Maggots in Litter

Ok... I'm extremely embarassed... and even more worried... I usually clean the cage once a week. I've never had this problem before, but lately, we've been having problems with maggots even in our garbage can... and it didn't sit that long, just a few days. Now it's in my rabbit's litter... I'm really worried!
I checked their bums, and all over, and cleaned the litter like I normally do... other than putting vanilla in their water, what else can I do?!!!

Yikes. Sounds like flies are being attracted, obviously, and laying eggs.

Where do your bunnies live?

As far as what you can do.....well I say clean.....

Disinfect, use some vinegar and deep clean everything. Throw out any "old" materials or litter that the flies could have gotten to. Start fresh.

I clean Agnes's litterbox twice a day. Maybe you will need to adopt a more frequent cleaning pattern.

Good luck!

:yeahthat:

Found this about house flies:

Egg: Depending on the size of a female house fly, she can lay up to 500 eggs in a three to four day period. Eggs are white in color and are usually less than half and inch in size.

Larvae: Larvae are commonly referred to as maggots. Maggots emerge from the eggs within eight to 20 hours of being laid. Larvae begin eating whatever they can find in the area they were laid. They prefer warm, moist environments to grow in.

Pupa: After about four to 10 days, a maggot will move to higher, drier ground to move into the pupa stage of its life. This process take about three to six days and is where the maggot encases inself in a reddish-brown skin where the final stages of development take place.
Adult: Once the adult house fly hatches from the pupal stage, it has an approximate life span of 15 to 30 days. Females are able to start producing eggs after two days of life and will continue to lay eggs for about a month. Female house flys are usually larger than the males.

So you need to be very diligent about cleaning the cage, especially those wet spots. And don't leave garbage in the can for very long. I'd also think about killing the actual flies in your home, too. Either swatting them or fly strips or something.

Thanks guys, very helpful. I was so worried someone was going to come on here and tell me what an awful rabbit owner I am... I certainly feel like one. I'll definitely be cleaning more often, it's obvious that's the main problem.
I had no idea they hatched so fast, that would explain a lot. It's not like there's a million flies in my house! 2-3, tops? But I guess that's all it takes... so embarassing... but I'm glad for the responses, they weren't rude or condescending, so I'm glad I asked for advice. THanks so much!

If anyone says they've never seen a maggot, then they're either lying or delusional. LOL They really gross me out, but I tell myself, "They're just baby flies...they're just baby flies." That keeps me from puking. haha

When I was a kid, we had guinea pigs. We left a lot of food and multiple water bottles for them, and left for 2 days. When we came home and cleaned the cages, there were maggots. VERY disgusting, especially when you're 8. They hatch quickly, which probably explains why they aren't going to be extinct any time soon. LOL

OMG Cindy poor you. I would have died if I saw that.

What kind of litter are you using? Like Lisa I clean out the litter boxes twice a day. I use the wood stove pellets with a screen over the litter so the poos get discarded twice a day and the urine once definetely a day and if needed twice. I just scoop the soiled litter out and replace it with fresh.

I assume your bunny is indoors.

I agree kill the flies as soon as you see them. I'd be putting those sticky fly traps every where. Cheap at the dollar store.

Good luck.

Susan

glad that they are not on your bunny sounds like a easy enough fix. I agree with Wendy they gross me out when I was just a kid about 6 a chicken came to visit our house I was petting her and holding her and all was well until I lifted up her wing :vomit:

I've heard horror stories of rabbits having to be put to sleep because their owners never noticed the maggots, even when they were in and coming out of their rabbit's bum.

YOU noticed and you're fixing the problem. :thumbup

Samara wrote:

I've heard horror stories of rabbits having to be put to sleep because their owners never noticed the maggots, even when they were in and coming out of their rabbit's bum.

YOU noticed and you're fixing the problem. :thumbup

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Oh my goodness!! Now THAT is horrible!

And Tracy, that is the grossest emoticon I've ever seen! Lol!!

So glad I'm eating lunch while reading this :expressionless

Haha. I was worried about this as well.. we had a HUGE fly invasion in our back room (where we keep our recycling and garbage), and found at least 70 maggots crawling all over EVERYTHING on garbage day.
I was really worried, because as soon as we opened the door tons of flies came in. I just tried to kill them all, which you should do as well.
Also, clean the litter box as much as possible to get rid of the eggs.

Something you can try is putting some juice in a cup in the room. I had left a dirty juice cup with about an inch of juice in the bottom to go for work, and when I got home 3 were dead in it!
I'd suggest putting a few cups of juice in your bunnie's area if you don't have time to go and buy some strips or something... they're for some reason really attracted to it.

:yeahthat: I also spray the outside of our front and back doors with roach spray--keeps the flies away from the door too.

If your rabbit is inside, I definitely recommend putting up some kind of fly traps and I'd increase how often you're cleaning the litter box.

I too hate maggots. It was one of the hardest things for me to handle when I worked at an animal hospital. The zoo I interned at used these carpet mats to line the bird cages and some times I had to hose ones that had been sitting for one or two days. There were always maggots in those and they would weave themselves into the carpet fibers. Bleh.

To combat the actual flies in your house, get a little cup and put apple cider vinegar in it. Just like an inch or so, so if it spills it won't make a huge mess. Flies LOVE it. You know the old saying "you attract more flies with sugar than you do vinegar?" Well, that simply isn't try. We used to do it when I worked at an outdoor produce stand, and it caught a lot of flies. If you only have a few, then it should work wonders.

Don't feel bad, I also have a few flies in my house. If anyone says they don't ever get a fly or two then they're liars.
Good luck! And you're not a bad bunny mom!

We've had one in here for three days now--I usually can take them out in a few minutes, but I can't find this one and it won't land anywhere so I can beat it to death! I'm going to try the vinegar.

Ding Dong the fly is dead,............I went out and it was on top of a water bottle. :yahoo:

Anyone can get flies. Just open the door certain times of the year & they're in!! Bananas are a guaranteed gnat infestation so we rarely buy them. And yes, I have seen flys/gnats in the litter & I use paper pellet litter. I scoop all the piddles & the wet pee spots, add a little fresh litter, stir, rotate the litter box every day.

I've recently found maggots in my rabbits cage too. Even though I clean it out twice a week I had to clean it well, use vinegar and starting fresh helped. Cleaning with vinegar every once in a while seemed to work well for me

yup i have had this happen as well and i too panicked..we get massive fly infestations due to where we live..middle of the desert..ugh..so..we hang up the sticky fly strips everywhere and go on killing sprees with fly swatters..beleive it or not..it is extremely good stress releif lol

After recently dealing with fly strike on one of my bunnies, I am on red alert against flies. Especially the ones with the metallic green looking backs, as those are the kind that got my bunny. Kill them all if you can and keep an eye on your bun for fly strike. My bunny looked like he had a wet spot and it was actually eggs and maggots. It took about 9 hours to clear them all off of him. I had never heard of this before and was completely mortified. Best wishes for you and your bunner!