Intestinal Parasites

[stopwarownarabbit]

Ewwwwwwww!

Has anyone dealt with this before? I was told by my vet that they can be transmitted to humans. My bunnyhas always been an indoor bunny,but he said it is still possible....so I'm giving him a stool sample this weekend. $45 for the lab tests and extra for the worming meds if anything is detected. I don't think my bunny has worms but its better to be safe than sorry. :shock:

 

[Pipp]

What makes you think he has parasites?

'Parasites' are used to describe all sorts of internal microscopic bugs and ailments, as well as worms.

Here's a ton ofinfo:

http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/parasites.html



sas

 

[pamnock]

Was the vet referring to coccidiosis? This parasite can be transmitted from animals to humans via the fecal oral route. Children or individuals with compromised immune systems are most at risk.



Pam

 

[stopwarownarabbit]

All he said was that is was possible for rabbits to be infected with parasites...he didn't name which ones. We spoke on the phone so he didn't have time to go in to detail. This will be Bun Buns first visit to see a vet. I'm having him neutered next week, and the vet wants to do an overall health check beforeperforming the operation.The stool test is optional. It could also be a scare tactic used to bring in more money. Who knows. It worked on me! lol

 

[BunnyFofo]

I suppose it is possible for a rabbit to get wormeggs/parasite's cyctsoff of anything you bring inside to feed him (grass/leaves). Or, unwashed veggies/fruit. But, it is not that likely if he is an indoor only bun. Does he go out in the grass? Are their other pets in the house? Also, I know some parasites are species specific. Meaning they dont like to go to different animals, they like to stay on a certain kind. It is possible to transmit worms to humans, but almost unlikely. The chances of the rabbit liking your face, and transferring a cyst to your mouth, then being ingested are possible, but slim. Another possible way, would be to touch an infected rabbits stools/anal area and then, without washing your hands, stick your fingers in your mouth/eat something. Just wash hands before and after you clean/handle your bun, and you should be fine.

If he is not showing any signs or symptoms of parasite's infection, I personally would not waist my money. Just my opinion!

Bun Fufu

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

It is possible for rabbits to get parasites and not all that uncommon. Even people with only one inside rabbit and no other pets have had incidents. You can bring them in on your shoes and clothes, etc.

But saying that, I have had outside rabbits for 3.5 years and never had a mite issue with any except one and we think his problems started at the breeder's place, not here.

Although a good check up and a stool sample is not a bad idea if you're concerned. You can forgo the stool test but I would consider the check up necessary. Have you checked into this vet? Are they rabbit savvy? Rabbit savvy vets may not be the cheapest but in the long run, it saves you money and a lot of heart ache if something were to go wrong during the neuter (which may be very rare but I would never trust my rabbits lives in the hands of an unexperienced vet).

 

[Pipp]

pamnock wrote:

Was the vet referring to coccidiosis? This parasite can be transmitted from animals to humans via the fecal oral route. Children or individuals with compromised immune systems are most at risk.

This is probably what the vet was referring to, one of the microscopic parasites, nothing that any human would see or be aware of, it's just something that some bunnies can have in their systems.

Pam, is this one of the ones that a lot of bunnies have but it's usually dormant until the rabbit ends up stressed or otherwise compromised before it makes its presence known?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's pretty hard to pass on to humans, you really have to have some serious auto-immunity issues (or a child that eats rabbit poop), right?

sas

 

[bbgrl20]

stopwar: Its an animal hospital thing to always ask to do fecal exams. Although at my animal hospital we only ask fordogs and cats