#flystrike

while it is present every month of the year, there is a larger risk during warmer months, especially if your bunnies fur is long.

it doesn't matter how clean your buns and their homes are and how great their diet is, flies don't discriminate.

check your bun daily - flystrike can kill in 24 hours and it's slow and painful, catching it early is critical. during summer, check at least three times a day (morning, afternoon, night) - if your rabbit is more at risk, please check hourly or less!

KNOW your symptoms - if your bun is in shock and fatigued, check for eggs/maggots/flies immediately. if present, call your vet immediately and get an emergency appointment.

other helpful tips:

keep buns indoors overnight,

keep enclosure clean with plenty of hay - deep cleanse weekly as a minimum,

brush their fur often, if they hate brushes, a lint roller used gently over their fur works well,

lots of water (only in ceramic bowls!!) during summer - i recommend at least two bowls per rabbit,

cooling pads - helps keep buns cool and can help differentiate between fatal flystrike or overheating symptoms (overheating is remedial at home! flystrike is NOT!!)

a damp towel to cleanse any difficult debris on your bun, and another towel to pat dry.

It isnt rude or weird at all. A common name for that condition is called flystrike which occurs in sheep that don't have docked tails. Then due to the matted feces/urine in the tail and around the anus/genitals attracting flies, they then lay eggs, which hatch into their larval phase and infest the soft tissues, they like to go for orifices hence the genitals/anus being the most common place for maggots infestations if they dont have any open, external wounds.

In this particular case, the dog was severely emaciated. I suspect he had been urinating on himself, as the thick fur around his hindquarters, that classic feathering Huskies get, was soaked in urine and this was where many of the maggots had eaten through his skin. He was also a primarily outside dog during the hot summer months when fly strike, also known as myiasis is most common.

Part 3: Caring For Your #Pets in The Heat of #Summer #RupertCordle

Rabbits and Guinea Pigs – indoor and outside

By now, I guess you’re getting the idea here. Provide shade, more water than normal, and increase flea care – especially for outdoor animals. Specifically for Rabbits and Guinea Pigs though in the summer is the care for and prevention of ‘flystrike’.

Water, water everywhere. Whether these are indoor or outdoor pets, they need clean fresh water daily…