RABBIT HEALTH

	Sign In Sign-Up

FLYSTRIKE: Flystrike can occur during summer months when flies lay eggs around the rabbit's anus. These hatch into maggots and eat into the animal's flesh this can take just a few hours. Prevention involves keeping the animal clean and checking it at least twice daily. In the event of flystrike, immediate veterinary treatment is required. dont forget check your rabbit every day its not just the bottom end that can be affected. you would not believe the amount of calls i take from people whom have a rabbit with worms crawling around there rear end! or the rabbits i see who are near on eaten before action is made dont let the next one be your rabbit!!!

MITE'S: rabbits can be infected with mites which will irritate themleading to fur loss redness of skin small patches of what appears to be dandruff around scruff of neckand even infection. mites can transfer from rabbit to rabbit via hay and bedding.the best thing to do here is to go along to your vet whom will treat your rabbit which is normlly by injection over 3 weeks! I use dynamite spray every month just to keep anyhting at bay and since a good friend told me i have been using listren to treat the mites this isnt wise without seeing your vet! i have a very good vet whom i visit often but somethings if minor i do self treat but words of warning if you dont know what you are doing always best to consult a vet as in the long run your pet will suffer.

SORE HOCK'S:

Sore hocks’ refers to the development of open sores on the rabbit’s hocks base of feet. When a rabbit is sitting its hocks are in contact with the floor of the cage. Dirty housing conditions, plus some heavy breeds of rabbit and rex breeds are prone to this due to pressure on hocks and fine hair on feet.
all these things can and will cause the development of sore, red areas that become ulcerated and painful. often these are not noticed until they start to cause pain.
Treatment can be difficult, especially if the condition is advanced. Antibacterial medications to clean the wounds are required and soft bedding provided to allow the sores to heal.
Prevent the condition from occurring by providing adequate bedding lots of straw hay is good. Clean your rabbit’s hutch daily.

CUT'S AND BITE'S:

PASTEURELLA: Known as 'snuffles', this often presents as conjunctivitis or breathing problems but may also show as sudden balance problems or abscesses. The bacterium responsible lives in the respiratory tract of most healthy rabbits anyway and only causes disease in some individuals who are otherwise compromised. As the organism is impossible to eradicate, the only prevention is to ensure that everything about the rabbit's care and environment is as good as it can be, particularly with regards to hygiene. Even prolonged courses of antibiotics may not produce a cure

SCOUR'S:
This may be caused by a sudden dietary change, a low fibre diet, many infectious organisms and stress. The normal hindgut flora has a delicate balance and the smallest dietary change can allow nasty bacteria to gain advantage and take over, some producing toxins which can lead to flystrike, dehydration and death. All new food should be very gradually introduced and the correct, high fibre diet should be provided.

MYXI:
Myxomatosis is spread by fleas and mosquitoes and is a horrible disease. Symptoms include puffy fluid swellings around the head and face. 'Sleepy eyes' are a classic sign along with swollen lips and ears and genitalia. It is fatal. As well as vaccination, flea control is important in prevention.

V.H.D:
This viral disease is still relatively new in Britain and is spreading its way around the country. It is spread by direct contact with infected rabbits and also indirectly via food, hands, insects etc.
The signs of illness include bleeding, convulsions, coma and death. The incubation period is 12 hours to 3 days and it is usually always fatal. The disease is preventable by vaccination from 12 weeks old, requiring an annual booster. However, at the moment it can not be given concurrently with the other injection, so a return visit is required for the VHD jab, at least 14 days apart from the myxomatosis jab. It may be convenient to have the myxomatosis injection in the spring and the VHD injection in the Autumn, allowing a twice yearly check up to be performed.

ENCEPHALITOZOON CUNICULI:

MALOCCLUSION:
rabbits teeth continue to grow throughout their life. Rabbits require a high fibre diet to ensure the teeth are evenly worn and to prevent overgrowth. If the teeth are not worn down, they grow incorrectly leading to discomfort, abscesses, anorexia, etc. Their teeth may require burring by the vet to correct the problem maybe even teeth removal. Indication of dental problems may be saliva around the mouth or on the chest or front paws, an inability to eat or teeth grinding. Seek veterinary advice if you are at all concerned. you can check your rabbits front teeth easily your self by gently turning it over parting the lips to see that teeth look normal and healthy.

probiotic such as Avi Pro

different sized syringe's
Rubber Glove's plastic apron
cotton wool and or dressing's
nail clipper's

surgical scissors
tweezers

tomato puree
sterile antiseptic wipe's
cotton bud's

small animal shampoo

antiseptic cream
Supreme Recovery sachet's
gripe water woodward's or Infacol

lystrine
pain relief like calpol
Kaolin mixture

small kidney dish any bowl will do if sterile
Vitamin E

vaccination documents
Lactol

Very few people think about poor buns nails?

Through the rescue and other such events i get to see so many rabbits that have over long nails or broken nails due to them being so long! it take less than a minute to check this so why dont you pick up your rabbit today give it a once over?

What are you looking for well start at head are eyes clean not wetness? how about ears? inside i mean look in no scabby flakey brown bits? coat does bun appear itchy? have white dandruff flakes on skin? and sore red patches? now nails are the short not broken clipping isnt hard you dont need a vet to do this get someone to show you and you can do it yourself! dont go to too short as you know what your's would feel like cut short.

Right how about base of feet no bald patches? sore red patches? worse still no small bleeding cuts? these can get infected if left!! how about bottom clean no dried mess around fur? if there is remove it!how about above tail? ungroomed rabbits tend to get small mats around this area give bun a brush! now the vents so many people look at this if you look at rabbits bits they have small sent glands either side sometimes these will fill up with foul smelling brown hard lumps not only is this uncomfy its a fly invite! clean it once a week at least!

Have we checked teeth if you dont know what to look for ask someone! make sure teeeth are not yellow and broken or overgrown. and just feel your rabbit all over does it feel in good healthy condition? not to fat or thin no lumps bumps this is such a easy task but so many rabbits are still left to suffer i do this everyday on however many rabbits i have here.

Five minutes of you time can save your rabbits life dont forget!!!