Symptoms and treatment of worms in rabbits, the best medicines and prevention

Insidious parasites are a real disaster for owners of long-eared pets. The problem threatens farmers with large losses, because the quality of future products is at risk. With the help of a veterinarian, owners can determine early on whether rabbits have worms, see the symptoms, and begin treatment. Timely preventive measures will allow you to avoid troubles.

How does infection occur?

Even when kept in good conditions, animals run the risk of becoming prey to worms.Most often, infection occurs during feeding of pets. Along with hay, rabbits eat helminth eggs, which are abundant in dry grass. Once in the animal's esophagus, the parasites emerge from the eggs and begin to grow. Having reached maturity, the formed worms infect the pet’s body. The initial stage of infection goes unnoticed by the host. The furry pet's behavior and appearance do not change; the rabbit is still cheerful and willingly eats food.

Problems begin later, when the number of parasites in the pet’s body increases many times over. The pet is rapidly losing weight and the beauty of its skin. Most often, trouble happens to rabbits living in unsanitary conditions, when the animals are kept in a dirty cage on a dirt floor. Parasites easily enter a pet’s home through small domestic animals.

Chickens, ducks, cats or dogs with helminthiasis can infect a rabbit. It's easy for the tiny parasites to move into your rabbit's feeder or bedding. If the pet lives in good conditions and eats well, it can avoid the serious consequences of infection. A strong, healthy animal has a strong immune system and a healthy gastrointestinal tract. Parasite eggs usually die in the acidic gastric environment.

Rabbits are more susceptible to attack. Their immune system has not yet had time to strengthen and an acidic environment in the stomach has developed. Kids have it more difficult than adults. Worms destroy the fragile immune system of rabbits. If the parasites reach a large number, they form a ball and, like a cork, clog the animal’s intestines. This can result in intestinal rupture and death of the baby rabbit.

Helminthiasis causes a lot of trouble for an adult rabbit.As a result of infection, the animal's immunity is noticeably weakened. In advanced cases, parasites destroy the protective mucous membrane of the pet's stomach. From this point on, dangerous bacteria can freely penetrate the animal’s circulatory system. As a result, the pet's body can no longer resist diseases. Any accidental infection in combination with helminths can lead to a sad outcome.

Symptoms of helminthiasis

Parasites take over the victim’s body gradually, so it is not easy to recognize the danger in time. Alarming symptoms indicate that your eared pet is infected with helminths:

1. The animal shows an insatiable appetite, but the animal’s weight is greatly reduced.
2. The pet drinks water greedily every now and then.
3. The animal sheds heavily. If left untreated, the number of parasites increases and shedding becomes more intense.
4. The rabbit gradually develops diarrhea or, conversely, constipation. An admixture of greenery is visible in the excrement.
5. The anal area becomes inflamed and takes on a reddish tint.
6. In some cases, the pet refuses food, sits indifferently in the corner of the cage and does not respond to touch.

Methods for diagnosing invasion

For an accurate diagnosis, it is necessary to take blood from your pet for analysis. During their life, parasites secrete a large amount of specific toxins. These substances affect the composition of the animal’s blood, so the analysis provides accurate information about infection. Examination of feces is informative only at the moment when the worms have already safely settled in the animal’s body. However, if the parasites are in the egg stage in the rabbit's esophagus, the analysis will not show anything.

In advanced cases, parasites can be seen with the naked eye. To do this, you need to carefully examine your pet's feces.During the period of active reproduction, pinworm worms lay a huge number of eggs; they are clearly visible in the form of white spots.

What types of worms in rabbits do livestock farmers encounter:

1. Pinworms. Helminths enter the body of pets with food. Rabbits and hares become victims of infection. As a result of the spread of worms, animals develop passalurosis. Parasites cause unbearable itching in rabbits. An exhausted animal constantly rubs against the bars of the cage or the floor. Worms are dangerous not only for pets. Parasites are easily transmitted to humans, causing the unpleasant disease enterobiasis.
2. Parasites - echinococci. Like pinworms, helminths enter the rabbit's body through food. This is where the similarities between parasites end. Echinococcus uses the animal as an intermediate base. Worm larvae find refuge in the liver and other organs of the rabbit. Tumors form in places where echinococci are dislocated. A sick animal does not pose a danger to its relatives.

