flies in rabbit cage

Question
Hi there, today I just noticed some flies that were jumping around in my rabbit's cage.. specifically in the litterbox on the poo and also some on my rabbit. I searched around and there was a previous question on this site that said the flies could be just fruit flies and do no harm to rabbits. Is this true? I also read somewhere that there is something called a Fly Strike and the flies could lay eggs on my rabbit and start eating any poo that may be on his fur and then start eating my rabbit's flesh too?! How do I tell if it's just fruit flies or something more serious? And what should I do now to get rid of the flies? I cleaned out the cage once already and emptied the poop, but the flies were already back almost immediately!

Answer
Hi,

it's never good to have any kind of flies around your rabbit.  It's not sanitary, they all carry bacteria and some parasites and some are dangerous for your rabbit's health because of the 'fly strike' issue you mention.

You need to get a couple hanging fly strips you can hang around your rabbits' litterpan.  Don't let your rabbit get to them, they must be high up.  They can kill him if he eats them.  you need to kill any flies that get into your house.  That means patching holes in screens, and killing any fly you let in through a door.  Get some fly swatters and have them around on hand.  Also while you are having problems with flies you need to clean the litterpan daily, replace used litter and clean the litterpan with hot water and a little vinegar.  This will cut down on odor attracting any flies you haven't killed.  When the strips are full, take them in to your good rabbit vet and ask if any are bot flies (fly strike) and if so, get your rabbit in right away for a checkup.