The saga of the sungura
Poor rabbits :(
Well, our rabbits (sungura is rabbit in Kiswahili) started to get sick. Their paws were bloody and looked like they were infected. We showed M. and he said it was a fungus so we bought fungicide and applied it three times a day to their paws but the situation only got worse. Then we noticed that there were worms coming out all over their bodies. This happened in just a matter of days so Russ researched it on the Internet and found out that they have Warbles (or also called Fly Strike or Myiasis). Bascially if the fur of the rabbits is wet or damp the eggs from the flies are able to penetrate their skin. (Braggarts - this is the same type of fly that Deb had - botfly - but it's the species that infects rabbits, not humans). The larvae from these flies can mature in 24 hours and produce a toxin that causes the rabbits to go into shock. On every website that Russ visited it said if you see these worms treat it as an emergency situation and take your rabbit to the vet ASAP to put the rabbit on anesthesia so the doctor can surgically remove the maggots. That day Russ tried to remove the maggots from them using tweezers but they just retreated back into their bodies. The maggots, if left untreated, will basically use the rabbits as a host and eat them inside out (if there are a lot of them) or produce enough toxin that they go into shock.
A week later...the rabbits are still alive! We think when Russ tried to remove the maggots they were still in the early larvae stage and could easily retreat. But a few days later they were big enough, goodness were they big, to be easily pulled out. Russ pulled at least 20 maggots from both rabbits. Pictures, if you dare see them, are in the gallery. We have cleaned their cage and took out some wooden floor panels and put mosquito netting around the whole cage. Prevention is the key! They seem to be healing quickly too. Their fur is already starting to grow back around their paws and they got carrots as a treat for the pain I'm sure they endured by having 10 maggots, the size of one of their fingers, in their bodies. The lesson I've learned - from now on I'm sticking with cats.
Dodoma
We took the newbies to Dodoma to show them around town so they know where the safi duka (literally "clean store" but means you can get cool, some imported, stuff there like frosted flakes and cheese), food market, and internet is located.
School
5 teachers are leaving our school to go on to university to get a degree. This happens a lot in Tanzania - headmasters, secondmasters, teachers, just leave for one reason or another, in the middle of a school term. One of the teacher's who is leaving is a math teacher, so I'll be picking up more periods soon.
Other things...
I was wrong, the internet at the TTC is fast enough to upload pictures so check out our gallery!
Russ's dad will be here tomrrow! We're so excited to have him and are planning a little party for when he arrives.
Well, our rabbits (sungura is rabbit in Kiswahili) started to get sick. Their paws were bloody and looked like they were infected. We showed M. and he said it was a fungus so we bought fungicide and applied it three times a day to their paws but the situation only got worse. Then we noticed that there were worms coming out all over their bodies. This happened in just a matter of days so Russ researched it on the Internet and found out that they have Warbles (or also called Fly Strike or Myiasis). Bascially if the fur of the rabbits is wet or damp the eggs from the flies are able to penetrate their skin. (Braggarts - this is the same type of fly that Deb had - botfly - but it's the species that infects rabbits, not humans). The larvae from these flies can mature in 24 hours and produce a toxin that causes the rabbits to go into shock. On every website that Russ visited it said if you see these worms treat it as an emergency situation and take your rabbit to the vet ASAP to put the rabbit on anesthesia so the doctor can surgically remove the maggots. That day Russ tried to remove the maggots from them using tweezers but they just retreated back into their bodies. The maggots, if left untreated, will basically use the rabbits as a host and eat them inside out (if there are a lot of them) or produce enough toxin that they go into shock.
A week later...the rabbits are still alive! We think when Russ tried to remove the maggots they were still in the early larvae stage and could easily retreat. But a few days later they were big enough, goodness were they big, to be easily pulled out. Russ pulled at least 20 maggots from both rabbits. Pictures, if you dare see them, are in the gallery. We have cleaned their cage and took out some wooden floor panels and put mosquito netting around the whole cage. Prevention is the key! They seem to be healing quickly too. Their fur is already starting to grow back around their paws and they got carrots as a treat for the pain I'm sure they endured by having 10 maggots, the size of one of their fingers, in their bodies. The lesson I've learned - from now on I'm sticking with cats.
Dodoma
We took the newbies to Dodoma to show them around town so they know where the safi duka (literally "clean store" but means you can get cool, some imported, stuff there like frosted flakes and cheese), food market, and internet is located.
School
5 teachers are leaving our school to go on to university to get a degree. This happens a lot in Tanzania - headmasters, secondmasters, teachers, just leave for one reason or another, in the middle of a school term. One of the teacher's who is leaving is a math teacher, so I'll be picking up more periods soon.
Other things...
I was wrong, the internet at the TTC is fast enough to upload pictures so check out our gallery!
Russ's dad will be here tomrrow! We're so excited to have him and are planning a little party for when he arrives.
posted by lisa at
08:42
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