Some useful contacts
The Rabbit Welfare Association: www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk
National Helpline: 0870 046 5249
Bunny Basics: a short guide to
keeping rabbits
Animal Rescue and Care (ARC): 020 8755 1807/07971 199 179
Email: arc_rachael@hotmail.com
www.animalrescueandcare.org.uk
House rabbit society: www.rabbit.org
Oxbow feeds (Petlife International Ltd): 01284 761131
Burgess Supafeeds: 0800 413 969
Supreme Petfood Ltd: 01473 823 296
Twickenham Veterinary
Surgery
Remember: rabbits are for life, not just for Easter!
Brought to you by:
Twickenham Veterinary Surgery
58 Hampton Road
Twickenham
Middlesex
TW2 5QB
Tel: 020 8898 0528
www.twickenhamvets.com
email: admin@twickenhamvets.com
Rabbits can make fun pets, but choosing to keep a bunny is not a decision
to be taken lightly. Rabbits are prey animals in the wild and much of their
behaviour can be linked to this: they have never become truly
domesticated and because they don’t always behave like ‘pets’, people
sometimes tend to lose interest in them. Correct husbandry is the key to
keeping a healthy, happy rabbit.
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Housing
Rabbits can be kept outdoors or indoors. An outside hutch should be split
into two compartments: one should have a strong double layer galvanized
wire mesh to let in air and light, and the other should have a solid door to
give the rabbit protection from the weather and a retreat at night. The
hutch should be raised off the ground to protect the rabbit from rising
damp and other animals. The hutch should have strong bolts to prevent
foxes from entering. The roof should slope backwards and be covered
with overhanging roofing felt to protect it from rain. It should be large
enough to allow the rabbit to rise up on its hind limbs, to stretch out and
perform at least three hops. Mosquito or fly mesh should be placed across
areas exposed to the outside, to prevent insects from entering the hutch.
The hutch should be positioned to protect your rabbit from extremes of
weather: it should never face directly into the mid-day sun or prevailing
wind. In the summer it must be placed in a shaded area, and in the winter
should ideally be placed in a shed or outhouse.
Rabbits can be kept indoors, but your house will need to be rabbit-proofed
to prevent your bunny from chewing through wires etc. More information
can be found on the House Rabbit Society’s website at www.rabbit.org, or
the Rabbit Welfare Association’s website at www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk .
The hutch should be lined with newspaper to prevent abrasions on your
rabbit’s hocks. Any bedding material should be dust-free: shredded paper
and plenty of hay provide a warm and comfortable environment. Straw
can sometimes have sharp ends, which can cause injury, and also provides
little nutritional value if your rabbit decides to eat it! Soft white wood
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A glossy, healthy coat. If your bunny starts to get matted or
soiled, this may indicate underlying dental disease or obesity.
Check for fleas or other skin problems, not forgetting the feet.
Check for soiling around the genitalia and anus: especially
check that your rabbit has not got any caecotrophs (the soft,
sticky faeces) stuck around its anus.
Check your bunny’s front teeth (incisors) to see that they are
wearing down evenly.
Make sure your bunny is not getting overweight.
REMEMBER: A RABBIT MUST CONTINUALLY EAT AND
DEFAECATE TO MAINTAIN A HEALTHY DIGESTIVE SYSTEM.
RABBITS ARE PREY ANIMALS IN THE WILD, SO SHOWING
SIGNS OF DISEASE MEANS SHOWING WEAKNESS AND
WOULD PUT THEM AT RISK OF BEING CAUGHT.
THEREFORE IF YOU NOTICE ANY DIFFERENCE IN YOUR
RABBIT’S BEHAVIOUR OR ANY SIGNS OF DISEASE, TAKE
YOUR BUNNY STRAIGHT TO THE VET.
Some rabbit facts
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Life expectancy: 5-13 years
Gestation period: 28-32 days
Litter size: 4-12
Weaning age: 4-6 weeks
Sexual maturity: variable, but can be from 12 weeks
Body temperature: 38.4-39.6ºC
Respiratory rate: 30-80 breaths per minute
Heart rate: 130-300 beats per minute
There are over 65 breeds of rabbits and they range in weight from
1 to 10kg.
of your rabbit’s feet regularly: the sooner this problem is treated, the more
hopeful the outcome. Rex rabbits are particularly prone to this condition.
Abscesses: these can occur after fighting or, more commonly, around the
jaw line due to severe dental problems. Rabbit pus is very thick and these
abscesses form a very thick wall which can become calcified: immediate
veterinary attention is required to ensure the best outcome.
