By keeping your pet 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 and avoiding illnesses that rabbits are susceptible to. 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 pet rabbit vaccinations are for myxomytosis and Viral Haemorrhagic Disease (VHD). Usually these vaccinations are given to a rabbit once or twice a year. Your vet will be able to advise you on the best times to have these vaccinations given to your rabbit. The vaccinations do not provide an absolute guarantee that your rabbit will not get the illness, but they greatly 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 rabbit health check to make sure everything else is well.
Neutering
Unless you intend to breed your rabbit, you should have it neutered or speyed. As well as preventing the risk of any unwanted pregnancies (which will happen if you have unneutered 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. With modern anaesthetics, the risk to your rabbit is very small, and usually outweighted by the benefits of having your rabbit speyed or neutered. Choose a vet that has experience with rabbits. They will be able to advise you more specifically of the risk involved and the benefits to your rabbit of being neutered or speyed.
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 serious 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.
See our page on Flystrike for more information on flystrike in rabbits.
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.
Do rabbits need to go to the vet for check ups?
Hi Jennia,
Yes it is a good idea to get a regular rabbit health check from a vet, to check for any problems including teeth problems. I have my rabbits checked each time they go to the vet for their vaccinations, every six months.
hi, i have a male non neutered house rabbit, 1.5 yrs old, usually active friendly with me, playful and good eater. when a friend came to stay he stopped eating or drinking, had to go to the vets. vet thought he was miffed my friend was staying, as he is a dominant male, and thinks i’m his mate. A few days later he was home, a bit better, but has been looking depressed, not playing or moving much, and lettign me pet him but not engaging , eating sporadically, would i be best to get him neutred and a female friend?
Hi Marion
Rabbits can become depressed, with symptoms including those you have described. This can be caused by a physical illness, and I would suggest another visit to your vet to make sure that there is no underlying cause, particularly as he is not eating properly.
If there is no physical illness causing this, then getting a companion for him may improve things. Rabbits need a lot of time spent with them to keep them from getting lonely, and getting another rabbit can help this as he won’t feel lonely when you are not there.
As you have said, if you do get another rabbit, it will help the bonding process if both are neutered a few weeks before they meet.
Be aware that occasionally, two rabbits will not bond with each other and you should be prepared for what you will do in case this happens. Male and female pairs of rabbits are usually the easiest to bond with each other.
thanks so much for the advice!
You’re welcome, glad to help!
Hi there, this is a great website and it has been so helpful so thank you. I’m collecting information for a friend, just today she has taken on a house rabbit from a relative of mine.We are very concerned as the reason my friend has adopted the rabbit is because she has been stuck in a cage day in day out whilst my relative has been at work and she must be so lonely. It is actually quite upsetting. So all we want to do now is give this rabbit the loving home it deserves and I’m sure it is going to take time to build trust and reassure her she is safe and loved. I would really appreciate any advise you can give on how best to start with a rabbit that’s been neglected? Give her her own space? Give her lots of attention? I will add though that although my daft relative didn’t quite think things through when taking her on, she is up to date with the vet and has been checked etc.
Hi Kaz
I think the best way to start with a rabbit that has been neglected is to take some advice from the rabbit herself! If she seems to be nervous, be patient and gentle. If she seems to be loving getting lots of attention and playing games, play with her.
It will probably take time for her to get used to you, and get used to getting lots of attention. Be gentle with her, and let her find what she is comfortable with.
Rabbits are very communicative, so it is usually fairly easy to tell whether a rabbit likes what you are doing or not!
Hi,
I have just bought two gorgeous baby boy lion heads (brothers) one is very happy and bouncy and loves to wonder round everywhere but the other one just mainly lies down on my lap (or my daughters) and is no where as bouncy as the other one :0 is this worth a trip to the vet just to make sure eveything is fine or is it just personalities? Just being cautious as both are so adorable and would hate for there to be anything wrong!
Hi Emily
Rabbits personalities do vary very much between rabbits. The thing to look for is if a rabbit is normally very active and then becomes less so, as changes in personality can be a sign of health problems. If you are worried though, it is always a good idea to visit your vet for a check up.
Richard