In this section:
First visit to us
Feeding
Handling Your Rabbit
Routine vaccination and worming
Viral Haemorrhagic Disease
Parasites and your rabbit
Neutering
Common Diseases in Pet Rabbits
Dental Disease
Respiratory Disease
Fly Strike
Gut Stasis
First Visit to us
When you get your rabbit home you are welcome to
bring him or her to us for a free nurse
consultation. At this time the nurse will discuss
with you any concerns or questions you may have
about your new rabbit’s care. They will advise you
on feeding, vaccinations and routine worming. Should
you require a health check for your new rabbit
please make an appointment with one of our vets.
Feeding
In the wild rabbits are foragers which means their
diet consists of grass, shoots and leaves. Your
rabbit’s diet should mimic this diet as closely as
possible-grass and good quality grass hay should
make up the main part of your rabbit’s diet. The hay
that is provided for eating should be kept separate
from the hay used for bedding as your rabbit will
not want to eat it if it is soiled. You can buy hay
racks to do this.
A small amount of a good quality concentrate food
can also be provided but care should be taken to
ensure this doesn’t make up the majority of your
rabbit’s diet as it is high in energy and you rabbit
will easily become overweight. We recommend you feed
a pellet concentrate food rather than the ‘coarse
mix’ type. This is because rabbits can be quite
picky and will quickly learn to leave the less tasty
parts of the mix, unfortunately these are generally
the part that contains the vitamins!
Your rabbit will also appreciate fresh veg and
fruit, although very sugary fruits such as apples
should be fed in small quantities. Hanging
vegetables such as carrots from the roof of the cage
can provide a tasty toy to keep your rabbit busy.
Rabbits pass two different sorts of faeces. The
first sort, called ‘caecotrophs’, are softer and
sometimes covered in mucus. The rabbit eats these,
usually directly from the bottom, as they contain
valuable nutrients and vitamins that weren’t
digested the first time the food passes through the
gastrointestinal tract. These then pass through the
GI tract for a second time before being separated
out and passed out as normal harder faecal pellets.
This system is designed so rabbits can get rid of
fibre and indigestible material from the body as
quickly as possible to allow useful nutrients to be
retained. The intake of a high fibre diet allows
this process to happen normally. If your rabbit is
poorly he or she may not eat the caecotrophs, this
is an indication that all is not well and you should
make an appointment with one of our vets for a
consultation.
Handling your rabbit
It is important that your rabbit gets used to being
handled from an early age. If you get your rabbit
used to being picked up safely and stroked as a
youngster you are more likely to have a happy
relationship with he or she. Rabbits need to be held
securely as they can very easily damage their backs
if not held correctly. If you are unsure of the best
way to handle your rabbit please make an appointment
with one of our nurses who will be happy to show
you.
It is important to handle your rabbit on a daily
basis as this will enable you to pick up any
potential problems early on. You should check their
eyes and nose for any discharge, feel down their
body and legs for any unusual lumps or bumps. Then
carefully turn your rabbit onto its back and check
its belly and bottom to ensure it is clean. This is
especially important in spring and summer as a dirty
bottom can results in flies attacking your rabbit
and causing a syndrome called ‘fly strike’ (see
later for more info).
Routine vaccination and worming
We recommend vaccinating your rabbit against 2
diseases; Myxomatosis and Viral Haemorrhagic Disease
(VHD).
Myxomatosis is a virus spread by blood sucking
insects such as mosquitoes and rabbit fleas. It
causes puffy swellings around the eyes, nose, lips
and genital areas. These swellings get gradually
worse until they stop the rabbit from eating and
drinking and cause blindness. Unfortunately in over
90% of cases the disease is fatal.
Vaccination against this disease is vital for both
indoor and outdoor rabbits as the disease is
prevalent in both the wild and domestic rabbit
population. We recommend vaccinating your rabbit
every 6 months against this disease; it is a simple
injection that may save your rabbit’s life.
You can also help prevent your rabbit from
contracting this disease by using regular flea
control on your rabbit and using fly repellent
strips around the hutch especially in summer.
Viral Haemorrhagic Disease is the other disease we
recommend vaccinating against. It is a virus spread
by direct contact with infected rabbits, indirect
contact such as via clothing, hands and shoes and
rabbit fleas. It causes a fever, diarrhoea and the
body’s circulation to collapse. It is fatal in
approximately 80% of rabbits and can cause sudden
death without warning.
