I should never have googled fly strike

[phantomnamechanger]

yes I had heard of it, but thought it was quite rare and only happened to badly cared for pets ie was down to neglect/dirty conditions? Then someone I know told me very matter-of-factly that their last 2 GP both died (at different times) of fly strike. I've always thought they were very good pet owners. Now I am worried about it.

Am most concerned about when we go away for a week and next door feed the GPs for us.

Is it rare, is it easy to prevent? Any experiences?

Googling things is rarely a good thing. Just keep the bedding fresh and check their rears to make sure they're clean especially in hot weather. Train your neighbours to do this and bribe them with some good wine/chocs.

It's more common in rabbits - maybe the difference in diet?

Dirty wet bedding
Dirty bottoms - keep a close check on their droppings when they're out grazing alot, they can get loose
Diarrohea in a guinea-pig is a bad sign so make sure your sitters are aware
Saggy arsed over-weight guineas who are lax with self grooming are at risk, as are elderly , less mobile ones

The 70 boars have had their bedding changed to shredded paper and hay in a rack now. They are very judgey because they "have to walk all the way over there " to get hay, but it means they can't cook themselves by sleeping under hay.

And fly screen mesh on their windows .DH made a screen to replace the lid of the haybox, dark enough to keep them happy, but airy.

There's a spray called RearGuard but you can't use it in conjunction with mite treatment, it double-doses them.

I've seen maggots in a pig cage (not mine thankfully) but it's a specific type of fly that is the Flystrike culprit ( I am too queasy to Google it at the moment ) vom

I clean out my bunnies every day in the summer, check their bums and also put fly papers outside their hutch.

I've never had rabbits but I'm always really worried when people say they aren't liftable or cuddly.

Do they never pick the rabbits up to check them?

Is a rabbit that is running around not at risk? I'd guess a rabbit in a hutch that can't move around or escape from dirty bedding or full sun and flies is more at risk.
But it can affect an animal within hours. Literally hours

DD does an eyes/ears/bum check for the boars when she picks them up. Takes a matter of seconds at feed time or putting in the run.

Rabbits are lift able - they just don't like it and you may have to give chase first to catch them. Current Bun is picked up every day whether he likes it or not and is checked.

I think some people give up because rabbits can be difficult to catch but you have to persevere and put up with a scratch or two (or a nip) - its all part of having pets.