Like many pets, rabbits love to frolic and play.
If they have everything in order, then an enviable appetite stimulates them to constantly chew something.
Rabbits grow well, their hair becomes velvety and thick.
The excitement is caused by those pets who have become suddenly lazy and apathetic, eat and drink well, but do not frolic and do not develop.
The causes of such changes can be worms that infected the animal. How to diagnose pests, how to cope with them, and whether there are preventive measures - let's understand.
What are dangerous worms for rabbits
In a standard setting, helminth eggs can be viable for a long time. After they enter the body, the most favorable conditions are formed for them, and the eggs quickly develop into worms, which soon begin to lay their larvae. 
The fact that parasites weaken the animal will not be news to anyone. But if the rabbit, in addition, picked up any infection, the worms become even more lively, and the consequences of their activities may be irreversible. Parasites corrode the walls of the stomach and intestines and literally allow infection in the circulatory system.
Important! Worms cause great harm, because their food is not only food that gets into the stomach, but also the tissues of the body.
In fact, this is already a dangerous situation, and therapy may no longer have the expected effect.
How does the infection occur?
Rabbits can become infected with twenty species of parasites, mainly round, tapeworms (cestodes) and helminths.
The most vulnerable are pets who are kept in unhygienic conditions:
- ground cover;
- lack of ventilation;
- infrequent cleaning of the room;
- open access of different animals or birds.
But to say that the worms (worms) are infected only with unsanitary conditions, it is impossible. Of course, cleanliness in the rooms where rabbits are kept is important, but in this case does not play a major role. 
Eggs of parasitic worms can be ingested by animals at the same time as food, the most dangerous of which is hay.
Important! When preparing hay, only a small part of the worms dies under the influence of sunlight, and the remaining parasites can persist in dry grass for more than a year.
How to recognize the symptoms
The complexity of the treatment of worms is that they are difficult to determine. Some believe that the presence of parasites shows feces with their eggs, but it is - an unreliable method, because the larvae leave the body already during the reproduction of worms.
In addition to observing feces, it is possible to reveal the appearance of parasites in other, more correct ways. For surgical intervention and more effective treatment, the owner must constantly monitor the condition of their pets.
When breeding rabbits, it is important for you to know that rabbits are prone to diseases such as coccidiosis, pasteurellosis, listeriosis, myxomatosis, encephalosis, rhinitis, diarrhea, VGBK, lichen, sores in the ears and eyes.
So, about the presence of worms say these symptoms:
- rabbits have an excellent appetite, eat well, but gain little weight;
- infected pets constantly suffer from thirst;
- rabbits lose weight quickly;
- molting in animals lasts longer, and the wool crawls out in large tufts;
- rabbits become apathetic and lie most of the time;
- watery or too dry feces are observed for several days;
- feces visible greenish discharge;
- anus reddened and constantly itchy.
Attentive hosts notice signs of infection easily, but before starting treatment, the diagnosis needs to be clarified.Important! Symptoms can appear both singly and in complex. In this situation, treatment can not be delayed.
Diagnostics
With the rapid spread of worms in the body, they can be detected in the feces, but this requires certain tests. The difficulty is that the larvae of the worms are not always present in the feces. Surrender strokes are performed several times over a period of three days without a break.
More accurate results are obtained from blood tests. If the rabbits are infected, the composition of the blood changes. It reveals a large number of antibodies that fight parasites. The meat of diseased rabbits cannot be eaten, but treatment should begin immediately.
Did you know? Ascaris per day lays 230-250 thousand eggs, which is why it is impossible to eliminate parasites at once.
What to give to rabbits from worms
Of course, the best therapy is prevention. But, if the worms hit the body of pets, to save it can means both popular and official medicine. 
Preparations
Treatment with medications has a good effect.
We will talk about some that have shown themselves well:
- Albendazole. It has a wide range of effects on parasites. The medicine is given with food or water according to the instructions. Pregnant females do not use the drug. Due to the strong action, "Albendazole" is recommended even in the most neglected situations. Dosage: 0.1 g per kilogram of rabbit.
- "Gamavit". At the initial stage of therapy, 1 ml of the drug is injected into the skin to increase immunity. It is advisable to alternate the drug with Albendazole.
- Levamisole. In addition to the therapeutic effect, the drug strengthens the immune system. Can be used orally (mixed with food or water), and in the form of injections. Do not use the drug in the treatment of pregnant females, exhausted individuals and young people. Dose: 7.5 mg per kg of animal weight. The course of treatment is one-time.
