Health
A bunny's health is basically down to good veterinary care, hygiene and diet .
Every rabbit needs regular check-up's at the vets for their vaccinations and to check their teeth. They also need their nails clipped regularly, their hutch's cleaned out regularly and to be wormed. A big factor in a rabbit's health is their diet. If on a museli mix with little or no hay they can become obese with a dirty bottom and bad teeth. Which can lead to life threatening problems. But if fed on a natural diet of hay, herbs and some pellets they can have good set of teeth, clean bottoms and be a good healthy weight.
Now let's get technical
Myxomatosis
Myxomatosis (otherwise known as Myxi) is a man made disease from Australia introduced to decrease the rabbit population. It swells the rabbit's eyes making them blind and lowers their immune system. It is fatal. It is estimated that four out of five rabbits in the wild will catch myxomatosis; domestic rabbits are also just as risk. It is spread by contact with another animal that has Myxi, so it can travel long distances without easy detection. There is no cure for Myxi and your bunny should be vaccinated against it ever six months. If your rabbit does get Myxi the kindest thing possible would be to get them put to sleep. Since this is spread via insects and other carriers a good method of prevention is a clean environment, keeping your pets away from wild animals and cleaning your hands etc. before and after handling your pet.
VHD (Viral Haemorrhage Disease)
This is another man made disease introduced to reduce the population of wild rabbits. It appeared in Britain in 1992 and is just as nasty as Myxi. Annual vaccination is the best weapon against this disease. VHD is incredibly quick and if you rabbit is infected it wont last long enough to reach the vets. (please note both vaccinations should not be given within two weeks of another)
Snuffles
The snuffles is a common illness in rabbits caused by a bacterial infection, the symptoms are: snotty nose, runny eyes, sneezing and wheezing. Your vet can give you an anti-biotic to try and relieve the symptoms; however, the anti-biotic can mask the problem and they may re-appear when the rabbit is stressed or unwell with another illness. If your rabbit has any of these symptoms over the counter medication will not do; take them to a vet.
Sticky Bottom Syndrome
Sticky Bottom Syndrome happens when a rabbit is producing too many faeces that it's suppose to eat again. These specific faeces are dark, look moist and are sticky so they can stick to the hairs around the rabbits bottom leaving it permanently dirty. An easy solution is to cut down on the rabbits food intake and increase the amount of hay given. It can also happen if your rabbit is overweight and not able to reach round and clean their fur. To help your rabbit be healthy you should ensure they have plenty exercise and adjust their diet to their needs. You should more than likely consult your vet and solve the problem immediately as it can attract flies and lead to Fly Strike.
Fly Strike
Fly strike is a nasty and painful illness that occurs in mostly the summer and can be lethal. If you do not keep your rabbit in clean conditions the rabbits fur can be soiled with droppings. Flies are attracted to the droppings and want to lay their eggs inside of them. Within 24hours the eggs will turn into larvae and start to burrow into the rabbit. This is extremely painful and uncomfortable for the rabbit and they'll need to be put to sleep by the vets. This is one of the most easily avoidable problems with rabbits. Just keep their environment clean, make sure they don't have stick bottom and ensure their diet is not too rich. You can also buy a special bug spray which can be sprayed lightly around their living area and brushed onto their back. Another good prevention is fly nets over the hutch's (so rabbit can't chew them)
Spaying/Neutering
This is one of the most important things you can do for your rabbit. They reach sexual maturity at 12 weeks of age, and from then on their hormones are raging through what we call the teenage years. They can spray wee, become aggressive to each other and ourselves. Plus it's much harder to litter train them. Another risk is un neutered girl has an over 80% risk of getting ovarian cancer. This is very serious and can lead to death. Also when spaying you're also preventing the rabbit from ever accidentally producing young. With so many rabbits in rescue's there is no need to bring more into the world unless needed.
Worming
A rabbit needs to be wormed just like a dog or a cat. The best product to use is panacur. Do not use the specially made rabbit worming treatment, as this only lasts 9 days and only kills the parasites not their eggs. Buy the 10% dog/cat solution. Then get a 1ml pipette (unless you have a giant you may need a larger one). It is .2ml to ever 1kg of the rabbit. So to work it out. Your rabbit weighs 1.9kg, so: .2 x 1.9 = .38 so give your rabbit .38 of the solution once a day. For twenty eight days. On day twenty one and twenty eight bleach the base of their cage/hutch and litter tray with a 1:10 solution, then rinse well with water.
E.Cuniculi is a deadly disease and the effects are irrecoverable. Worming will prevent this.
Where to get Medical Supply's
(not a substitute for seeing the vet!)
