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What is flystrike?

  • Thread starter Thread starter squeakywheeky
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squeakywheeky

What is flystrike. How is it contracted. how can it be avoided. Any info on the subject would be greatly appreciated. I'm only curious to learn and educate myself before I put my little fellas outside for the summer months.
 
its basically where flies lay their eggs in gpig-poo and rabbit poo and it sticks to the piggies bums or the rabbits bums,then the eggs change into maggots and eat into the flesh then develop inside,its a sick and painful way for the animal to die,,we lost rabbits thru that and it sucks and its awful to see,they kinda eat them from the inside out :'(

we treated our rabbits with some stuff but it still didnt work,thats why we have a fly zapper in the shed now for the piggies
 
it when these horrible bugs lay their eggs on a guinea pigs skin and when they hatch they burrow through the skin and eat the poor creature. it is normally gotten by being in filthy conditions, which is another reason that their enclosure HAS to be clean. it is usually fatal. it is one of the most horrible sicknesses ever. :'(
 
and their bums checked everyday

although one of ours had it and we didnt even know,the cage was clean and the bunny was too,but it still got it

its one hell of an evil thing to get and see the animal suffer and sadly spreading every year
 
OMG! That is terrible. I can often see why nature plays a part in things but why nature could do something so cruel as that don't know. I'm not making sense here, i'm shocked an now very weary.

I guess if my piggies are bathed monthly, cleaned and disenfected hutch regulary, clean bedding and daily picking out pooh corners they'd have the best chance of avoiding it. Pleased I asked as I will be extra careful now.

Any thing else I can do? I thought mites were bad enough :'(
 
there are like mesh things you can cover hutches with now,i think they have them on ebay,but the damn flies still find a way in
if theyre indoors etc you could get an electric fly zapper like we have
 
What are you checking for when you 'check their bums' ? Sorry to be asking so many questions. I just need to know? How do you know they have flystrike. Are there any syptoms to watch out for?
 
Flystrike is not a summer only thing either - there have been cases reported already this year and its only March.....
 
starshine said:
Flystrike is not a summer only thing either - there have been cases reported already this year and its only March.....
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thats true,it can be all year round :(
 
squeakywheeky said:
What are you checking for when you 'check their bums' ? Sorry to be asking so many questions. I just need to know? How do you know they have flystrike. Are there any syptoms to watch out for?
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Flystrike is also known as Myiasis.
Maggots it the first big sign. And they're not only found on the bum, but other moist areas too. Like the eyes. My bunny has only ever had them on his bum though. I've had my bunny at the vet at least 3 times because of it. He always has very soft poo, so the flies love him. I checked him one sat night, found maggos so put him in the shower and thought i'd cleaned them all off. The next morning i found him with a rather large flesh wound and i'd actually missed another wound by his back that was still covered with maggots. £250 and some cream later and he's now perfect again. Poor bun.
Warning, there is a pic not far down that is quite graphic, but good at showing you what the little buggers can do.
http://home.btconnect.com/NucleusTCR/bunnyhugger/flystrike.htm

We use rear guard for our bun, not sure if you can use it on pigs though.
There is a pic of it here.
http://www.darwinvets.plus.com/rabbits/flystrike.htm

There is a flystrike leaflet to download here.
http://www.houserabbit.co.uk/rwf/articles/Flystrike.htm
 
guineapigpyjamas said:
it when these horrible bugs lay their eggs on a guinea pigs skin and when they hatch they burrow through the skin and eat the poor creature. it is normally gotten by being in filthy conditions, which is another reason that their enclosure HAS to be clean. it is usually fatal. it is one of the most horrible sicknesses ever. :'(
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No, it doesn't have to be filthy. Even buns that are cleaned out everyday can get it.
 
squeakywheeky said:
What are you checking for when you 'check their bums' ? Sorry to be asking so many questions. I just need to know? How do you know they have flystrike. Are there any syptoms to watch out for?
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Daily health checks should allow you make sure that your piggy/rabbit is clean and has no open wounds as well as checking for actual maggots/eggs. If for any reason they have soft poops, you need to make sure it is cleaned off as soon as you can otherwise the flies will love it. Also, any damp area or open wound will attract the flies. As darkest.dreaming has already said, it is not just on the bum that the flies will lay legs. When doing checks, especially on buns or overweight animals, you need to check any folds of skin as the maggots can get right into the creases and not be that noticeable. Any sign of maggots on your animal then it really is an emergency vet trip.

My elderly bunny had fly strike last year because arthritis means he doesn't always eat all his c-poops, other than that he is always spotlessly clean with his pen cleaned every day - luckily I caught it really quickly and the maggots hadn't actually broken the skin yet and he made a full recovery. My vet told me that last year they were seeing up to 3 rabbits per week with flystrike and that for most it was fatal. It is the most hurrendous thing to see :'(
 
Where do you place the electric fly zapper Sensucht? Near their enclosure or just in the room in general?
 
lavenderjade said:
Where do you place the electric fly zapper Sensucht? Near their enclosure or just in the room in general?
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normally in the back corner of the room if poss,mines at the back of the shed,thats where the flies nornally buzz around in summer,mwahaha theyve soooo had it this year
 
Oh yuk yuk yuk! I am sooo concerned about avoiding flystrike. Is there anything else you can do, any spray, etc? What do the ebay mesh thingies look like? Do you cover the outdoor run too?
 
For my rabbit (because of his age he is very susceptible), I do the following
- bum check 3 times a day minimum and cleaned when neccesary
- fly mesh over his outside run (the same things you buy to cover camp beds with so a lot of outdoor shops sell them)
- Bugs Be Gone (Gorgeous Guineas) applied to his back end
- Fly Paper near his bedding box
- Daily clean out of his indoor pen and outdoor run

For the guineas I just keep a close eye on them (checks done every day), use Bugs be Gone and put a fly mesh over their outside run. Their shed has daily spot cleans and two full clean outs a week. If any of them had a wound or soft poop for any reason then I would check much more frequently. I also have fly paper hanging up in the shed.
 
Beaney said:
- fly mesh over his outside run (the same things you buy to cover camp beds with so a lot of outdoor shops sell them)
Click to expand...

Ooh, i never thought of that. What a fab idea! O0
 
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