Need some help with a new bunny we purchased - bot fly?

[loganandbelle]

So we just purchased a new Flemish buck to add to our herd on Saturday at an animal auction. Hes a 4 month old blue buck and absolutely stunning. At this particular auction you cannot really get a good look at the animals until you have bought them so I was only able to do a visual inspection through the cage. Well, after we bought him a gentleman came up to me and told me he was pretty sure this bunny had bot fly....ok, I have honestly NEVER heard of this and I've raised and bred rabbits for years. Well, sure enough I look under his front leg and there is a large lump with a huge hole. He told me the easiest way to remove this "worm" was to put Vaseline on it and have the worm work its way out and then pull it out with tweezers and to make sure I got the whole worm out so it didn't die inside and cause an infection. I ran to the store on the way home from the sale and purchased Vaseline, antiseptic wash, and Neosporin. We got him home and I lathered the whole with Vaseline, dig through the hole to try and find this worm and nothing. I spent a good hour on this. So, I put some antiseptic wash on it, some Neosporin and went out again yesterday morning. The wound actually looked great and had a small scab on it so we cleaned it again. But, still no worm....so im getting worried after reading all this stuff online about not getting the worm out. The area has gone down a lot and not swollen anymore. So, my question is, could the worm have already gotten out and maybe the previous owner removed it and he just had a wound from it...how do I know??? Hes an awesome little guy, great personality, full of energy, eats like a champ.... I just want to make sure im doing everything I can b/c im a newbie when it comes to this certain condition..... any help is appreciated!

 

[missyscove]

Bot fly is a cuterebra larvae. The flies lay their eggs and the larvae burrow into the rabbit. Other species, including humans, get them too. I've seen them in a rabbit and have seen them removed by a veterinarian. From your description it sounds like the larvae is already gone. If you just leave them alone generally they'll run their course and won't cause much harm, although we humans definitely think they're really gross.
For future reference, don't go digging around in the hole. It's important to remove the larvae all in one piece so the wound doesn't get infected.

Here's some other good information:
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases/Parasitic/Cuterebra/Miyasis_botfly.htm

 

[loganandbelle]

Thanks.... I assumed it had probably worked its way out but I wanted to be safe and make sure and see if anyone else had any input. Hes doing great and acting normal, so im hoping after nursing his wound for a few days he will heal up nicely and all will be well again.... Thank you for the info!