Cuterebra prevention? (Midwest)

[GypsyFirefly]

I live in the Midwest and have 2 holland lops – we have a pretty large (completely fenced in) back yard and we let our bunnies roam free during most of the day and then put them away in their hutch overnight. (hubby and I both work from home, so they do have pretty constant supervision) I really like them being able to have their freedom and they are SO happy exploring the yard, but due to having lost one sweet bun last year to a cuterebra infection, I’m nervous about these two also potentially getting infected… does anyone know of a good, safe preventative measure for this? thanks so much in advance for any insight!

[tobyluv]

Unfortunately, having a fenced yard doesn’t mean that bunnies will be safe. Predators can jump or climb over fences, can dig under fences or can fly in and attack a rabbit. A rabbit can also dig out of a fence. I know someone who was near her rabbit in a fenced yard, and a hawk flew in and attacked her rabbit. I also have a friend who recently lost her rabbit to a combination of warbles from the bot fly and possibly ingesting toxic plants in a fenced area in her yard. She was and still is devastated about the loss and thought that her rabbit was perfectly safe in that fenced area adjacent to her house. Her rabbit loved that area and had such a good time out there, but my friend will never let another rabbit go outside.

I’m sure that your rabbits really love roaming around the yard, but I don’t know of any preventative for the bot fly, and with the other dangers outdoors, it really is far safer to keep rabbits inside.

[joea64]

Even if there were no danger at all from predators, weather or flies, I’d still keep Panda and Fernando inside except when absolutely necessary, for the overwhelming reason that a domestic rabbit kept as a pet requires – I say again, requires – daily human interaction for their happiness and psychological health. Keeping two buns in a small efficiency apartment can be challenging at times, but it has the powerful advantage that they can smell and hear me at all times whenever I’m home, and see me virtually all the time except if I’m in the walk-in closet or the bathroom. I think it’s been inestimable in helping them get accustomed to my presence over the past three weeks; I believe they’re really beginning to come to trust me – they’re no longer shy at all about coming up within inches of me during evening playtime (though Panda is still somewhat skittish about being petted, though she’s beginning to relax about that) and come running up to the condo cage grids and the X-pen fence almost every time I come nearby.

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