Myxomatosis: caused by the Myxoma virus and transmitted by biting
insects, this is a deadly disease of rabbits. Clinical signs include swelling
of the eyelids and genitalia, with a profuse purulent ocular and nasal
discharge. This disease has an extremely high mortality rate, with death
occurring within one to two weeks. Vaccination is available: this can be
given from five weeks of age with a booster vaccination given yearly: the
vaccination is now combined with the viral haemorrhagic disease
vaccination. Checking your rabbit regularly for fleas, and placing a
mosquito net over your rabbit’s hutch can help to prevent this disease.
Viral Haemorrhagic Disease (VHD): this deadly disease has claimed the
lives of several thousand rabbits since 1992. It causes severe internal
haemorrhaging and by the time the owner realizes there is something
wrong, it is often too late. Symptoms range from a loss of appetite to
sudden death. Direct contact is not needed to infect your rabbit: the virus
can be transported via people, clothing, accommodation and animals
which have been in contact with the disease.
Vaccination is available against both these diseases: see the vaccination
section of this leaflet for more information.
Signs to check for your bunny’s health
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A regular output of large round, fairly hard faecal pellets
indicates a healthy digestive system. A decrease in faecal output
may be one of the first signs of disease.
Consistent eating of all parts of its diet: if your bunny starts to
selectively eat or leave parts of its diet, this may indicate a problem
with its teeth.
shavings can be used, but avoid pine shavings as these can cause liver
damage if ingested, and avoid sawdust as this can cause eye irritation and
respiratory problems.
Your rabbit’s hutch must be cleaned regularly: the toilet area should be
cleaned daily, especially in the summer, and the rest of the hutch at least
twice weekly.
Exercise
Your rabbit will need plenty of exercise: it should NOT be left in a hutch
all day! A covered garden run is ideal: it should be moved frequently to
provide fresh grass but make sure there are no chemicals (eg: weed killer)
on the grass. Exercise on a concreted area can help to keep your rabbit’s
claws trim, but too much time on abrasive surfaces such as this can cause
injury to the skin covering the hocks. Make sure that the run is kept well
away from poisonous plants such as chrysanthemums, clematis, cowslips,
geraniums, hemlock, laburnum, laurel, ivy, poppies and yuccas. Do not
leave your rabbit unattended outdoors; they are very vulnerable to
predators, and it is not unheard of now that foxes will attack in broad
daylight.
Feeding
In the wild, rabbits live on a high fibre diet consisting mainly of poor
quality grasses. Their teeth grow continuously and they have a complex
digestive system to cope with this tough diet. They digest their food twice
and have two different types of faecal pellets: the first are the soft, sticky
caecotrophs which are usually produced at night and eaten straight from
the anus, these should not be seen by you, the owner, if you do see them, it
will usually mean that there is a problem with your rabbit. The second
type of faecal pellets are the ones which you will be used to cleaning from
your rabbit’s hutch: they should be well-formed, round and hard; if you
notice a decline in the production of these pellets, there may be a problem
with your rabbit and you should seek veterinary advice. Most of the health
problems seen in rabbits are a direct result of a poor diet.
Hay and grass should be the main part of any rabbit’s diet. They are
hindgut fermenters, so thrive on a high-fibre diet. The hay should be good
quality meadow hay, or Western Timothy hay: it is often better to
purchase a bale of hay from stables or a horse feed merchant rather than
the often overpriced, poor quality hay sold in pre-packaged bags. As far
as grass is concerned, ad-lib grazing from the lawn is ideal: this is
obviously not always possible, so hand-picking the grass and feeding it in
the hutch is a suitable alternative: NEVER feed your rabbit lawn-mower
cuttings.
Your rabbit should also be given some concentrated food: this should be
limited to a tablespoon per kg of bodyweight per rabbit per day. There are
many concentrated foods available, the best are uniform nuggets, which
prevent your rabbit from picking and choosing certain bits out from the
diet (each of these different coloured bits can contain different minerals
and vitamins which means that your rabbit could have quite an unbalanced
diet if it decides not to eat all of them). Oxbow Bunny Basics, Science
Selective and Burgess Supa Rabbit Excel are probably the best
concentrated foods currently available for rabbits. Rabbits also need a
good selection of fresh food: leaf green vegetables are the best e.g. kale,
spinach, cabbage, parsley. Occasional treats of apple, pear or carrot can be
given 2-3 times weekly. Avoid apple seeds, potatoes, lettuce, rhubarb and
tomato leaves, and bread and cereals. Most treats sold in the pet shops are
unsuitable for rabbits as they are very high in simple sugars and additives:
just because they like them, doesn’t mean that these treats are good for
your rabbit. Fresh water should be available at all times and the food bowl
and water bottle should be cleaned daily.
