Pinworms and toilet habits

[Flashy]

I thought it might be best to start a new thread because the other one was a mishmash of stuff and this is quite specific (sorry if that wasn;t the right thing to do). I honestly don't even know if this is the right place to put this.

Ok, we have pinworms here so I have to clean and clean some more. I have 10 cages (13 rabbits- Iv'e excluded Sunshine and Sweep because they have no contact with this lot at all) that need to be thoroughly cleaned on a daily basis.

Most of my buns are not entirely proficient in using their litter trays, but will use them to a certain extent.

Now, I need to make this as easy on myself as I can because otherwise nothing will get done. I know the litter trays need to be thoroughly cleaned daily, so I'm going to get a second set and rotate them so that each day I clean one set and the other set is in the cage.

I always line each cage with newspaper so they poo on that if they don't go in the litter tray (apart from those in my room, I don't even want to contemplate what I'll have to do with them yet). I can line the hutches in my room with Fleece, I guess, although the rabbits dig that.

Do I need to scrub down their hutches daily too? If the answer is yes I have not got a clue how I'm going to do that because I have no where else to put all these rabbits as their hutches dry, and so that they don't cross contaminate each other.

My buns are mostly learning to use the litter tray, or have been moved hutches recently and we are still negotiating as to where the litter tray is best to go (they seem to have very different ideas from me). After I had cleaned the trays I used to put a couple of poos back in the litter to remind them where to go, but obviously I can't do this anymore, so is there anything else I can do? I have a feeling we are about to descend into chaos of the worst kind.

Nadia said she scrubbed her things down with Ammonia, any idea what the product is called in the UK? And also is there anything else I can use if I don't/can't get ammonia?

Also, the buns in my room are pretty good at pinging their poo onto my carpet, what do I do about that? I haven't seen any evidence that those buns that do thishave it, but I know they can still have them.

I really need some help with this please, I need it as easy as possible. Right now this seems like climbing Everest and totally impossible. I'm trying to be as practical and efficient as I can but all I can think about is getting all the buns put down and thatwill beit. I know that's not the right thing to do, and I'm doing my very best, and will keep doing so to do everything I can for these buns, but please help me make this easy, any suggestions are appreciated (I can't have another morning of cleaning the cages whilst bawling my eyes out). I'm sorry for being pathetic, but I just need some help.

 

[JadeIcing]

Not that I know anything about this but I think it is a great idea.:biggrin2:

 

[ra7751]

Just wondering....are you treating the pinworms? Intestinal parasites can make for a poopy problem. I would treat to get rid of the pinworms and that may very well help with your other problems. Pinsworms are quite common in many animals....including humans especially children. They are usually easy to eradicate.

Randy

 

[Flashy]

:shock:Of course i'm treating. I took one to the vets yesterday and started treating him and his bonded brother yesterday, and decided today to blanket treat them all because I suspect at least one other has them too.

I was given Panacur for nine days.

But as far as I know that only treats the adults? And the eggs lounge about living the life of riley for a potentially long time, so it is very hard to eradicate them? (or that's how I understood it, but I could obviously be wrong).

You say that treating the pinworms might help with the other problems, do you mean the litter training? If that is what you mean, then most of mine are not fixed, the fixed ones (who have only been done recently) are getting the hang on it, most of the others are struggling, although the does and two bucks are nearly very reliable, just not 100% reliable. Actually, now you mention it, it is the unfixed pairs of bucksthat are the worst, probably due to marking of territory.

Thanks for the reply Randy

 

[HoneyPot]

I think cleaning up the litter pans daily, and changing the flooring in the cage daily (the newspaper) should be enough. I didn't scrub down their entire room daily, just the litter. I think so far your plan sounds like a good one.

____________
Nadia

 

[Flashy]

Thank you

 

[ra7751]

Glad you are treating....some people don't and I would imagine they are quite uncomfortable to have. The panacur should take care of them in short order.

 

[tonyshuman]

ammonia is the chemical name. it is a component of many cleaning products. it is found in windex, but i wouldn't reccomend using that on anything but windows!

you should be able to find a generic cleaner with ammonia, like a floor cleaner/all purpose cleaner. just look for something that says it contains ammonia. it's kinda an old-school cleaner b/c it can be dangerous when mixed with bleach and acidic stuff, and it smells really bad, but it is a good disinfectant. hope that helps.

 

[Flashy]

Thank Randy, yeh, I bet they can't be fun :/

Thanks tonyshuman, I knew ammonia was the chemical but when i posted I couldn't remember what Nadia said the product she found it in was called. It's good to know its out there, I'll try and locate some later.