This disease can be prevented by a single yearly
injection. We cannot give the myxomatosis vaccine at
the same time so we will usually recommend that the
injections are given 14 days apart from one another.
Parasites and your rabbit
We recommend that your rabbit is wormed every 4- 6
months to help prevent both intestinal (tummy) worms
and also a disease called ‘Encephalitozoon cuniculi’
which can cause brain and kidney problems and even
death in some rabbits.
We recommend the use of Panacur® Rabbit to worm your
pet. This is an easy to use syringe based wormer
that you give your rabbit every day for 9 days.
Please make an appointment with one of our nurses to
allow us to weigh your rabbit and show you how to
use the syringe.
It is also important to use regular treatment to
keep your rabbit ‘insect free’. We recommend using a
spot-on treatment called ‘Xenex Ultra’ as this helps
prevent against lice, fleas, ticks and the flies
that cause fly strike.
Neutering
We recommend that you neuter your rabbit as this not
only will prevent your rabbit from having unwanted
babies if you have a male and a female, it can also
prevent certain medical and behavioural problems.
Female rabbits (does) can develop tumours of the
uterus as they get older, some studies suggest that
up to 80% of rabbits over the age of 5 can develop
these tumours. In addition, some rabbits, both male
and female can become aggressive when they reach
sexual maturity, this is usually prevented if your
rabbit is neutered.
Neutering your rabbit is a routine procedure,
usually carried out when your rabbit is about 6
months of age, although it can be done a little
earlier in certain circumstances. We usually require
about one weeks notice to book your rabbit in. Food
and water should be provided up until the time you
bring your rabbit in for the admission appointment,
as rabbits do not require any pre-operative
starving.
Common Diseases in Pet Rabbits
If you are unlucky enough to have your rabbit fall
ill please call us to make an appointment as soon as
possible as rabbits are very clever at hiding their
illnesses from us and are often more poorly than you
may think. Below are some common illness that could
affect your rabbit but general signs to watch out
for are a runny nose or eyes, sneezing, decreased
appetite, changes to normal defecation and a dirty
back end.
Dental Disease is very common in pet rabbits. It is
caused by a combination of poor genetics and
sometimes a poor diet. It is one of the most common
problems we encounter in rabbits and often causes
secondary problems such as eye and tear duct
problems. It can be very difficult if not impossible
to cure but there are some treatments that can help
alleviate the symptoms. Signs to watch out for in
your rabbit are-change in appetite, especially
reluctance to eat hay or hard feeds such as carrots,
obvious pain when eating, chewing on one side only,
dribbling from mouth, weight loss, lumps under the
jaw or below the eye and changes in defecation.
Respiratory Disease (disease affecting the airways)
is also common in rabbits. It can be caused by a
variety of bacteria and viruses. It can be difficult
to detect in rabbits as they have a very fast
breathing rate which can make listening to the lungs
difficult but signs to watch out for are sneezing,
runny or snotty noses and decrease in appetite. If
your rabbit shows any of these signs please make an
appointment as soon as possible with us.
Fly Strike can develop very quickly, especially in
warmer months. It is a syndrome where rabbits have a
dirty bottom which attracts flies to the area. The
flies lay eggs, which turn into maggots. The maggots
then start to eat away at the flesh of the rabbit
around the area. It is an extremely distressing
disease to witness, and can be fatal for the rabbits
as they can go into shock. It can be treated as long
as the maggots haven’t done too much damage, but
unfortunately some rabbits don’t make it.
Fortunately you can prevent this awful disease from
affecting your rabbit just by checking it daily. We
recommend that you check your rabbits’ entire body
every day, including its underside, and if there is
any soiling around the back end, clean it using warm
water. It is a good idea to hang up fly repellent
strips around the hutch and it is also important to
keep the hutch clean to avoid any soiled bedding
attracting flies.
Gut Stasis is usually as a result of another
underlying disease which prevents your rabbit from
eating normally. This results in the
gastrointestinal tract of your rabbit slowing down
and gas can build up in the intestines. This is not
only uncomfortable for you rabbit but can result in
serious illness unless treated promptly. It can be
caused by rabbits not chewing food properly,
ingesting lots of hair which blocks to guts or even
eating things they shouldn’t such as small toys! The
main sign to look for in your rabbit is a reduction
or lack of normal faeces passed in the cage. If you
think your rabbit is not passing the normal amount
of faeces please make an appointment to see the vet
as soon as possible.
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