Mortified at the site of worms!!!

I am officially freaking out!

I was just sitting with Alfi and i noticed a poo with a strange white string on it... I showed it to my wife and we started to dissect all of the poos in her litter. Didn't find anymore...
We returned to sit with Alfi and i found another poo with a white worm on it!!! HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE!??

After internet searching, i think its a pinworm... cause by the ingestion of infected food or water?!! Our poor little Bun! First her eye, now this!!
i feel like an unfit parent! We clean her cage once if not twice a day, are constantly changing her hay and water... I'm super picky on which pieces of fresh vegetable she gets... How on earth could she have caught this! She's an apartment rabbit!!!

It's midnight here and our rabbit vet is closed on Sundays... I left a message with the 24 hour emergency vet, their exotic animal specialist is suppose to call me when he gets the message... Is this a serious condition??? Will they be able to treat this even if she is on other meds for her eyes? Are these worm contagious?

I have found one other exotic animal vet that is open tomorrow at noon... Will call at 12:01!!

I know you checked out the other thread where there was a photo of a worm poo. In the UK we have a paste called Panacur that we give our buns to prevent worms and another illness caused by a parasite. It is a bit like toothpaste and comes in a tube which measures out a specific dose every time. We give it once a day for 9 days. It may be called something different in Canada.

It is just bad luck and nothing to do with your care of Alfie. It might be that his immunse system has been a little down what with his sore eye and that may have helped the worm develop. He might have had it from his mother, I know that puppies can be born with worms, so might rabbits.

Don't panic!

I have had worms - well BJ and/or Rosie have - twice! There was I admiring their large golden poops and yuk yuk yuk. I also know of someone with an indoor rabbit who had worms. Alfi may well have arrived to you with worms so please don't blame yourself.

As Nickie has said the buns can be easily treated with Fenbendazole which is the active ingredient in Panacur or Lapizole. These can be bought without a prescription in the UK. I would imagine your vet will supply you with something similar, if not one of them.

Both times I treated the buns for 9 days, both times there were no more worms visible in the poops after 3/4 days so the drug does act quickly

Vile things they are though, they send a shiver up my spine

Ooh - am a bit slow off the mark - I see you found my thread about worms That picture

You'll be fine to wait until tomorrow to get some paste, so do not panic! Had you lived in the UK you could have picked up some Panacur Paste from a pet store as our P@H sell them but I don't know anything about the pet trade in Canada!

It's not serious as long as you get it treated and don't leave it. It is contagious between rabbits and may spread to other animals, so if you have a dog or cat you may want to worm them too. You will also need to take care!

Thank you all for the reassurance!
Should I call this new vet today? (I'm not sure how rabbit Savvy they are, they handle exotic animals, the most I know about them...)
Or is it safe to wait till Monday when our usual vet is open?

I would have thought the new vet will be OK. I wouldn't have thought they would need to see Alfi either. Have done some googling and Panacur Rabbit is available in Canada so you should be able to be supplied with this.

The doseage of the Panacur/Lapizole is based on Alfi's weight. The sooner those beasties are eradicated the better

Good luck!

So getting an appointment was complicated to see the new vet, so I had to wait until Monday to get her to her usual vet...

But I'm not sure i like the prescription I got.... (we were recommended to treat Lewis as a prevention)
It's a fluid that we gave yesterday through a syringe, and another dose in 2 weeks... (so far that's ok)

But apparently these worms come out of the rabbit at night a remain on their bum. So we also were given this powder to apply on their bums before bedtime... We only give before bedtime so that they go to sleep and do not start washing their bums...
But the stuff seems extremely toxic, and each time I asked the vet if it was bad for the rabbit, she said "well its not great for them... but we have to kill the worms". Theirs a bunch of caution signs on the bottle that states that if ingested to go to poison control!!

For Alfi their was no problem, we applied the powder and she went to sleep... But Lewis is little feisty guy and he struggles, and as soon as we applied the powder, we put him back in his cage, he went to clean his bum... And Now he's acting a little strange, he closes his eyes and shakes his head when i go to give him lettuce.... He started lick his towel at the bottom of the cage (never done that before)... He took apple and ate pellets, but its just looks like he has a horrible taste in his mouth, and is repulsed by the lettuce (he loves lettuce!!??)