*

For the ammonia product, presumably it's not safe for buns until it's totally washed off and clean? But when it's been washed off it's ok? (Cant you tell I'm worried about adding another problem to the mix?).

Thanks everyone

 

[slavetoabunny]

Vanodine is an excellent cleaning product. I've used it for years. It is inexpensive and you use so little of it that a bottle lasts forever.

http://www.barbibrownsbunnies.com/fam30.htm

 

[BlueGiants]

Flashy,
Vanodine is available in the UK. It works wonders on all kinds of bacteria and mold. I'm pretty sure it would take care of any eggs laying about. And it's perfectly safe to use around the rabbits. It comes in a concentrate and you dilute it with water. You will not be able to use it in your room, because it will stain fabrics. But it's excellent in the cages. And you don't have to scrub anything... (Can you find someone with a carpet steam cleaner? They work great! We usedone to get rid of flea eggs in the carpets and it did the trick!)

I like your idea of switching out the liter pans with an extra set! Good thinking. And changing the newspaper will keep things cleaner too. :sweep

 

[Flashy]

Thanks

That's a really useful tip about the steam cleaner, thanks. I couldn't do it everyday though and I don' know anyone who ahs one, but we do have a carpet cleaner wahser thing :/ I don'tr know what it is called, lol.

*

Lightning has been chewing hismelf just above where his tail ends (just a tiny bit though), so I suspect that he chewed his thingy too (as opposed to having an 'accident' or Dusk having a 'munch'). Hopefully this will clear up when the worms start dying? He's only strated doing that today and yesterday, actually, could the panacur be making him due this due to what it is doing to the worms? As they die, will this stop?

 

[pamnock]

Pinworms are very common in rabbits and are very difficult to completely eradicate. I recommend regular treatments if a rabbit has been diagnosed with pinworms.

No pinworm meds treat all life stages of pinworms, making treatment more difficult. The eggs are light and easily transmitted through the air into the surroundings and rabbits easily reinfect themselves through coprophagy. Disinfection does not destroy the eggs.

Pinworm eggs can also been in the food source including pellets and hay.







Pam

 

[Flashy]

Thanks Pam, I read something similar to that, that you wrote on another pinworm thread, unfortunately I know that you have so much knowledge that you can't be wrong, shame though, lol, it would be nice for it to be easily sorted.

If it's come in on the food or hay that makes sense because we've never had a problem before.

Is there anything that will get rid of the eggs?

 

[tonyshuman]

the ammonia will only be harmful to the buns if they breathe in too much of the vapors or eat it. because it smells so bad, i doubt they would try to eat it or lick it off of anything. it would be best to clean things up while they are out of the room and make sure it's well ventilated, wait until the surfaces you put ammonia on are dry, and then put the buns back in. the vapors can knock you out! but if you're using a commercially bought ammonia cleaner it probably won't be concentrated enough to do damage. that is if you want to use ammonia. i don't know if it kills the eggs, but maybe someone else knows.

 

[HoneyPot]

I was treating Charlie for pinworms AND coccidia at the same time (he came with both from the breeder... argh)... and I am sure I was using the ammonia to kill the coccidia to be honest.

The pinworms I just kept having to change the litter every day to try as much as possible to avoid him getting reinfected. Also I had to keep Charlie on Ivermectin for about 3 months at least. Everytime they went away, they came back... I don't know what i did to eventually get rid of his infection, I just kept changing the litter and cleaning him up.

__________
Nadia

 

[pamnock]

Flashy wrote:

Is there anything that will get rid of the eggs?

Scrubbing everything down will help to pick up some of the eggs.

Pam

 

[Flashy]

Thanks for your help everyone.

I had to trundle him back to the vets today because I was concerned about his boy bits (we got some baytril for that) and I asked about the best way to totally eradicate them with meds, as opposed to keeping them udner control so he's going to talk to the compnay who make panacur to see how often it can be prescribed.

On another note, talk about chaos, my best boy Sky has now stopped eating. Stunning, absolutely stunning. :tears2:

 

[Flashy]

Flashy wrote:

On another note, talk about chaos, my best boy Sky has now stopped eating. Stunning, absolutely stunning. :tears2:

I moved his food over to where he has been all day and he's now stuffing his face :shock:From what I see and know of him (and I know him very well) he is guarding his territory against Badger and apparently going for food is not high on that priority list. My bunnies are in chaos, but at least he is eating

 

[BlueGiants]

Glad Sky is eating again! Silly boy! :eats: You'd think eating would be important...

Please let us know what the Vet says about the Panacur.