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Flystrike
myiasis
In summer flies lay eggs on soiled, damp fur or in wounds, and the maggots that hatch start eating the skin — in hot weather this happens within a day. Rabbits with a rear soiled by droppings and urine, diarrhoea or obesity are most at risk. This is an emergency — a rabbit can die within a day.
When to call a vet
Call a vet now
This can’t wait: call a vet immediately.
Maggots may already be under the skin, and the rabbit needs pain relief and treatment for shock — call a vet immediately
Symptoms
- Visible maggots or fly eggs (tiny white grains) under the tail, on the rear or in a wound
- Wet, matted, foul-smelling fur on the rear
- Restlessness and biting at the rear, or the opposite — weakness and lying still
- Refusing food and signs of shock: cold ears and collapse
What to do
- 1 Pick off visible maggots with tweezers straight away
- 2 Move the rabbit to a cool, quiet, fly-free place
- Maggots may already be under the skin, and the rabbit needs pain relief and treatment for shock — call a vet immediately
- 4 Check the other rabbits too and fix the cause, such as diarrhoea or dirty cages
What not to do
- Do not bathe the whole rabbit or put kerosene, petrol or insecticides on the skin
When it strikes
Fly season — roughly April to October in Uzbekistan's climate, worst in the June–August heat; rabbits with a soiled rear (after diarrhoea, or overweight adults) are struck first.
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Prevention
- In summer check the rear of every rabbit daily, and twice a day in hot weather
- Keep cages clean and remove droppings and wet bedding often
- Fit fly screens and keep the manure heap away from the rabbitry
- Deal with diarrhoea quickly and do not let rabbits get fat
- Change soiled bedding in nest boxes often in summer
Causes
- Damp fur soiled with droppings and urine
- Diarrhoea, obesity, or dental or leg problems that stop the rabbit cleaning itself
- Dirty cages, piled-up manure and many flies
- Untreated wounds