Don’t forget to use pet-friendly disinfectant every time you clean out to kill bacteria. Bedding and litter should be refreshed every day, with a thorough clean out at least fortnightly. Keeping their hutch and run clean with fresh bedding will also help keep flies away. Speak to your vet for advice about keeping your rabbit clean of urine and faeces. This should be increased to at least twice a day in summer. Check them over every day, with special attention around their bottom and tail. Prevention is essential to keep your rabbits safe from flystrike. Females with large dewlaps or skin folds around their abdomen: these can make it difficult for the rabbit to clean and groom themselves.Poor living conditions: dirty hutches can attract flies, which puts the rabbit living inside it at risk.Open wounds: the scent of blood from an open wound can attract flies.Dental problems: rabbits with painful dental issues are often reluctant to clean themselves thoroughly.Long-haired breeds: breeds such as angora rabbits are much more prone to picking up dirt and faeces, and equally difficult to keep clean.Elderly or arthritic rabbits: can struggle to clean themselves properly, particularly their rear, which can result in a build-up of faeces and urine.Poor diet: this increases the production of soft faeces called caecotrophs, which can easily become stuck to the rabbit’s fur.Warm weather: the fly population increases over summer, although it’s important to remember that flystrike can occur at any time of the year.Flies are attracted to warm, damp areas that are soiled with faeces and urine, usually around a rabbit’s bottom.Īlthough any healthy rabbit can develop flystrike, there are factors that increase the risk:
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