What causes a parasite?

[bunny06]

Besides not eating a few wks back Midnite had awful diarrhea the bunny vet did bloodwork and a fecal exam she did not see anything in the fecal exam but the bloodwork showed a parasite. Anyone knows what causes it the guy at the pet store said it could be from hay. Bunny does not go out. I buy the hay from the pet store its a nice hay i don’t buy the Kaytee hay but when he was not eating i did buy kaytee hay figuring he may eat it. Could it come from hay i was thinking the vegetables but he said it would probably have to be something from outside. I do was the vegetables very well and spin them and put them in bags. He is fine now thanks to the bunny vet. But he is on a mostly hay only diet very few veggies for now.

[MoveDiagonally]

How long have you had your rabbit?

If she came from a breeder/pet store she likely had the parasite before you even brought her home. If your rabbit is housed outside this can make it more likely to get parasites as well.

I’ve never heard of hay or veggies causing parasites. I’ve heard that they can come from dirt. I think you’ve mentioned in other posts that you don’t feed pellets? If you’re not feeding pellets you should be feeding more than a “few veggies”. Rabbits on pellet free diets need a larger quantity and variety of veggies than those who eat pellets.

How old is your rabbit?

[Bam]

First of all I want to say great that he’s fine now!!!

What parasite did he have? The reasons vary with type of parasite. Some parasites like coccidia are transfered from other rabbits, f ex from the mother to the kit very early in the kit’s life and may lie dormant for the whole of the rabbit’s life, or suddenly start to multiply and cause symtoms at some point in the rabbit’s life when it’s immune-system is suppressed for some reason – like from stress or inappropriate food or sth simple like that.

Other parasites can come with food f ex intestinal worms, if there’s earth left on roots of greens. Greens can also get parasites on them if they get the feces of a wild rabbit that has a parasite on them. But if you rinse and clean your bunny’s greens, the risk would be very slight.

I don’t know about parasites from hay. I don’t dare give mine hay from farms where God knows how it’s been stored, but on my part it’s because I worry about myxo and RVD, diseases that are common here. In general though, parasites don’t thrive in very dry environments.

[bunny06]

Hi thanks for the replies. He is 7 yrs old a few wks ago an idiot gave him amoxicillin did not have diarrhea before that. I had to bring him 1 hr away to be treated that night. He got over that hump THANK GOD for that vet. Thas was a Thurs. night about 5 days later or so he would not eat awful diarrhea back to the Wilton vet she gave him something for the diarrhea. Took a fecal, and did bloodwork bloodwork showed parasite caused the diarrhea. He was doing better after 1 dose of the med she gave him. Eating everything normaTribrissen was the name of the med. She said we don’t really know what caused it. He does not go outside but i do have a cat. Do they come from fleas. Or maybe the amoxicillin the other vet gave him caused it would it show up a wk later. As far as the veggies go we took him off all veggies for 1 wk just to make sure that was not causing it. Last wk limited veggies.I give him pretty good amounts of parsley, cilantro or arugula and green leaf lettuce. Just cut down because of the diarrhea for now.

[bunny06]

I do rinse the greens i soak them spin them and bag them. My mother always said wash all greens thouroughly. which i do. If there are roots i cut them off.

[bunny06]

Maybe it was a late reaction to the amoxicillin the other vet gave him. I am still ticked off about that.

[MoveDiagonally]

I believe the recommended variety of veggies for a rabbit not eating pellets is 10+ types and about 60% more in quantity than what rabbits that eat pellets get. For reference rabbits that get pellets are recommended to also have 2 cups per 6lbs body weight a day.

Here is a semi-recent thread where one of the members here offers up a lot of info about pellet free diets:
https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aft/124976/Default.aspx

Parasites could come from fleas so I would get your kitty on a regular flea treatment if she’s not already. Advantage and Revolution are safe to use around bunnies but avoid Frontline as it’s toxic to them and you don’t want there to even be a chance that she’ll come in contact with it.

[bunny06]

Gee thanks will do kitty does not go out at all she has not been outside in yrs she hides for days. not sure if she has fleas. will check for that did not know about frontline i have the spray i use on mama kitty

[Bam]

Frontline is so toxic to bunnies that you shouldn’t use it on your house-cat if they have any sort of contact. Get something else for the cat, like revolution or advantage.

 

Tribrissen is effective against coccidia, a parasite that is common in rabbits and can be carried for a very long time without causing any symtoms. He could’ve got it from eating another bunny’s poop like hus mummy’s when he was little f ex.

[bunny06]

I never knew that and i have been using it. I have not used it in a long time on the cat. They do not have much contact but are in my room all the time together.
So they can get it when they are born and it stays stagnant for yrs.
I would think the not eating diarrhea were related symptoms. Now he is eating almost and entire bag of hay a wk!!! I cannot keep up with him. Its a nice hay the local pet store carries. I don’t like the kaytee hay neither does he.The hay is sweet meadow organic timothy hay. not sure what the difference with organic and the reg. hay is. this seems fresher. i boutht it a few x by mistake but it does seem fresher.

[Bam]

The organic has no pesticides on it and hasn’t been fertilized with environmentally unfriendly fertilizers. I too buy organic hay for my buns. When my first bun was new with me I didn’t know there was organic hay so he had regular, and he barely ate it. Then I found organic hay and his hay-eating improved a lot. Great that your bunny is eating lots of hay now, that’s the best thing for a bunny, especially a bunny who’s had stomach-issues.

[Author]

Messages