Dealing with your pet's health problems can be difficult.
Botflies are the type of flies that will infest the skin and fur of your pet. What you will actually find on your pet is the maggots of this particular fly. They tend to treat your pet as a host, and they enter your pet's body through some wound or other orifice. If you can find the maggot before it gets a change to enter your pet through a wound or orifice, then you can remove it yourself. However, if the botfly maggots manage to get in, then you must let your veterinarian handle the removal process.
Instructions
1. Search your dog's fur for botfly maggots after each trip outdoors. The maggots are in the grass and will crawl onto your dog when disturbed. If you can find the maggots before they get into a wound or orifice, you can simply pull the maggot off your dog. These maggots are light colored, less than an inch long, and have a worm-like structure. Have your dog checked up by your vet afterward to be safe.
2. Look out for symptoms of a botfly infestation on your dog. Once the maggots get inside a wound or orifice, your dog can start displaying symptoms. These can include shortness of breath, cough, dizziness and circling, paralysis, fever, blindness, lesions in the eyeball or a lump on the skin where a maggot got inside your dog. The lump will have a breathing hole for the botfly maggot.
3. Bring your dog to the veterinarian as soon as you can if you suspect symptoms of a botfly maggot. Only your vet can diagnose and treat an internal botfly. Do not try to remove it yourself.
4. Follow your vet's course of treatment. You will likely need to administrate a broad-spectrum anti-parasite medication at home and bring your dog back to the vet for a checkup when recommended.
Tags: wound orifice, botfly maggot, botfly maggots, enter your, remove yourself