Coccidia Treatment

[deaners]

Hi All,

I posted about my two new rabbits Pearl and George in the intro thread. George is a 6 month old Holland Lop and Pearl is a 3 month old French Lop. They have both just finished treatment for e.stiedae, a form of coccidia. George's fecal samples didn't show the parasite, but I had him treated too since his bloodwork showed signs of liver damage.

http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=70863&forum_id=26

My question is what changes did anyone see when treating their buns for coccidia? In George we noticed an increase in activity. Also just yesterday when cleaning up after him I noticed short, thin, white thread like things in many of his poops. Could this be the casings/parasites being eliminated in his poops? Or could it be something else?

We didn't notice this in Pearl's poops. Not much behaviour changes either. She is just happy,energetic and hungy all the time.

 

[hokankai]

Coccidia do not form threads, and the fact that you saw them would lead me to believe he has worms of some kind. When you see them in the feces that usually means the infestation is pretty severe.

Signs of coccidia treatment are an increase in energy, appetite, and increased vigor.

I had this in my chickens and also learned about this stuff in my Parasitology class. Definitely get those threads checked out, but I'm guessing they're roundworms. A simple dewormer containing albendazole or another wormer that causes paralysis (found in feedstores). Good luck!

 

[deaners]

Thank you. I will take a sample in to my vet today.

Are worms contageous? We've been keeping the buns in seperate cages and cleaning up the poops dropped in the common areas between letting each bunny out. Should I be worried about Pearl getting them? I'll probably take in a fecal sample from her to the vet also just to be safe and see if her coccidia is cleared up.

 

[hokankai]

Yes they are. The eggs are passed in the feces and are very easy to spread. Pearl would have to eat his poop or eat something contaminated by his feces, but roundworms produce hundreds of thousands of eggs a day so I would treat them both at the same time just in case.

Hope her coccidia is cleared up

 

[deaners]

Thanks again. Another question. Is there any danger to their general health to be treating for the roundworms so soon after treatment for the coccidia?

 

[hokankai]

I'm not 100% sure, but I'm going to say no just because I treated my flock of chickens for worms and coccidia at the same time and they were fine. The drugs do two different things and the drug for worms doesn't affect the cells in the digestive tract.

However, to be safe I would give a probiotic and higher protein after treatment to help with any nutritional deficiencies caused by the worms.

 

[tonyshuman]

If they are acting normal after the coccidia treatment it should be fine to treat for roundworms. Some drugs used to treat coccidia can also treat roundworms, or at least make their lives more difficult, which may explain why you're seeing the roundworms now. I would have both of them treated for roundworms ASAP and disinfect everything in their environments. You will probably have to have a vet determine which species of roundworm it is so that they can be treated properly.
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/Parasitic_diseases/Nem_gen/Nematodes.htm

 

[deaners]

Then vet found pinworms and decided to treat both buns. She also took another blood sample from George and his liver counts are back down in the normal range. She even admitted it must have been the e.stiedae. He goes for his nueter surgery on Thursday.

 

[hokankai]

Pinworms! Oh you're lucky, those are easy . They're not transmissible to humans and they're more of a minor nuisance than a health threat. They are very contagious between buns though, so clean the area VERY well. Pinworms lay eggs by basically having their uterus explode, which aerosolizes the eggs. I know in human infections eggs have been found on things like ceiling fans and countertops from wafting through the air! Gross.

Glad to hear the liver panel was good, and good luck with the neuter