been able to save a rabbit that had been eaten into the organs. They develop severe sepsis from the fluids excreted by the maggots and die. We will take a rabbit that has 3d phase maggots to the vet immediately to be assisted to the rainbow bridge while there is still some dignity. Luckily we only had 2 so far.
Treating the rabbit:
Call your vet and ask if you can come in immediately. If you cannot (some people do not have vets close by, and some vets are not always open 24hrs) you need to start treatment to make it easier for survival.
Immediately make a lukewarm bath with a bit of F10 and wash off all the worms you can. Then, you need :
-tweezers, scissors
– bowl of clean water
– cotton pads that does not give off fibers
– methylated spirits
-Pillow and Puppypad (linen saver) to work on.
– pair of extra hands if you can.
Flip the rabbit on to his back MAKING SURE THE HEAD IS ON THE PILLOW so at least 30° above the bum. Do NOT trance your rabbit. One person should hold the rabbit secure like this, and cut as short as you can the hair over the area. Make VERY sure you do not cut skin.
Remove all the worms you can still see, and drip methalated spirits over wounds to see if more worms comes out.
If you do not see any more worms, give ample pain medication and glucose water or glucose tea (honey tea if you have raw safe honey – refer to our discussion on honey and tea) and see if the rabbit will eat.
You have to get to your vet soonest. Pain and infection is imminent and deadly. The moment you have removed the worms and they are not eating and creating lignocaine to numb the area, rhe pain will strike. You will need your vet to inject antibiotics and give the right antibiotic treatment for home, and ensure that the rabbit is correctly shaven. Any hair around the area give lead to secondary infection. Your vet needs to take the rabbit’s temperature and assess heartbeat and breathing, (stress) and treat accordingly. Your rabbit may need to sleep over at the vet on a drip if you do have the medical know how, or need to work the next morning.
The rabbit should then be kept in a latge carrier or in a smaller cage under netting so no other insect can get to him/her untill healed, with treatments and cleanses and creams every 6 hrs, as prescribed by your vet.
The vet must also assess why the rabbit attracted bortle flies in the first place, and work out treatment for this. This is VERY IMPORTANT!
What can happen to attract bottle flies?
– wet fur due to bladder infection or sludge
– wet fur due to diahrea,
– vent disease
– dirty vents, esp from unspayed females or unneutered males
– other diseases affecting the GI Tract.
Sometimes you can pick up your bunny and maggots fall down, but they do not have wet fur. This means they were sitting on a very wet soiled area where normal houseflies are breeding.
More people that found that green bottle fly cycles and other fly depends on the humidity and heat: read more on
https://apbioandstuff.wordpress.com/2016/10/25/how-accurate-is-our-textbooks-forensic-entomology-section/.