Fly Struck

Question
hi just 2 days ago (in the middle of my GCSEs!) i found maggots on my bunny Cinders. shes a lion head rabbit so sometimes her poo gets stuck to her. i rushed her 2 the vets and they claimed they had gotten rid of them all they did give me anti inflammatory and antiseptic to orally give her. but yesterday i found another bunch of them so i took her to the vets again. they found a wound on her and have shaved the entire fur off of her bottom. they've put Rear Guard on her to. as i am only 16 i cant pay for the vet bills so my parents do, as the wound has gone threw to her muscle the vets have said if it doesnt heal up in 2 weeks bring her back for stitches, my parents cant afford it. is there any symptoms that i should look for if she is in pain and if there is what can i give her or do? is there anything i can do to help heal her wound. thank you so much.

Answer
Dear Lauren,

This is definitely a bad time of year for fly strike.  We just had two bunnies (one hare, one rabbit), and fortunately caught it before anything serious happened.

How big is the wound on your bunny, and is it in an area where the skin is being stretched open?  If it is in an area where there is loose skin, and you can acutally pull the edges of the wound together so they touch without pulling too much, you may actually be able to use a special type of glue to close the wound.

NOTE THAT I DO NOT RECOMMEND THAT YOU DO THIS WITHOUT CONSULTING YOUR VET!  But if your bunny is suffering because you cannot spend the money to have her properly treated, then this could be a very temporary stop-gap measure to take *IF* your vet thinks it's okay.  Please consult with the vet before you do this, and don't try to treat at home without consulting with the vet.

Before you even consider this, though, you must make absolutely SURE that the underlying tissue is completely CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN, free of any type of dirt or debris or dead tissue.  This is why it's best done by the vet.  

You can use dilute povidone iodine solution in warm, clean water to thoroughly clean the wound with cottonballs, and if the wound isn't too big, or the skin under too much pressure, you can spread a very, very small quantity of GEL Super Glue (first developed as surgical glue, and only later sold in hardware stores) along the *edge* of the wound (DO NOT get it on underlying tissue) and then gently press the opposite edge of the wound to the glue line, closing it.

If the skin is under too much pressure, it may pop open.  But if it stays closed, this will allow the tissue underneath to granulate in and heal AS LONG AS THE AREA UNDERNEATH IS COMPLETELY DISINFECTED AND AS STERILE AS CAN BE!  If it is not clean, you could make matters worse by closing the wound, which is why I do NOT recommend this unless you consult with the vet.  I just can't stand the idea of your bunny suffering because you won't take her to the vet for proper treatment, so that's why I offer this absolutely last resort idea.

I hope it helps.

Dana