Chamomile has got worms!!!

Question
QUESTION: Hi again Dana! Thanks for answering my last question! Chamomile was playing with his willow ball today in the house and he suddenly made two strange noises which I think were sneezes, and he moved his head then too so I am pretty sure he did sneeze. Then he washed his face (cute!). I really hope he isn't ill! I checked his eyes and nose for discharge but didn't find anything. He can't have a cold in August can he? He seems fine. Thank-you for all your help.

ANSWER: Dear Melissa,

A rabbit can get an upper respiratory infection any time of the year. They don't get colds.  Please see this for a full explanation:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/sneezing.html

But just keep an eye on him for now.  People (of all species) sneeze when they get dust up their nose, and he might have just had a little irritation.  If he continues to sneeze, or if you see nasal discharge, then it's off to the vet for examination and diagnosis:

www.rabbit.org/vets

Hope this helps.

Dana

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi, sorry to bother you for the millionth time, but I really need your help! I found a tiny white worm in Chamomile's poop and phoned the vets about it. They said they didn't need to see him as I described it carefully to them, and my dad got the medicine. There were instructions which simple say give him 1 graduation of the Panacur Rabbit oral paste syringe in the corner of his mouth.
He won't stay still! And I can't even see his mouth most of the time. He keeps running away because when I tried to squeeze it into his mouth the first time it ended up on his face. I tried bribing him but that hasn't worked either. Please help! Thank-you again.

ANSWER: Dear Melissa,

Get bun up on a secure tabletop on a towel, hold his bum in the crook of your left arm (if you're right handed) and carefully administer the meds via syringe into the corner of his mouth with your left.  

If you get it behind his incisors, he'll find it hard to avoid it.  It takes practice, but it can be done.  

Panacur has very little flavor, so if that fails, you can try mooshing it into a favorite treat, such as a piece of banana.  Just make sure he eats it all up.

Good luck!
Dana

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you so much! I will try that. I've never actually given him banana before, just cabbage, broccoli and carrot. I hope he likes it although I am worried because he is so clever I think he might notice the Panacur mashed up in it. My dad tried to help me give it to him yesterday by gently holding his back legs close to his body, getting scratched a lot but oh well (used to it), because I managed to slip the syringe into his mouth. Now I will try your much better way so as not to end up hurting my baby.
Do you know how he might have got worms? I have been puzzling over that because I clean his hutch twice a week, clean his water bottle and food bowl with pet disinfectant every day and put fresh food and water in them and I don't give him any old vegetables. Maybe he caught them from the garden? There are no rabbits near me but he gets the whole garden to run around in so maybe he caught something then? He is never out unsupervised except in the house. Have I given him human germs? :S
Thank you for all your fantastic help.

Answer
Dear Melissa,

To guess how he got the worms, you'd have to get a positive identification of the worm species.  It could be any of dozens of things, from a strongyle to a pinworm, and each has different hosts and vectors (animals that spread them).  Pinworms can be spread by humans, dogs, opossums, or any number of animals.  Strongyles generally are transmitted by wild rabbits or some other wild species.  And there are also many other possibilities.  So no way to know for sure unless you get your vet to send off the worm for I.D.

It's also possible that what you saw was a maggot, if it was not embedded in the poop.  So be sure you check Chamomile thoroughly around the back end to be sure he has not been fly struck.  This means that a fly has laid eggs in his fur, and when they hatch, maggots infest the living tissue in folds around the anus and genitals, eating the bunny alive.  It's about the most horrible thing that can happen to a bunny (I've treated many cases of this, and all but one survived.  The one who didn't survive was the only one treated by a vet who decided that anesthesia and cleaning out the wounds was the best course of action, and the anesthesia was too much for the bunny.)

I doubt this has happened, but if Chamomile goes outdoors at all (or if a fly ever gets inside), this is something to be aware of.

Hope this helps.

Dana