Fly strike1/1/2024 Most rabbits do not appear to experience pain from the wounds caused by maggots, however they often seem off colour and may well be lethargic and inappetant. Maggots will not develop if the environmental temperature is below 9 degrees centigrade, or is the humidity in the local area of the skin is below 90%. At this stage, the maggots are tiny and not harmful, however within 3 days these moult to 2 nd and then 3 rd stage maggots, which are larger and will cause direct damage to the skin. Depending on the weather conditions, eggs can hatch as rapidly as within 12 hours, to form 1 st stage maggots. Once the fly is attracted to the area of skin, it lays eggs on the surface. If the skin is not clean and dry either there is a disease process that is affecting grooming (eg head tilt secondary to inner ear disease or E.cuniculi infection, osteoarthritis, or spondylosis) or there is a disease process that is directly affecting the skin (urine scalding, cutaneous abscess, bite wounds). Understanding the pathogenesis of flystrike relies on the concept that clean, dry skin will not be affected. Because flystrike is multifactorial in nature, simply removing maggots and successfully treating wounds does not produce resolution of the underlying problem and certainly won’t prevent recurrence. In the UK most cases of flystrike are due to Lucilia sericata. Therefore, by definition there is likely to be an underlying disease process affecting the rabbit’s willingness or ability to eat caecotrophs or the skin integrity itself (eg urine scalding, abscesses, wounds). It is important to remember that normal dry, clean skin that is free of caecotrophs will not attract flies. When these eggs hatch and become maggots, further damage to compromised skin occurs as the maggots are feeding resulting in infected wounds. Flystrike refers to damage done to skin when fly eggs are laid on its surface. It is a preventable condition that compromises the welfare of the affected animal(s) and can be fatal. Flystrike in rabbits Dr Molly Varga BVetMed DZooMed MRCVSįlystrike (blowflystrike, myiasis) is a regular occurrence in pet rabbits during the warmer months.
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