Special Care - Rabbits

Rabbits have grown to become Britain’s 3rd most popular pet over the last 20 years, especially with the creation of the “house rabbit”.

Rabbits are generally quiet, can be house trained and can make good house pets but they can sometimes be destructive of cables and wires, become aggressive or difficult to handle. It is important to read up on, and research rabbits in depth before purchasing one.

They generally live for around 5-10 years, and their medical problems are almost all caused by poor diet and feeding. The majority of their diet should be good quality hay, with a small amount of high fibre commercial pelleted food. We would recommend a diet such as Supa Rabbit. This is a pelleted diet where your rabbit could not selectively feed, as all pellets are identical. The problem arises where you feed the poorer quality commercial feeds that allow selective feeding. This allows your rabbit to not eat what is good for them, only what they like. Does it sound familiar!

By eating a poorer fibre diet they are particularly prone to getting dental problems. Rabbits’ teeth grow throughout their lives, and they must grind hay continually to wear them down. If they don’t do this, their teeth begin to grow at the wrong angle which can result in them rubbing on their tongue or cheeks. Unsurprisingly this quickly puts them off their food and they begin to lose weight.

Another problem that they can be prone to is uterine adenocarcinoma. This is a tumour within the womb that is very common in older unmated entire female rabbits. As such we would recommend routine neutering if you are not intending to breed your rabbit.

Ear and fur mites are also common. Both cause scale and itchiness in the affected areas. They are one of the most satisfying conditions to diagnose since they clear up so quickly with effective treatment. All rabbits in the household require treated eliminating them altogether.

Vaccination is possible against two conditions in rabbits; Myxomatosis and Viral Haemorrhagic Disease Virus. We would recommend vaccination for all rabbits against both of these illnesses.

The final condition that should be mentioned is E Cuniculi. This is a disease that is common in the UK, and while not many rabbits shall show symptoms of it, many can be exposed to it. There is a new treatment to prevent the risk of infection- Panacur Rabbit- and we would recommend its use in all rabbits.