# Bot fly removal techniques



## allegraf (Jun 16, 2013)

One of my males got infested with bot flies. Any suggestions on removal? I am thinking of soaking him in lukewarm water to encourage the nasty maggots to come up for air and them picking them out with tweezers, tort allowing of course. Let me be more clear, my husband will be executing this plan as it is grossing me out. Any help or suggestions is appreciated.


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## wellington (Jun 16, 2013)

I can't help you. However, can you post pics and do you know how this happened? It would be very educational if you could fill us in on details. I would never have guessed this could happen.


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## Madkins007 (Jun 16, 2013)

Whatever you do, don't watch a YouTube video about it! Yuck!


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## Yvonne G (Jun 16, 2013)

In horses, we use an oral de-wormer, but the bad news is, this particular de-wormer (ivermectin) is fatal to tortoises. I did a 'net search and it looks like the method for getting rid of the maggots in tortoises is picking them out with tweezers. 

I'm sorry your poor tortoise is going through this. Give your husband a pat on the back from me. I'd hate to be the one who has to do this.


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## allegraf (Jun 16, 2013)

wellington said:


> I can't help you. However, can you post pics and do you know how this happened? It would be very educational if you could fill us in on details. I would never have guessed this could happen.



Give me blood, guts, even poo. Bugs in flash no thanks. The husband is on his own with this and very unlikely I am going to watch, much less take pics. Blech!


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## mike taylor (Jun 16, 2013)

The water thing is not going to work . Get some vasoline and put it over the spot where the fly is and wait he will come out for air and thats when you grab it . Then add some neosporin???? Don't know if that was the right spelling but you get the point . Thats how we get them out of are animals good luck.

Sent from my C771 using TortForum mobile app


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## wellington (Jun 16, 2013)

allegraf said:


> wellington said:
> 
> 
> > I can't help you. However, can you post pics and do you know how this happened? It would be very educational if you could fill us in on details. I would never have guessed this could happen.
> ...



Can you get pics of what they look like on your tort? I have raised horses, pig, ducks, chickens, dogs, cats, and worked for a vet and I have never had nor seen a fly problem where they would infest my animals. I have had them lay eggs on my horses, but, you brush the coat, they come off and you spray more fly spray. I watched a video on YouTube of them being pulled out of a money's neck. Big holes. However, I can't imagine them on a tortoise and how an infestation happens? It may be gross, but I still think it would help lots of us that have never dealt with something like this. Sorry, animal stuff doesn't gross me out, human stuff does


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## kimber_lee_314 (Jun 16, 2013)

I have had the delightful opportunity to remove a bot fly from a rabbit (even more than once!!) Here's what we did for the rabbit. Sometimes we had to open it a little because the skin sometimes grows over the stoma. This doesn't always happen. Then we smother the stoma with vaseline until the larva sticks his head out a little to breathe. Then you can grab it with tweezers. Pull slowly. I don't know about reptiles, but as far as rabbits go, I have heard that if they break open they can release a toxin. So pull slowly and firmly trying not break open the larva. After you get it out you can drop it in some rubbing alcohol to kill it. Sometimes a pocket of puss forms around the larva, so squeeze out any puss. Then use a Qtip dipped in betadine. Actually stick the q-tip right into the hole and clean out any puss that remains. Get way down in there. And that's it - no more bot fly! Hope that has helpful!


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## pam (Jun 16, 2013)

Wow i had no idea this could happen


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## dds7155 (Jun 16, 2013)

is this in the U.S.,, can people get them?


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## mike taylor (Jun 16, 2013)

Yes people can get them and yes they are here in the US but not as bad as say the rain forest.

Sent from my C771 using TortForum mobile app


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## Tom (Jun 16, 2013)

We get them on the wild rabbits here. They come out on their own as soon as the rabbit is dead.

Never seen one on a tortoise. Freaky...


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## mightymizz (Jun 16, 2013)

Before I do one of those searches on youtube or google where you see the most extreme cases of anything...What exactly are these bot flys?

