r/Bunnies • u/littlefig88 • 9h ago
Question Please help!
I just came home and found this in a pile of otherwise normal poop. My rabbit is zooming, eating hay, just ate her cecotropes, following me around for food and has no behavioral changes. I did give her a leaf of radicchio last night. She is young (1 or 2 probably) and about 6 weeks post spay. I’m trying to understand if I need to go to the vet… we do have a great exotic vet.
CASE CRACKED!
Update: we have returned from exotic vet! Adult tapeworm confirmed - Drontal Plus given. It’s a rabbit-specific tapeworm and she most likely got it over the summer when she was stray before she landed in the shelter as this worm is contracted primarily through soil. Thanks for being kind and supportive. That scared me! I am mentally preparing for an influx of tapeworms in the litter box.
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u/Early_Macaroon_2407 9h ago
You need to go to the vet. I don’t know what the hell that is, but it shouldn’t be inside a rabbit. Maybe a parasite?
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u/Acceptable-World-175 Dad to 6 beautiful furbabies 🐇 9h ago
Tapeworm to be exact
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u/littlefig88 9h ago
Yes it’s a total match with the picture so we will head that way
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u/Acceptable-World-175 Dad to 6 beautiful furbabies 🐇 9h ago
I do wonder how though? It's incredibly rare!
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u/littlefig88 8h ago
I just adopted her from a shelter about 5 weeks ago and her stall required people to walk through the infectious disease/illness part of the shelter…
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u/Nyxie872 8h ago
I'd probably give the shelter aheads up too. Just in case they have an infestation going on
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u/Acceptable-World-175 Dad to 6 beautiful furbabies 🐇 8h ago
Aww bless you! She'll be absolutely fine, she won't even know she's got one, and will poop it out within a few days of treatment. It's a rare but very easy disease to treat!
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u/Brilliant-Draw1260 I wish they all could be Californian Buns 🎶 5h ago
Curtis had really small worms shortly after I adopted him. Nothing like this monstrosity but still scary. The vet said it was probably from when one of his first "owners" threw him outside. Gross and scary but easily treated.
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u/Acceptable-World-175 Dad to 6 beautiful furbabies 🐇 4h ago
Pin worms! Woozy had them too, tiny little things in her poops that freaked me out at first. Thankfully she was already on Panacur, so they went very quickly. They don't do anything bad, just make their butthole itch. 😄
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u/Brilliant-Draw1260 I wish they all could be Californian Buns 🎶 4h ago
That's quite bad enough as far as I'm concerned 🤣
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u/Acceptable-World-175 Dad to 6 beautiful furbabies 🐇 4h ago
Now I have that cat saying MA BUTTHOLE in my head 🤣🤣
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u/littlefig88 4h ago
Monstrosity made me lol - I can’t believe there are more of these inside of her 🤢
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u/Brilliant-Draw1260 I wish they all could be Californian Buns 🎶 3h ago
They really do look like something from a horror movie!
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u/mantis_tobaggan-md 8h ago edited 3h ago
The only way they get a tapeworm is by eating a flea or a mite. She probably groomed fleas off of herself in the shelter or wherever she was before adoption.
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u/Acceptable-World-175 Dad to 6 beautiful furbabies 🐇 8h ago
Thank you! I was completely at a loss how she could have eaten the egg.
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u/littlefig88 7h ago
Thank you everyone! We are home. Vet was pretty unfazed but confirmed this is, in fact, an adult tapeworm which is a rabbit-specific tapeworm that comes from soil. She was stray until she was in the shelter as of 8/25 and he believed it is more than likely that she has had it longer than that. It’s two doses of Drontal Plus (for dogs) 1 month apart for treatment. I am mentally preparing for the influx of tapeworms!
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u/Acceptable-World-175 Dad to 6 beautiful furbabies 🐇 5h ago
I'm glad you seem to have a strong stomach about it all, most people would be puking at poop and worms, you're holding it like a biologist! 😂 I wish your bunny the best of luck, and I'm sure she'll be 100% very quickly! Give her kisses from me and my 6 buns 🥰🐇
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u/littlefig88 4h ago edited 3h ago
Lol, if it looked like this in her pile of poop then I never would have picked it up - it unraveled in my hand. Years of working in agriculture prepared me for this moment but I won’t pretend I didn’t talk myself out of gagging! I appreciate you! Thank you ♥️
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u/Acceptable-World-175 Dad to 6 beautiful furbabies 🐇 4h ago
Aww bless you! Can I at least see your recent family addition? And have a name? You're gonna be a great bun parent!
