Is this pinworm?

[Lilsakli]

I have two rabbits that share a common litter box during separate free roaming time. I was going to change their litter box today and I noticed two white stringy material sticking to one poop. I am worried that it is pinworm. Can you guys confirm from the picture? I kept poking it expecting movement, but there isn’t any movement. Would pinworms be moving?

I have a feeling that it’s from my female rabbit. Her previous owner kept her in an outdoor hutch housed with other rabbits before I adopted her. I have only taken her outdoor once in September on a tennis court near my apartment… she didn’t eat any strange vegetations and looked fearful of the outdoor environment. So I decided not to take her out anymore based on her reaction.

I’ve had my male rabbit for two years and I have never taken him outdoors as he’s quite skittish, and I’ve not noticed any strange things from his poop.

Could pinworms come from hay? I’ve been buying a new brand called High Desert off of Amazon.

I’ve also sifted through the litter box to see if there were more white strings and did not find anymore. Pics below of ? Pinworms and also their shared litter box.

 

[JBun]

Pinworms are translucent and threadlike. That looks more like it could possibly be part of a tapeworm. Worms are more likely to be picked up from eating vegetation from the ground outdoors than from hay.

Best thing to do would be to save that if you haven't already gotten rid of it, and preserve it in a container in the fridge. And any other poop samples that have it in it. Also a fresh poop sample to take to the vet for them to test. Then the vet can determine the exact parasite and give the appropriate medication for it.

This is what pinworms in rabbit poop look like.
Medirabbit: pinworms

Medirabbit: tapeworm in rabbits

https://rabbit.org/vet-listings/

 

[Lilsakli]

Hi Jbun,

I didn’t think of the possibility of tapeworm as I heard it’s rare. I unfortunately threw away the white strings. I will keep looking for more and save them in a ziplock.

For now, I will take away the shared litter box.
Thank you.

 

[Lilsakli]

So I was sifting through Willow’s litter box and I can confirm that these white strings belong to her. I will call her vet tomorrow. Is this enough for a sample? The white strings were sticking to this one particular poop but is easily removable. This is all I could find and sorry if pic is blurry.

 

[Lilsakli]

Other questions I forgot to ask:

1. Should my male rabbit be treated?
2. Should I be breaking Willow’s poop apart to look for more samples? And the same for Gunther… should I break his poop apart?

Thank you.

 

[JBun]

That should be enough, though you could break some apart if you want to look. If the poop is actually coming out with that in it, then it will be worms. Tapeworm is my best guess especially if it's flat or looks like a grain of rice(segment), but it could be something else. And both rabbits probably should be treated to be safe.

If you're finding the worm after the poop has been sitting out, it's always possible that the worms could be coming from the litter box, like moth larvae or maggots being laid in the poop after, and not actually out of your rabbit. Though larvae should be pretty easy to identify.

 

[Lilsakli]

I did break some of her poop apart and found nothing inside. I didn’t for Gunther yet, but will continue to keep an eye on his poop also.

Their shared litter boxes I usually change every 2 days. Their individual litter boxes I change every 5 days.

We don’t usually have flies or moths in our apartment aside for spiders and stink bugs.

These white strings do look like rice grains but feel squishy/soft like jelly. I’ve never encountered parasitic worms… even in humans… so all this is new for me.

Thanks for being patient.

 

[JBun]

If this is tapeworm, it's not the whole tapeworm you're seeing but segments that have the appearance of a rice grain. Tapeworm in rabbits is actually pretty unusual, but obviously can happen.

 

[Lilsakli]

I took my male rabbit for a nail trim and dropped off the stool specimen for Willow at the vet today, she will be seen next Friday.

I was checking Gunther’s litter box and found this in one of his stool. Now to me, this looks like pinworm, what do you think?

 

[Moonshadow]

Agreed, that new photo definitely looks like a pinworm to me

 

[Lilsakli]

I think my male rabbit has pinworms and my female rabbit has something else going on as hers do not present like his. This is driving me nuts and will be another phone call to the vet.

 

[Moonshadow]

Hope you get it all sorted out. It sounds extremely frustrating

 

[JBun]

Yes, this one does look like a possible pinworm. Though there can also sometimes be mucous in their poop, so that's also a possibility.

Medirabbit: normal and abnormal rabbit droppings

 

[Lilsakli]

Hello everyone,

I called the vet to get result from the stool sample I provided them last week for Willow and they did not find anything in the stool and they looked at the yellow stringy material under the microscope and said that it must be a food particle. I don’t know what I could have possibly given her as food that would look like that… She’s a good eater - I give her mint, parsley, cilantro, culantro, prewashed mixed organic veggies packaged in a plastic container, kaytee Timothy pellets. For treats - I have given her banana, carrots (fresh and dried), kaytee Timothy baked biscuit that contains apple. What stuck to her stool looked like a soft pasta noodle and I have never given her pasta noodles. She has an appointment this Saturday with vet - should I still take her? I don’t know what else they can do for her, her fur is healthy, no bald patches, she doesn’t bite her bum or itch down there. She’s a lazy bum and lays around a lot but binkies or zooms at times. The only think I’m uncertain about is after I pet her head/ears for 10-15 mins, she’ll shake her head, move away from me, and will scratch her ears and then groom her face and ears. I am hoping she does not have any parasites in her stool but it’s just unusual I’ve seen the stringy material on more than one occasion… should I have given the vet a fresh sample - within 24 hours, because the sample
I gave them was at least 48 hours old?

 

[Lilsakli]

edit: I meant to say lazy bun not bum

 

[Lindsay Gunn]

Hi there, I know this is an old thread but was going to order from high desert hay and thought id check this forum first. Hope your buns were okay and wanted to see if you ever confirmed if your bun got pinworms from the hay? Ive been looking for a new source since small pet select has been a bit dusty lately. I tried rabbit hole medium cut, but it was a bit too rich for my bun.