Red Rabbit Penis-no vet check yet

Question
I have a 16 month white jersey wooly buck.  I noticed that he seems to be raising up off hind feet.  upon further notice his penis was inflamed, enlarged and somewhat protruding.  His testicles have not yet dropped.  thinking he had vent disease, I wash the hind feet and area around his gentiles with mild soapy water.  Then, I noticed that at the base of his penis on each side seemed to be little pockets and something seemed to be moving.  I did not have a microscope or anything other than glasses, but they looked like teeny brown wiggly worms.  yikes!  I took a Q tip and wiped it out.  The area is pink, but not as red as the penis.  What is it and what do I do?

Answer
Dear Pam,

Your bunny may have a case of myasis (fly strike), and the "worms" you removed could be maggots that had hidden in his scent gland pockets.  This can be life threatening, so be sure you search him *all over* for any sign of further maggot infestation.  Since he has long fur, this may be a challenge.  Maggots can get in under the fur and be nearly invisible from above, so feel around very carefully for any areas that feel moist or "suspicious" where maggots may be hiding and eating him alive.

Flies lay eggs on damp fur, and when the larvae hatch, they can migrate to folds and other damp areas where they then start to eat into live tissue, causing severe inflammation and sometimes deadly shock.

To clean the area, use dilute povidone iodine solution and be sure to remove *any* damaged tissue that could contribute to infection.  Don't scrub so hard that inflamed tissue gets worse, but you must do a whole body search to see if there are any other maggots anywhere.

With a fine flea comb, go through the fur on his back, tail, bum, back legs and all other areas to find other possible fly eggs that might hatch and make this a truly horrific problem.

Once he is cleaned and completely free of any more maggots, and all affected areas have been gently and thoroughly disinfected with povidone iodine (dilute) solution, pat dry and apply a very thin layer of triple antibiotic ointment (e.g. Neosporin NOT with any topical anesthetic/lidocaine, which stings like the dickens on open wounds).

Check the damaged areas at least twice a day to be sure there has not been colonization by larvae you didn't find the first time around, and clean the wounds very well every time you check, re-applying the ointment until the swelling of the genitals or other affected areas is completely gone.

Check his pre-puce for maggots, too.  If necessary, flush inside the pre-puce with a syringe filled with full-strength povidone iodine (Betadine), which will make the maggots flee the area.  Be ready to grab them before they disappear into the fur, only to return later!

If there are extensive areas of damage on his skin, your vet can prescribe more aggressive treatment, such as antibiotics and/or Tegaderm artificial skin to cover the areas (change dressings daily) until they can granulate in new tissue and heal from below.

I hope he will be fine. But this is *very* serious if it is fly strike, and you must be a vigilant hunter to find every maggot before it becomes a killer.  To be ultra-safe, get him to a good rabbit vet:

www.rabbit.org/vets

for a complete checkup to be sure all is well.

Dana