Tapeworm Treatment for Rabbits

Rabbits are popular, relatively low-maintenance pets. As animals, they should be given a fair amount of time outside in the yard. Although this gives them the benefit of sunshine and fresh air, it also puts them at risk for picking up parasites such as tapeworms.

  1. Tapeworms

    • Tapeworms are one of the most common parasites found in pets. Tapeworms live inside an animal's intestines. They are attached to the walls of the gut and feed off the nutrition therein. Tapeworms reproduce asexually by dividing themselves and can grow to several inches in length.

    Victims and Causes

    • Any warm-blooded animals can fall victim to tapeworms. Worms are ingested through dirt or feces, or passed through insects like mosquitoes, and travel through the animal's bloodstream to its digestive tract. The only way to dislodge worms once they're in an animal's system is with dewormer.

    Symptoms

    • Symptoms of a tapeworm infection in a rabbit include weight loss, dull coat, diarrhea, vomiting and a pot-bellied appearance. Because the worms are taking the nutrition that the rabbit eats, a rabbit with tapeworms may become lethargic and depressed. In serious cases of tapeworms, the rabbit's vomit and feces will contain tapeworms.

    Medication

    • Owners can treat rabbits for tapeworms with an array of oral medication. Deworming medication poisons the tapeworms so that the rabbit's body can excrete the parasites. Dewormers come in pastes and tablets that are fed to rabbits in treats.

    Environment

    • A rabbit that has tapeworms has a naturally weakened immune system and should be protected from environmental stress as much as possible. Owners often choose to keep their rabbits inside during treatment, while increasing their nutrition to help them heal from the effects of the parasites.

    Prevention

    • Many rabbit owners put their pets on a regular schedule of preventive medications. These medications, administered once a month, protect a rabbit from future tapeworm infections by killing any worms that enter the animal's system.