I'm pretty concerned...

I don't want to undermined the vet because they are the most reputable rabbit vet in the area, and she said that they treat this kind of thing all the time... But i'm not sure i can do it for lewis everynight... It doesnt seem healty for him ... not to mention its only a precaution.. He has not been in direct contact with Alfi therefore probably does not have anything...

What do you guys think?

Personally I have never heard of using the powder myself, how many days are you supposed to use it for....

The only thing I can think of is maybe asking for a buster collar for him to wear at night so he can't get at the powder and then clean the powder off in the morning and take the collar off. Sorry I can't be more help but I've never treated for this type of worm before so not 100% sure on standard procedure.

A buster collar could be a good idea... Not sure how he would take to it

The treatment for the powder is 14 days...

Do you know what the active ingredient is in the liquid you have been given? If it is fenbendazole I seriously would kick the powder in to touch.

My kids have had threadworms and I didn't have to sprinkle powder around bottoms

As your buns are indoors, eggs may have been dispersed on carpets or rugs your buns may have been sitting on. I should have thought to have said before to wash any bedding that your buns may use and change litter trays at least once a day.

sounds odd to me! Ive not experienced this but short of a collar I dont know how you would stop them licking themselves during the night! Why is the treatment not enough?

Is there another vet you could ring and ask?

The antibiotic that we have is called Strongid T...
We were told that the powder is to ensure that the worms on the rabbits bum die also...

Not sure really who i could call!? I'm not sure the other vets are willing give out free information without a consultation...

I would really not use the powder. Buns I am sure produce caecotrophs during the night which they eat. I would certainly not want the buns to eat them if they are contaminated.

The wormer itself will kill the worms in the intestine and along with good hygiene this should see them off. I can see where the vet is coming from - in humans the worms come down to the anus to lay eggs (I know so much cos of the kids having them). Maybe the powder is to destroy the eggs at the anus as I don't think the Strongid does.

I think your vet is being a tad enthusiastic on the treatment front. As I have said the wormer alone should take effect in three to four days. Don't panic, they are easily sorted

Strongid T is used as a horse wormer in this country, I have found reference to using it in rabbits but I don't think it is common in the UK.

You are able to buy Panacur over the counter in Canada - Panacur does destroy eggs so I would think about purchasing some of this.

http://www.petdrugs.com/dogs/product/Panacur+Rabbit+Worming+Paste/502/

Great! Thanks for the advice! I'm for sure
going to stop that powder. It's really not sitting with me well the thought of using it again!!!

Should I finish the treatment I've started for the deworming, or would you recommend switching? We are suppose to give them their last dose in 4 weeks... Alfi's been on different kind of meds for her eyes, now this! I. Definately don't want to disturb her metamobolism! Just want her to be safe and worm free!!!

Thanks for the advice again! We really have no other contact with people that own rabbits, so it's nice to talk to people that have experience!

In the mean time I'll try to see if I can get a second opinion by another vet... Our current vet came highly recommended by numerous rabbit websites... But this powder issue, really not sitting well!!!

How many doses of the Strongid T are you giving? Is it daily or weekly? Or a one off repeated 4 weeks later? I am assuming the last option as this is how cats and dogs are dosed.

If it was me I would be not be giving the second Strongid dose but would be thinking of using Panacur instead. However I am not sure how long after the Strongid it would be best to use the Panacur.

I would maybe leave it the four weeks but would dose sooner if the worms reappear before then. Panacur is very safe in rabbits.

A good idea though I think to ask another vet about the Strongid - I am not convinced it is the best med to treat worms in rabbits.

You could call Preston Animal Clinic in Cambridge, Ontario. I've been to 4 or 5 different "rabbit-savy" vets with bunny-related issues and they are the only ones I've been pleased with. They have also been very accommodating and kind. You could explain the situation and that you are in Montreal but that you've heard their practice is exceptional. You could just say you need some more information on the powder rather than asking their advice if you should use it or not.

Great thank you all again! I'll see if can give that vet a call!