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u/purplefrequency 3h ago
I have goats, so it's a different kind of tapeworm and a different med, and it might not happen to you at all. I just want to gently prepare you in case.. What the vet didn't mention is that the worms are very much alive when they do come out and I stg one of them raised it's head and looked at me. It was 6 years ago and I'm still recovering lol
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u/littlefig88 2h ago
Omg I’m laughing very hard and also have the goosebumps because I’m telling you that thing unraveled itself in my hand - it looked nothing like this when I picked up the poops - and I had to tell myself “no way did it just do that on its own” …perhaps it did omg
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u/Misses_Ding 8h ago
Also book an appointment with your doctor chances are you have it too
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u/littlefig88 8h ago
Tapeworm can’t be passed to humans from them thankfully
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u/griombrioch 7h ago
I don't know why you're getting downvoted for this lol. The type of tapeworm that rabbits can get is not the same kind of tapeworm that infects humans. You being infected from it would be extraordinarily rare.
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u/littlefig88 6h ago edited 3h ago
Impossible, from what the vet shared. So many helpful comments for sure. I’m sure nobody had the thought that it did not look like this at all in a massive pile of poop - it just looked like a small sliver of white bedding and then unraveled in my hand. But yeah I washed my hands! by licking them - thanks everyone ☺️
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u/Acceptable-World-175 Dad to 6 beautiful furbabies 🐇 5h ago
By licking them 🤣🤣🤣🤣 I like you, a lot.
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u/Raigne86 8h ago
One of the more common ways animals who are mostly indoors get tapeworms is from ingesting infected fleas while grooming, so maybe check for those too.
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u/littlefig88 8h ago
I just adopted her about 5 weeks ago and it appears to be adult tapeworm so I think that is the origin - waiting on labs
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u/littlefig88 7h ago
Thank you everyone! We are home. Vet was pretty unfazed but confirmed this is, in fact, an adult tapeworm which is a rabbit-specific tapeworm that comes from soil. She was stray until she was in the shelter as of 8/25 and he believed it is more than likely that she has had it longer than that. It’s two doses of Drontal Plus (for dogs) 1 month apart for treatment. I am mentally preparing for the influx of tapeworms!
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u/MrsRojoCaliente 9h ago
Please go to the vet and give us an update because I’d really like to know what that is.
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u/littlefig88 9h ago
It’s a total match for tapeworm based on googling but I am heading to the vet and will circle back
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u/littlefig88 4h ago
Confirmed adult tapeworm - a variety from soil so she likely picked it up before going to the shelter - sadly she was dumped outside :(
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u/ACNH_Emrys 9h ago
I would definitely go to the vet. Or at least send the vet this picture
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u/littlefig88 8h ago
We’re here! Thank you!
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u/ACNH_Emrys 8h ago
That's wonderful news, best of luck to you and your bun. Please let us know what they say.
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u/littlefig88 8h ago
Thank you so much ♥️
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u/littlefig88 7h ago
Thank you everyone! We are home. Vet was pretty unfazed but confirmed this is, in fact, an adult tapeworm which is a rabbit-specific tapeworm that comes from soil. She was stray until she was in the shelter as of 8/25 and he believed it is more than likely that she has had it longer than that. It’s two doses of Drontal Plus (for dogs) 1 month apart for treatment. I am mentally preparing for the influx of tapeworms!
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u/ACNH_Emrys 6h ago
I'm so glad it's not serious and you'll be able to treat the worms! Good luck to both of you and hopefully it'll be a fast recovery 🫂
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u/Acceptable-World-175 Dad to 6 beautiful furbabies 🐇 9h ago
Looks to be a tapeworm, panacur should treat it. They're not life threatening, they just live inside the gut and absorb nutrients. A simple panacur course MAY work, depending on the species. They're easy to kill off and they're just pooped out.
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u/Brilliant-Draw1260 I wish they all could be Californian Buns 🎶 5h ago
They're so nasty! Thankfully they're easy to get rid of
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u/Acceptable-World-175 Dad to 6 beautiful furbabies 🐇 5h ago
I have never seen one before in a bunny! But I knew immediately what it was. I'm a huge fan of weird and gross things. 😂
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u/Brilliant-Draw1260 I wish they all could be Californian Buns 🎶 4h ago
Me too, actually (except for some of the people I've seen in Walmart!) 😁
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u/Acceptable-World-175 Dad to 6 beautiful furbabies 🐇 4h ago
That's a whole different ballgame! Although I will watch videos of them through morbid curiosity.
