BIG PROBLEM!! Weevil??? LARVAE EXTRACTION PHOTO!!!

[nstone630]

So, we find this hole in my rabbit, and a WORM of some sort underher skin moving around and posing out of the hole!!!!

WHAT IN THE WORLD IS IT AND WHAT DO I DO?????

We put Pine Tar on it as it was an open wound and flies were messing with it (that's the black stuff on her fur in the picture).

HOW DO I GET IT OUT??????

Also, we've been slaughtering the rabbits and using the meat, as long as the meat is cook well there should be no issue right? None of the rabbits we've slaughtered had anything wrong with it like this one.

 

[Southern by choice]

I forgot what it is called, but many years ago when I groomed I would come across this. It is larvae from ???? don't remember. Anyway all you need to do is take a pair of hemostats and pull it out, yes you will have a big hole there. Keep it clean.

I don't know much about rabbits so I don't know what you should put on it but you will need to keep the flies off.

I know.. creepy huh!

 

[nstone630]

I don't know if it's in larvae form or not. You can actually see it poke what I believe to be it's head out of the hole And it's obviously tender to the rabbit as touching or squeezing hurts. It does look like i could get it out using some tweezers. We use pine tar to keep flies off any ingured animals, works amazing!!! And it seems this little worm fellow doesn't like it at ALL. When we put it on the hole it started freaking out.

Will it kill my rabbit??

 

[Southern by choice]

The ones I've seen were rather large and thick, never cause any real harm to the animal. I have seen them on cats and dogs too.
It is from some sort of large fly. I wish I could remember the name.

Can't really see in the pic. But if it is what I have seen in the past it is a single "thick" wormlike... but not a worm... Most I have seen were about 1/4 diameter and maybe an inch long.

If you are seeing more that one, and they are maggots then they will need a different treatment.

 

[Four Winds Ranch]

We have some around here that we usually see on large farm animals like horses and cattle called "bots".
The bot fly lays eggs on the animal, usually where the animal will end up with the eggs going in their mouth or nose. Once the egg hits moisture and warmth, it hatches, travels through body tissues untill it hits the skin. It lives just under the skin (sometimes just a moving lump, and sometimes in a hole in the skin) until it morphs into am adult bot fly and starts the cycle all over again.
It sounds like your rabbit has the same, or something along those lines. :/
I wouls do like Southern mentioned, pull it out, squish it and keep the wound clean!
I would think as long as no infection gets in, your rabbit should be fine!
Good luck!!!

 

[nstone630]

....so this afternoon we will atempt to pull this sucker out and see what happens.

I will try to get a bigger picture on here to see if it's easier to see.

 

[nstone630]

YUCK....

 

[lastfling]

Ha, you're right yuck.... I believe, as has been said, that it's a bot fly larvae. You should be able to get it out with tweezers or hemostats. Be sure to use a steady even pressure to avoid breaking the worm off in the rabbits as this could lead to other issues. They are acquired by the bot-fly laying an egg near the site and the larvae burrowing into the skin. I don't believe you or the rabbit are going to acquire them by ingestion.

 

[GLENMAR]

 

[nstone630]

UPDATE. we succesfully removed the worm. Not as gross as I expected, but not as fun either LOL

So we are just going to Dr up the hole that was left, and hopefully she makes a good full recovery.

NOW...question...since she had 1, will there be more? Will my other rabbits get it? How do I prevent this from happening?????

I'll post pics soon. That sucker was HUGE!!