I understand they are a larva, but what do they turn into? Why don't we hear about them much in the USA on people?


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## cdmay (Jun 17, 2013)

kimber_lee_314 said:


> I have had the delightful opportunity to remove a bot fly from a rabbit (even more than once!!) Here's what we did for the rabbit. Sometimes we had to open it a little because the skin sometimes grows over the stoma. This doesn't always happen. Then we smother the stoma with vaseline until the larva sticks his head out a little to breathe. Then you can grab it with tweezers. Pull slowly. I don't know about reptiles, but as far as rabbits go, I have heard that if they break open they can release a toxin. So pull slowly and firmly trying not break open the larva. After you get it out you can drop it in some rubbing alcohol to kill it. Sometimes a pocket of puss forms around the larva, so squeeze out any puss. Then use a Qtip dipped in betadine. Actually stick the q-tip right into the hole and clean out any puss that remains. Get way down in there. And that's it - no more bot fly! Hope that has helpful!



Allegra... the above is what my wife said we did when one of our tortoises had bot flies a long time ago. I thought we soaked her in water but after I thought about it, I remembered that soaking in water is what I had done with a wild box turtle with BFs I had caught in high school. 
Barb says (I don't remember) the Vaseline thing was tedious (and gross) but that it did work.
I agree with the others who state that a photographic record of this would be helpful for future reference, but I would also check with a good reptile vet first to see if there is an easier method.


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## gary27 (Jun 17, 2013)

I had a Russian two years ago with bot flies. I put a couple of drops of
insecticide in water and poured it over the hole in his leg. They came to the hole and i pulled them out with tweezers. Got 14 total........Gary P.


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## allegraf (Jun 17, 2013)

Ok, it wasn't as gross as I expected. I ended up being the one to pick out the maggots. Soaking in lukewarm water for a few minutes had the bugs poking their heads out and made for easy pickings. He actually did most of the work. Two of the larger ones were in the pocket of his back leg. When I pulled him out of the water, I held his leg out and saw the two poking out. He retracted his leg so fast they came shooting out on their own. Only found three total though, the other holes seemed empty. Jaw is still swollen so I am going to see if the vet thinks he needs any follow up antibiotics or general anti-parasitic. He had been soaking himself in the deep watery-mud holes over the last two weeks so I suspect that the other holes have already been vacated. I am going to soak him again today to make sure I got them all. 

I will supplement the pics later after work.


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## lynnedit (Jun 17, 2013)

A pet rabbit of mine (who spent time outside) got them occasionally. The vet suggested pouring hydrogen peroxide into the hole, which made them squirm :O , then we plucked them out with the tweezers. I don't think there is any other way in small creatures to get rid of them.
I believe they prefer warm blooded animals, but 'any port in a storm'.

The vet told me that they enter through a tiny broken area of skin. It is pretty hard to prevent a tortoise from occasionally nicking themselves, as active as they can be. 

Yuck.


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## kanalomele (Jun 17, 2013)

Sorry I miseed this thread... woww! When I have to do this I will use duct tape over the hole. They will come for air and often get stuck to the tape and get pulled out when I ease the tape off. I will also have tweezers on hand to pluck any that manage to avoid getting stuck to the tape.


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## Tom (Jun 17, 2013)

The "bot flies" we have here only have one giant maggot per hole. When I say giant, I mean its the size of a man's thumb. You guys have bot flies that leave multiple maggots per hole? Or are you talking about multiple holes?


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## Peyton (Jun 17, 2013)

Put tape over the holes and when they come up for air use tweezers to get them out


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## lynnedit (Jun 17, 2013)

We only have one per hole, haven't seen them that big! Yikes.


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## allegraf (Jun 17, 2013)

Okay, here is the photos of the process. Upon further examination today after another soak, it does look like he managed to scare out the other bugs. He was sitting in the deepest mud hole for the last two weeks, he was eating and acting normal so I didn't think anything of it. It is great that he managed the bugs himself for the most part but it looks like in some of the holes they did not expel, they just died in the skin. I am going to take him to the vet later this week to see what he thinks. He was the only one with any signs of bot fly. The others are all clear, thank goodness. He will remain in quarantine to make sure any other larvae missed will just exit in the garage, well away from the herd. 

