of fleas and tapeworms

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Hershey is a male, neutered Dutch rabbit, 5 years old and I've had him since he was a baby.

He has had tapeworm twice. The first time I treated him twice, as directed, with the med the vet gave me. Several months later, I had reason (weight loss) to believe he had a tapeworm again. We went to the vet, got the meds and treated according to directions. Now I am pretty sure he has tapeworm again!

The part I don't understand is shortly after the first bout of tapeworm, I started treating him with Advantage for fleas every month. He has been on it continuously since.

In the summer he can go outside, but it's winter, so he hasn't been outside since Oct.

Sooo, where are the tapeworms coming from?
 
What symptoms is he having? I think you would normally be able to see tape worm in the feces (atleast you do with dogs)or around his anus.

Does Hershey eat grass in your yard? I do believe its possible for them to pick up eggs that way and become infected.
 
How were the tapeworms diagnosed by the vet? Only rarely are domestic rabbits primary hosts of tapeworms (worms attach to the intestinal lining in primary hosts.) Rabbits that are primary hosts might become emaciated, but again, this is very rare and it woudl be the rabbit tapeworm, not the tapeworm usually found in dogs.

Usually, rabbits are the secondary hosts of tapeworms, that is, they have the larval form which are released from eggs (usually transmitted from dog feces) and then migrate to the liver and from there enter the abdominal cavity. Losing weight would not normally be a sign of a secondary infection until the final stages.

So that is why I am wondering how they were diagnosed - itcould bepossible the rabbit has a different worm or maybe not a worm at all.
 
The first time Hershey first stopped jumping into his litter box. (That is always a sign something is wrong with him.)

Then he started losing weight and then I found a piece of the tapeworm in his feces. I brought that piece and some others to the vet. They said tapeworm and gave me some meds. After taking the meds, he pooped out several other big pieces. He had a bout of fleas prior to his time.

The second time was the same except I didn't see any. I brought a feces sample to the vet and they said they found tapeworm eggs in it. More meds. Didn't poop out any more pieces.

This time he resists jumping into the litter box and I found a piece in his feces. So far he hasn't lost any weight.(I'll bring in the poop sample tomorrow.)

He does eat grass/weeds that I pick for him. I wash them off before giving them to him. After washing the weeds, I also dry them and give the "hay" to him in the winter.

Thanks for the replies!

editted: Oh, just thought of something. He has a room in the basement in which we caught several mice. Can mice fleas carry rabbit tapeworms?
 
It doesn't sound like the meds were completely successful. They may have reduced the problem, but the worm eggs left multiplied again & the symptoms returned. It could be from the dried grass, perhaps. I don't think washing would eliminate the worm eggs.

If it's like what humans go through with tapeworms, the feces have to be carefully removed for 48 hours after the meds to make sure there is no re-infestation. And after 3 or 4 months the stool should be checked to make sure the problem is gone.

With this problem & with the fleas, I wonder if next summer it would be best if Hershey's outdoor visits were limited to being on a patio, deck, or whatever. And sew some grass seed or seeds of other greens & grow them in a hanging basket where animals can't get at them,



 
Did the vet identify the species of tapeworm? They have different intermiediate hosts, but mites and ants are intermediate hosts of some tapeworms found in rabbits, so I suppose it is possible some kind of intermediate hostis coming in on the mice.

What medication was prescribed and for how long?

Your best bet to stop the tapeworms is probably sanitation - can you clean the basement really well and also eliminate the mice in a way that does not endanger the rabbit? Possibly by sealing them out? (I've done this in my country home by caulking everything so there are no places they can get in.) I would also not give any plants from outside, even if you wash them, for now, and as LakeCondo said, keep the rabbit feces cleaned up.
 
I went to the vet today. They said they were the flea kind of tapeworm.

"Dipylidium caninum, as an adult tapeworm, attaches to the walls of the small intestine. As the tapeworm matures, the egg-engorged segments — proglottids — break off. Thus begins a new life cycle.

As the proglottids are passed by the pet and rupture, egg packets are released into all areas of the pet’s environment. Flea larvae, which also are present, eat the individual tapeworm eggs. These eggs hatch and larvae grow within the flea. When fleas mature into adults, they jump onto their pet hosts for a blood meal. During normal grooming, the host pet ingests all or parts of fleas, and the tapeworm larvae present are released and mature in the pet’s small intestine."

http://www.allivet.com/HealthGuide/post/The-Facts-about-Tape-Worm.aspx

The vet tech said even if the flea is dead and Hershey eats it, he can still get the tapeworm. But I don't know how long the larva can live in a dead flea. Also, like I said, I've been careful to de-flea Hershey for the last 8 +- months, so I don't know where these fleas are coming from!
 
What medication have you been using for the tapeworm problem? I adopted a bun who had been a stray and had a tapeworm; he was treated with Droncit ( praziquantal)with a repeat 1 week later.

The tapeworm never occured again after that; he most likely got it from eating contaminated greens outdoors when he was a stray
 
Dipylidium could be carried in fleas on the mice. Again, your solution probably needs to be in getting rid of the mice in a manner that is safe to your rabbit, and in keeping the environment clean. Maybe someone else will have some suggestions on rabbit-safe ways to remove fleas from the basement as a whole.

Or perhaps you could consider moving Hershey to an environment other than the basement where he would not be in such close contact with the mice and fleas and be continually re-infected?
 
The mice are gone. Dunno if their fleas are, but like I said, I treat Hershey every 4 weeks, and haven't seen any.
From what I understand, he can't get this kind of tapeworm from eating outside weeds.

The vet gave me Panacur, but from what I've read meanwhile, I'm not sure that will work on Dipylidium!
 

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