Flies annoy people, especially during the summer months. Luckily, these flies don’t pose a severe threat to humans. But, on the other hand, they present a potentially fatal threat for guinea pigs because they can cause fly strike. No doubt, fly strike can be life-threatening, but the good news is that it is easy to prevent. So, in this article, you’ll get all the information about fly strike in guinea pigs and its prevention.
What Is Fly Strike in Guinea Pigs?
Fly Strike occurs when green bottles and blow flies lay their eggs around the bottom area of animals. Unfortunately, these eggs then hatch into maggots. As a result, they eat the animal’s flesh. During this process, harmful toxins are released into the bloodstream of animals.
Don’t take it lightly because, in worst cases, it can lead to blood poisoning and even death. Fly strike can occur in any animal, but it mostly affects guinea pigs or rabbits.
How Do Guinea Pigs Get Fly Strike?
The main reason for fly strike in guinea pigs is poor hygiene. It can be because of the pet itself or the environment. Open wounds, urine, and feces attract flies. Luckily small animals like guinea pigs can keep themselves clean, but other factors still put them at risk of fly strike. Some risk factors of causes of a fly strike are given below:
- Open wounds
- Overcrowded hutch
- Dirty toilet or bedding area
- Long-haired and un-groomed guinea pigs may get feces or urine matted around their bottoms
- Pet might be unable to clean and move properly due to old age, obesity, dental issues, and other illnesses
Fly strike is the most prevalent in the summer when there are plenty of flies around. Some people feel that indoor pets are safe from fly strike, but it’s not true. Therefore, we should take some safety precautions to keep our guinea pigs safe.
Signs of Fly Strike in Guinea Pigs
Before we discuss the prevention practices, it’s important to understand the symptoms of fly strike in guinea pigs. The first sign to look for is the infestation of maggots. They’ll be present mostly around the bottom of a pet. Other signs are diarrhea, excessive scratching, whining, and loss of apetite.
Keep an eye on dental issues, weight, and feces of your pet. Some other signs of fly strike are irregular peeing and hair loss.
How to Prevent Fly Strike in Guinea Pigs?
To prevent fly strike in guinea pigs, provide a good diet, clean the cage every week, litter train, use grooming equipment, and clean their bedding regularly.
As mentioned earlier, most flies produce maggots that start feeding within 24 hours. Therefore, it’s important to prevent fly strike in guinea pigs before the situation worsens. The best and easiest prevention tip is to maintain good hygiene in your guinea pig cage. When you take steps to prevent flies from entering your guinea pigs home, you can easily protect them from fly strike.
Follow the steps below for preventing fly strike in guinea pigs:
- Provide a Good Diet
When guinea pigs don’t get the required nutrition, it impacts their digestion. As a result, they suffer from diarrhea or release softer feces. Unfortunately, these feces can stick around the bottom. You need to feed a high fibre and pelleted diet to prevent this issue. Moreover, access to clean grass will ensure a clean bottom.
- Clean Guinea Pigs Cage Every Week
Purchase a deep clean disinfectant and clean your pet’s cage. Ensure that you remove bedding from the cage before cleaning. This practice can help you clean dirt and kill harmful viruses. As a result, the flies will not get attracted to the pet’s hutch.
- Litter Train Your Pet
The best thing is to litter train your guinea pigs. If you can’t do that, locate the toilet area for them so that they know where to do their business. It will make spot cleaning easier.
- Purchase Grooming Equipment
Grooming is the basic need of pets, but unfortunately, the bottom of guinea pigs gets messier than other pets. Therefore, it’s important to have the right tools for grooming. Purchase a shampoo formulated for rabbits. Clean and comb the feces. Use a scissor to cut the heavily matted fur.
As mentioned earlier, older and overweight pets find it difficult to groom themselves. Therefore, you need to groom and clean them. Check your pet daily to see if there are any signs of fly strike.
- Check and Clean the Pet’s Bottom Regularly
Guinea pigs are social creatures. Therefore, you need to interact with them regularly. Ensure that you check their bottom and back end every time you sit with your pet. As mentioned earlier, comb out and clean feces. Before you do this, clip out matted and stubborn fur so that it doesn’t hurt your pet.
When you’re sure that the pet’s bottom is clean, dry the area thoroughly. During the summer months, check your pets 2-3 times a day so that you can reduce the risk of fly strike.
- Clean the Toilet Area Regularly
Use a disinfectant to clean the toilet area so that it’s free from germs and bacteria. Before replacing the litter, sprinkle a disinfectant to reduce the odors of urine. Since urine smell can attract flies, it is important that you don’t let the urine smell become to strong. To learn more, check out my article on how to get rid of guinea pig urine smell.
- Maintain Excellent Hygiene
Ensure that you clean your pet, toilet area, and cage as mentioned above. Moreover, regularly check and clean and the bottom of your pet. Keeping the environment clean will not attract flies, and there will be minimum chances of fly strike. Maintaining excellent hygiene will also help prevent guinea pig fungal infections.
Final Words
Unfortunately, the summer season isn’t the ideal time for guinea pigs because, during that time, they’re at risk of fly strike. Therefore, many people often ask how to prevent fly strike in guinea pigs? We have answered this question in detail by sharing some valuable prevention tips. So, you can protect your guinea pigs from fly strike by following these tips.