This was straight out of the mud pit, and still dirty. Here are the worst holes, it looks like the two maggots dies in there:





This is what Beetle Juice looked like lurking in the mud holes, here is was doing it in the clear clean water. 










Here are various empty holes:

Right front 




Left rear leg:




yup, that is where you think it is (Is this how stds start?):




And here is what I harvested:




These are the two that he kicked out himself:





Close up:


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## kimber_lee_314 (Jun 17, 2013)

Good - you got them while they were still small!!! Thanks for sharing the pics!


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## sueb4653 (Jun 17, 2013)

all I say is YUK!


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## cdmay (Jun 17, 2013)

Cool! I bet there might still be a couple in that big hole inside the neck and front leg. I remember pulling as many as four or five out of each hole that the box turtle I mentioned above had.


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## wellington (Jun 17, 2013)

Thanks for fighting through your squirmyness and posting pics. Can someone explain how does this start. Is it first just a small egg that is laid that burrows I to the skin or is it a fly that bites the animal and deposits an egg inside the bite? I did find out we do have these flies in Illinois, I just have never had a problem with them and all the animals I have had over all the years. What do you see to know you have a bot fly problem. Wanting to learn more about this.


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## Redstrike (Jun 17, 2013)

Very informative with the pictures, thanks for sharing! Glad to see Beetle Juice ditched some of his hitchhikers (with your assistance, of course)...


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## mightymizz (Jun 17, 2013)

Yeah, I tried asking some of the same types of questions as Wellington. Please feel free to share thoughts about these things.

Thanks for sharing the pictures. It gives a good idea of what to look for on tortoises.

Looking forward to learning more, especially along the lines of Wellington's and my previous posts!


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## JennBell0725 (Jun 17, 2013)

I know it varies but here in louisiana the bot fly will lay eggs on a mosquito or housefly and once they are in proximity to a warm host they fall off hatch and burrow under the skin to develope. We see them a lot in feral kittens bc the flies are attracted when they are born. Ive had to remove them from stray puppies as well. So if flies were attracted to the tortoise this is most likely the cause. 

â˜†Jennâ˜† and The Sulcata Hatchies, Cera, Ducky, and Spike!


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## skottip (Jun 17, 2013)

I live in Fl and I feed my Aldabras alfalfa hay. With all of the rain we have been getting in Fl, some of the hay started to decompose so I raked it up to put into my compost pile. Under the "fermenting" hay were dozens of Bot fly larvae. 
I am glad I decided to remove the old hay and also that I discovered the Bot fly larvae. No issues with my torts but who knows what could have happened if I didn't clean up.


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## Moozillion (Jun 17, 2013)

OMG!!! I had no idea!!!


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## Moozillion (Jun 17, 2013)

So they can get infested with bot fly from exposure to plain old house flies and mosquitoes??!?! Scarey!!!


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## lynnedit (Jun 17, 2013)

Not from mosquitoes or house flies, fortunately.
Bot fly is a specific species:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botfly


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## allegraf (Jun 21, 2013)

So the vet managed to pull several more out of the few remaining holes. She suggested using a syringe with hydrogen peroxide to flush them out. Apparently it makes them practically jump out. We couldn't get the one in face or the std one near his tail. I am going to give him a day off and then try again using the hydrogen peroxide method. She also suggested using triple antibiotic and dabbing the hole to encourage the maggot to surface for air.


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## Moozillion (Jun 21, 2013)

So gross...Poor guy!!! What a great tortoise mom you are to go through all this for him!


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## cdmay (Jun 21, 2013)

What a valuable thread! Gross, but of real interest.


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## Redstrike (Jun 21, 2013)

He was loaded! 

+1 to what Carl said.


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## mightymizz (Jun 22, 2013)

Is there any way to really help prevent this from happening? Or is it just one of those random risks that you take when the torts are outdoors?


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