- "Shustrik". Can be used for both treatment and prevention. The yellow solution is poured into the mouth of the animal with a syringe. Portion: per kilogram of crawl take 1 ml of the drug, the medication is provided for a single use. So that the rabbit can swallow the medicine, they do a throat massage. You can dilute the suspension with water (1:10) and pour it into the drinkers. This medicine should drink a rabbit for the day. It is also permissible to mix 1 ml of the preparation and 50 g of dry food. Giving "Shustrika" in water and feed in parallel is impossible - an overdose can occur.
Important! Violation of the regimen or incorrectly calculated dosage, as well as the presence of other diseases may entail negative effects and affect the health of rabbits, as well as subsequent offspring.
Treatment of folk remedies
Some owners prefer to use traditional medicine. It is believed that such drugs not only provide an opportunity to save money, but also act more easily on the body. 
The most famous are the following recipes:
- pumpkin seeds. 200 ml of seeds ground to gruel are mixed with honey (1: 1) and pour soda (1 teaspoon per 400 ml of mixture). The resulting composition insist 10 days in a glass container. You can give both separately and mixing with food;
- sagebrush. The most famous anthelmintic plant. It is actively used not only in traditional medicine, but also in the pharmaceutical industry. The herb is effective in getting rid of ascaris, pinworms and other roundworms. Fresh grass is given to rabbits, starting from the spring period and ending in the fall, and in the summer period it is dried for the winter. In adult animals, wormwood should be 1/3 of the feed, the young need only ¼ or 1/5 of the feed;
Important! A large dose of wormwood in the feed leads to excitement, which negatively affects the growth.
- tansy. Effective in getting rid of pinworms and ascaris. Used in fresh and dried form, adding to the main food. Due to the strong effect of grass per day, 1-2 stalks will be enough for one animal. It should be borne in mind that tansy has a strong astringent property;
- needles. It is harvested only in winter after the establishment of a stable sub-zero temperature. During this period, in the needles, the concentration of essential oils, which can provoke intoxication in rabbits, decreases. The branches of spruce or pine give as a separate dish, and mixing with the main feed, and the rabbits will eat exactly the volume that they need. In addition to the anthelmintic effect, the needles contain many useful substances and will serve as an excellent vitamin supplement.
When harvesting plant components should be taken into account ecological purity.Did you know? Tansy is popularly called the worm, which can more accurately be said about the properties of the herb.
It is not recommended to collect grass near landfills, along roads or in industrial areas. This neighborhood helps plants accumulate harmful components that, when consumed, will enter the body of animals.
What to drink for prevention
After taking therapeutic measures, the owners should not relax. It is better to think about how to prevent re-infection of animals.
It will be useful for you to learn how to feed the rabbits correctly, how to feed the rabbits in winter, and whether it is possible to feed the rabbits with corn, nettle, bread and breadcrumbs, burdocks, polynum, beetroot, pumpkin.
To do this, follow these guidelines:
- after the first signs of infection have been detected, the rabbits should be examined by a veterinarian;
- in case of confirmation of the diagnosis, sick animals are isolated to prevent further spread of worms;
- regularly carry out disinfection measures: process litter, cages, animal care items with special means;
- rabbits can only pour clean water, you can not water pets from lakes, swamps or puddles;
- prevent stagnation in water troughs;
- process food thoroughly (root vegetables - wash in hot water, do not give wet hay, etc.);
- feeders and drinkers should be protected from excrement;
- hay should not be harvested from grass collected in swampy areas;
- make sure that the cells do not lay damp hay - in such an environment, the larvae of parasites feel free and do not wash off.
It is best to carry out prevention in March and August. For this, rabbits are given anthelmintic drugs like Alben, Pirantel and others. Dosage: liquid form - 0.3 ml per kg of body weight, powdered product - 3 mg per 100 g of feed.All drugs are used for three days, then - 10 days break, and again a three-day course.
Did you know? Getting into the gastrointestinal system, the worms produce anti-enzymes - special substances that protect them from digestion.
To maintain immunity during preventive measures, rabbit can be stabbed "Gamavit". Dosage - 2 ml for an adult pet, 0.5 ml - for baby rabbits.
Helminth infestation is not the most pleasant moment in the rabbit breeding. But, if the pets are given due attention and do not spare time to care for them, healthy individuals will be a real pride of the farm. Win and warn the parasites is easy.
