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Rabbit ate flour beetle/s

22 10:03:25

Question
I noticed there was a tiny beetle (about 0.3mm long) in my bunny's pellet bowl today. I was going to scoop it out with a plastic spoon when suddenly, my rabbit ate it. He really aimed for the bug and ate it!

I looked for the source of the bug and noticed his pellets jar had a few bugs & larvae inside (maybe around 10 - 15). I think it is a red/confused/dark flour beetle.

I bought the bag a week ago and only noticed now. They seem very good at hiding and blending with the pellets. I really feel bad about not noticing earlier and worried that my bunny might have eaten more bugs / larvae.

My rabbit is eating and very active but I am so uneasy. So I want to ask if he's in possible danger or it's not as bad as I think.

If he is in danger, what should I do? I am thinking of taking him to the vet this Saturday for a check-up but I would like to hear your advice on the matter. Rabbits are not popular pets over here so most vets are inexperienced when it comes to them. That is why your advice is greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much!

Additional info:
He is 1 year and 1 month old. He weighs 2.13 pounds. I do not know his breed (The seller told me he is a Belgian Dwarf but I can't find information about the breed or if it even exists). His daily diet consists of unlimited grass hay, unlimited timothy hay (in the form of toys), 1/4 cup pellets, 1/4 cup veggies, and one 1cm cube of freeze dried strawberry as a treat (sometimes 1.5cm cube of fresh papaya). He drinks about 60 - 100ml of water per day. He has a 15 minute "sun-bathing" time in my garden every morning and 5 - 7 hours "out-of-cage" time to play and exercise in the afternoon.

Also, I cleaned his bowl and threw out his pellets and its container. I will be buying a new bag and a tighter container tomorrow morning.

Answer
Dear Yumi,

The flour beetle itself is not a problem.  Your bunny will not be harmed by the beetle.  But don't feed him any more of the spoiled food.  Buy new pellets, and put them in the freezer for 24 hours to be sure to kill any eggs that might be there.

The only potential problem here would be if the flour beetles are serving as intermediate host for a tapeworm parasite.  This would mean that they would have to ingest tapeworm eggs via fecal remains of a definitive host, such as an herbivorous animal (rat, mice, etc.).  If there's a chance the pellets contain traces of such fecal matter, there's a chance your bunny could get an intestinal tapeworm.  But this can be detected with a fecal exam (give it a week), and then bunny can be treated with appropriate medication by the vet to get rid of the parasites.

I hope this helps.

Dana