Methods for treating worms in rabbits

Even with complete confidence in the cause of the disease, self-medication is unacceptable. All medications are given after a veterinarian's prescription. You need to study the instructions and calculate the dosage of the medicine.

Medicines

To treat helminthiasis, animals are given an anthelmintic. There are effective and safe medications for eared beauties:

1. “Shustrik” is a broad-spectrum drug, manufactured in the form of a suspension. This gentle product is added to your pet’s water or food.
2. "Albendazole".The product is used in case of damage to the internal organs of the animal by Giardia and nematodes. Deworming is carried out simultaneously with taking immunostrengthening drugs.
3. “Gamavit” is an excellent remedy for strengthening a pet’s weakened immunity.
4. "Levamisole." This drug successfully copes with the destruction of nematodes and worms. For eared patients, Levamisole is used in the form of a 10% solution. The medicine is administered to the rabbit by injection. The product is contraindicated in pregnant females, weakened individuals and rabbits under 4 months of age.

To treat pinworms, the anthelmintic “Sulfate-piperazine” is also used. Before the course of treatment, preliminary preparation of the pet is carried out - the animal is not fed for 24 hours. The medicine is given at the rate of 1.5 g of the drug per 1 kg of weight.

If the pet is fragile or weak, gentle treatment can be carried out, but in this case the course will have to spend more time. For this purpose, phenothiazine is used. Dosage of the drug: 0.1 g per 1 kg of pet’s weight. For infected rabbits, the Shustrik or Albendazole suspension is also suitable. In case of infection of an animal with echinococci, the drug “Mebendazole” is used. For a handsome eared dog, the dose of the medicine is calculated according to the formula: 5 mg per 1 kg of weight. The course of treatment lasts 5 days.

Traditional methods and recipes

When treating broiler animals, it is necessary to take into account that chemicals will inevitably affect the composition and quality of meat, so farmers often resort to folk remedies to combat parasites. In order for the helminths to leave the pet’s body, you need to give the animal a decoction of medicinal herbs or give the rabbit medicine along with the food.

1. Tansy.The plant is widely known and even received a second name - glisten. Natural medicine is mixed into the main food. Use the plant carefully; the daily dose of the natural product should not exceed 2 branches. Tansy is known for its astringent properties, so excessive use of the aromatic medicine threatens the animal with constipation.
2. Pumpkin. The remedy is traditionally considered the best way to get rid of parasites. The seeds of the orange vegetable are fed to rabbits in small portions.
3. Sagebrush. Thunderstorm of pinworms and roundworms. Grass is added to the general diet. Wormwood should make up 30% of the total food. To treat baby rabbits, the dose of medication is reduced.
4. The needles not only successfully fight against different types of helminths, but also enrich the pets’ body with vitamins. An arbitrary amount of pine needles is mixed with a portion of hay. Natural medicine is prepared in winter, at temperatures no higher than 20 degrees below zero. Essential oils contained in coniferous plants are dangerous for eared pets. After the onset of frost, the concentration of the odorous substance decreases, and the needles can be safely used to treat rabbits. Otherwise, the animals may get poisoned and die.

Prevention of helminthiasis

Following certain rules will help reduce the risk of animal disease. All rabbits are periodically given anthelmintics. Exceptions are made only for rabbits under 3 months of age. Rabbits must be treated before giving birth. This is important because parasites can be passed on to offspring and kill the entire litter. Before vaccination, animals must be treated for worms. The interval between the last dose of the drug and vaccination is at least 14 days.

In addition, it is necessary to clean the cage on time and remove waste products of rabbits. It is prohibited to harvest grass for feed in secluded, swampy places. Meadows where traces of hares have been observed are dangerous for mowing grass. These wild relatives serve as vectors for helminths. If there are dogs on the farm, they are kept away from rabbits. Dogs are periodically given anthelmintics. When caring for a sick animal, you need to take precautions, because some types of parasites are dangerous to humans.

Is it possible to eat rabbit meat with worms?

Employees of the Ministry of Health allow the use of meat infected with helminths after special treatment. Before cooking, the product is deep frozen or cooked for a long time.

However, veterinarians have a different point of view and categorically prohibit the consumption of contaminated meat. In any case, there are few people willing to try such a delicacy. It’s unpleasant to realize that disgusting worms have recently swarmed in a tender piece of meat.