Healthy Pets Scheme

Rabbits train to litter trays very quickly and can be very clean house-pet companions...

Rabbits

Wherever they come from, allow Parkside to check your new, young pet rabbit for free at the first health check. Most are weaned at 6 weeks of age. Pick up a Parkside rabbit care-pack at the same time.

Rabbits are becoming increasingly popular pets, and just like any other animal they require plenty of care and attention.  Unfortunately, many rabbits are not properly protected against potentially fatal diseases such as myxomatosis, viral haemorrhagic disease (VHD) and E. cuniculi.

Myxomatosis is a widespread disease.  All types of rabbit are potentially susceptible, including house rabbits, with the disease being spread by blood-sucking insects such as fleas and mosquitoes.  The first signs of myxomatosis are puffy swellings around the eyes, lips and ears and also around the anus and genitalia.  The swellings can become so severe that they can cause blindness, and eating and drinking becomes progressively more difficult.  The majority of affected rabbits will die.

Unfortunately there is no specific treatment so it is vital that you ensure your rabbit is protected against myxomatosis.  Flea and insect control is essential in the fight against this disease.  It is helpful to keep wild rabbits away from pets (contact with a wild rabbit is not necessary to contract myxomatosis, however they carry lots of fleas) and use flea control methods such as spot-ons.  Insect repellent strips and nets will help with mosquito control.   All healthy rabbits over 6 weeks of age can be vaccinated to help prevent this often fatal condition, with booster vaccinations given every 6 months.

VHD is a viral disease of rabbits which usually proves rapidly fatal.  Signs of the disease can be sudden unexplained death, or may include depression, collapse, difficulty in breathing, convulsions (fits) and bleeding from the nose.  The virus can be spread between rabbits but also via people, clothing, hutches and fleas.  As with myxomatosis, there is no specific treatment for VHD so it is essential that your rabbit is vaccinated. Healthy rabbits are usually vaccinated from about 10-12 weeks of age  and then should have annual boosters. 

Whilst many people are aware of myxomatosis, less will know about Encephalitozoon cuniculi (E. cuniculi) despite the fact that up to 50% of all domesticated rabbits may have been exposed to this parasite.  Rabbits infected with E. cuniculi can suffer a variety of horrible illnesses including fits, kidney damage and blindness or the sudden onset of head tilt. This can be so severe that rabbits are only able lie on one side with their heads twisted round; this can be mistaken for a stroke.  Unlike myxomatosis and VHD, rabbits with E. cuniculi can initially appear perfectly healthy but the illness can flare up at any time.  The parasite is spread by infected urine as well as from mother to babies, and hutches and pens can harbour infection.

Again, prevention is better than cure, as the treatment may come too late to reverse the signs of this potentially debilitating disease.  Panacur® Rabbit is an easy to administer paste which provides a simple method to help control E. cuniculi and intestinal worms in rabbits.  The paste should be given daily for 9 consecutive days, 2 to 4 times a year and also during times of higher risk, such as when the rabbit is acquired, prior to mating and prior to mixing with others.

Keep clean and dry especially in summer to avoid fly strike. Check your rabbit's bottom every day and if it is dirty, you must clean it. If it is persistently dirty, this is often a sign of obesity as the rabbit cannot clean itself proerly. Use a topical fly killer from Parkside if this is happening. Maggots are not nice.

Feed lots of hay and restrict pellet food to one meal per day, so they are forced to hay, greens and roots (carrot, turnip etc). This is how they prevent their teeth from overgrowing and causing mouth ulceration and eventual untreatable gum disease. In other words, do not be too good to them as they are made to eat LARGE quantities of poor quality food. If more people thought of pellets as chocolates and always gave hay, then we would see fewer teeth problems. 

Click Here to see a full feeding guide from Parkside and see more rabbit care in the Pet Facts + links section.