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u/Brilliant-Draw1260 I wish they all could be Californian Buns 🎶 3h ago
17 years there as a cashier cemented my preference for animals along with my decision to remain child free 🤣 But that's ok, the animals need all the love they can get!
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u/Acceptable-World-175 Dad to 6 beautiful furbabies 🐇 47m ago
Oh god, what was your crime to get such a severe sentence?? 😆 And animals are always much better creatures to love than icky human babies.
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u/Brilliant-Draw1260 I wish they all could be Californian Buns 🎶 45m ago
Eureka's basically a toddler in fuzzy pajamas so I'm set there!
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u/peachpit101 8h ago
Forbidden spaghett with meatballs
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u/Brilliant-Draw1260 I wish they all could be Californian Buns 🎶 5h ago
EWWW! Good riddance to those nasty things. Poor bunny. I'm so glad you were on top of it and got the problem sorted out!
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u/mwalker324 2h ago
I’m not sure who I feel worse for, you or your bun bun. I’m glad you got it figured out and taken care of!
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u/RoyalConsistent 8h ago
Gloves why doesn't anyone wear gloves
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u/Brilliant-Draw1260 I wish they all could be Californian Buns 🎶 5h ago
Probably because this person was panicking
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u/littlefig88 8h ago
I appreciate your thoughtful, empathetic comment during an emergency with my pet.
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u/Flemishmommy 6h ago
What exactly “rabbit specific tapeworm” is this? If you know?
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u/littlefig88 6h ago
Yes - it’s ctentaenia
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u/mirkywoo 3h ago
And you are holding this tapeworm why?
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u/littlefig88 3h ago
I like to pick up my snacks before I eat them
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u/mirkywoo 3h ago
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u/littlefig88 3h ago
I feel the same way about making a snarky comment about someone’s scary moment when they’re looking for support. In a pile of poop, 98% of it was covered and I worried my pet had eaten something dangerous and was having an emergency. I ended up with an enormous tapeworm in my hand that I cannot contract. Conveniently I have access to soap and water.
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u/mirkywoo 2h ago
You did the right thing I’m just being grossed out at the worm, and the snack comment was funny. Glad your bunny is gonna be okay
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u/MyAccountWasBanned7 8h ago edited 6h ago
Why does every rabbit owner touch literal shit without wearing gloves?! And picking up a tapeworm too?
Y'all are just nasty.
EDIT: Yup, argue that it's totally fine to pick up poop barehanded instead of wearing gloves. That definitely makes y'all seem normal.
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u/mantis_tobaggan-md 8h ago
Whatever. It’s herbivore poop. It’s basically condensed grass. There are worse things.
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u/MyAccountWasBanned7 7h ago
Sure. But it's hot like gloves are hard to find. Just because it could be worse doesn't mean it isn't still gross.
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u/East-Sound9480 Nootmare da Bunbunaza (bunbunaza is bunny :3) 7h ago
washing hands happens to be a thing that exists
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u/littlefig88 8h ago
Oh I actually tasted it after is that weird?
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u/Ok-Chard-5022 8h ago
How else would you know if the tapeworm absorbed all of the nutrients from the hay?
Lick the worm.
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u/Brilliant-Draw1260 I wish they all could be Californian Buns 🎶 5h ago
Still better than changing diapers.
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u/gabsteriinalol 6h ago
Have you ever seen rabbit poop in real life before? It has zero smell and crumbles to dust when dry (and it dries within like 30 min). It’s closer to a coco pebble than it is to dog poo or human poo. And this is coming from someone who cannot do poo at all. It’s not mushy, sticky, or wet. This comment just proves you don’t own a rabbit lol
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u/MyAccountWasBanned7 6h ago
I have owned several rabbits. I never said theor poop was sticky or wet. But I still never touched it with bare hands.
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u/littlefig88 4h ago
I love that for you! You don’t touch rabbit poop with your bare hands, and I don’t turn people’s scary moments into a judgey bit. Our values are different and that’s okay.
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u/Grrronaldo 9h ago
Definitely vet, I hope it isn't a piece of tapeworm because you might need a vet appointment as well...