By keeping your rabbit in a warm, dry and safe environment, and feeding it a healthy, well balanced diet, you are giving your rabbit a very good chance of staying healthy. There are several other things that you can do to help your rabbit to stay healthy, including vaccinations and neutering.
Vaccinations
The two most common rabbit vaccinations are for myxomytosis and Viral Haemorrhagic Disease (VHD). Usually these vaccinations are given once or twice a year. Your vet will be able to advise you on the best times to have these vaccinations. The vaccinations do not provide an absolute guarantee that your rabbit will not get the illness, but they reduce the risk, and also increase the chance of your rabbit surviving if it does catch either illness. When you take your rabbit to be vaccinated, it is also a good time for the vet to do a health check to make sure everything else is well with the rabbit.
Neutering
Unless you intend to breed your rabbit, you should have it neutered. As well as preventing the risk of any unwanted pregnancies (which will happen if you have males and females kept anywhere near each other!) neutering reduces the risk of your rabbit getting either testicular or ovarian cancer, and with males can reduce or stop any territorial behaviour, such as spraying.
As with any operation, there is a small risk involved, however with modern anaesthetics, there is not a great risk. Choose a vet that has experience with rabbits. They will be able to advise you of the risk involved.
Illnesses
There are several illnesses that rabbits may be susceptible to, and most can be avoided by keeping your rabbits living area clean, and your rabbit fed on an appropriate diet. Rabbits are experts at hiding symptoms of illnesses; necessary in the wild when a predator will pick out weak looking prey. If you notice anything unusual about your rabbit’s behaviour, it is worth getting it checked out by a vet.
Snuffles
Rabbits cannot catch human colds but can get similar symptoms. Snuffles describes symptoms of a runny nose and eyes. Make sure that your rabbit’s cage is out of any drafts and kept warm. Provide plenty of fresh water. If the symptoms persist for more than a couple of days, take your rabbit to the vet.
Diarrhoea
This can be a serious illness for a rabbit. If the symptoms persist for more than a day or two, go to a vet. Several things can cause it, the most common being feeding too much fresh food such as lettuce. Cut out greens from the diet, provide plenty of fresh hay and water, and keep the cage or hutch clean.
G.I. Stasis
A rabbit’s gut needs to keep moving all the time, and if it doesn’t, your rabbit could die very quickly. This is known as GastroIntestinal Stasis (or G.I. Stasis). Symptoms include: loss of appetite; smaller, fewer or no droppings; sitting in an uncomfortable looking position and a less active than normal bunny.
This is a very serios condition, so if you suspect this, get your rabbit to a vet that knows about rabbits as soon as possible. Do not wait for a few days to see if it improves, as this could be fatal for your rabbit.
Flystrike
An overweight rabbit that is not able to clean its hindquarters properly will be susceptible to this, as well as rabbits not on a correctly balanced diet. Flies will lay their eggs in any faeces stuck to the rabbit’s hindquarters and they will hatch into maggots.
Keeping your rabbit at the correct weight by feeding the correct diet and providing enough exercise will prevent this illness, as well as ensuring that your rabbit’s hindquarters are clean. If you notice maggots around your rabbit’s hindquarters, take it to the vet immediately.
Broken Bones
Because rabbits are so energetic and have powerful muscles, but with relatively weak skeletons, they can occasionally damage their legs or back. There is no way to stop them playing and being energetic (and you shouldn’t try to stop this!), however you can make sure there are areas large enough for them to play without crashing into the furnitue or anything else near floor level. Injuries can be caused by jumping from high places, so try not to let your rabbit jump off furniture to the floor. If your rabbit seems to be having trouble moving or walking, take it to the vet.