Neutering
Neutering is not just a means of population control: it is important for
ensuring long-term health, especially in females, and both sexes make
advice on preventing them. Please also note that fleas can transmit the
deadly myxomatosis virus.
Respiratory Problems: the most common cause of breathing problems in
rabbits is a bacterium called Pasteurella multocida. Many rabbits carry
this bacterium and have what is called a ‘subclinical’ infection, which can
become a full blown infection in times of stress. Clinical signs include
snuffles, sneezing, coughing, nasal discharge and pneumonia. Immediate
veterinary care should be sought.
Gastrointestinal Problems: Constipation can be a simple dietary
disorder, cured by feeding more greenstuff: if it persists or is combined
with other symptoms, it may be due to something more serious, e.g. a
blockage due to furballs: this needs to be detected early so it is very
important to check your rabbit’s faeces. Diarrhoea may be cured by
withholding greens for 24 hours and feeding only hay and water. If the
diarrhoea persists more than 24 hours, it is important to seek veterinary
advice as it may be a symptom of something more serious: baby rabbits
with diarrhoea should always be seen immediately. Coccidiosis is a very
serious disease which has two forms: one attacks the intestines and the
other the liver. Symptoms include loss of appetite, dullness, persistent
diarrhoea and a yellow jaundiced look: suspected cases should be isolated
immediately and have prompt veterinary care. If diagnosed early, the
disease can be controlled, otherwise death is inevitable. Gut Stasis, a
condition in which the guts stop moving adequately to push the ingesta
(food) downwards, is a fairly common condition in rabbits. It is often
secondary to other problems, such as painful teeth or infections, which
stop the rabbit from eating properly and decrease the throughput of the
guts. It is an incredibly dangerous condition, and if left untreated will
inevitably lead to death. It is also a common post-operative complaint.
Pododermatitis: this is an extremely painful condition of the skin
covering the metatarsal region of the foot. It is usually caused by spending
too much time on an abrasive surface and overweight rabbits are more
prone. It is an extremely difficult condition to treat, and if left too long,
carries a very poor prognosis. It is important to check the underside
eggs. The fly eggs look like very small grains of rice and are laid in
clutches: they can be easily missed, and unfortunately sometimes the first
sign of flystrike is when the maggots have started to cause severe damage
to your rabbit. Flystrike requires IMMEDIATE veterinary attention. The
best cure for this horrible condition is prevention. Checking your rabbit
regularly is the first step: make sure that there is no soiling, and check
regularly for fly eggs and maggots. Using insecticides such as Rearguard
is also advisable: ask your veterinary surgeon for advice, if they do not
stock these products, they will be able to order them in for you. Placing
netting over the front of your rabbit’s hutch could help to prevent flies
from entering.
Obesity: many rabbits are clinically obese. The most common causes of
this are lack of exercise and being fed an excess of concentrated food.
Rabbits should have no more than one tablespoon of concentrates per
kilogram of bodyweight per day: for most rabbits this will mean about two
tablespoons a day. Obesity can lead to many other health problems:
overweight rabbits are unable to reach their back ends to clean themselves
or to eat their caecotrophs, which means they are prone to flystrike and to
gastrointestinal problems. As with humans, being overweight will put a
lot of pressure on the heart, and increases the risk of anaesthesia. To help
your rabbit lose weight, reduce its food intake and increase its daily
exercise until the right bodyweight is achieved.
Encephalitozoon cuniculi: this is a protozoan infection which targets the
nervous system of the rabbit. It is transmitted via urine and causes a wide
variety of clinical signs, depending on which nerves have been affected.
The most common signs are ataxia (uncoordinated movement), head tilt,
urinary incontinence: if your rabbit displays any of these signs, seek
veterinary advice as soon as possible.
Ectoparasites: rabbits can be affected by fleas, lice and mites. A common
sign of these is scratching and/or fur loss. Mites can also affect the ears,
generally causing a build up of scaly discharge and redness of the inside of
the ear canal. Your vet can treat these problems in your rabbit and give
better pets after neutering. It also means that rabbits can be easily kept
together without fighting or breeding.
Females: a female rabbit (doe) can come into season more than ten times a
year and she can have kittens almost constantly throughout her life.
Neutering a doe will obviously mean that you don’t have to find homes for
a lot of baby rabbits! More importantly, female rabbits are prone to
getting adenocarcinomas of the uterus: this is a very nasty tumour
affecting the uterus (womb) which occurs in up to 80% of un-neutered
females below the age of five: it is a painful condition which often ends in
death. Un-neutered female rabbits also become very territorial when they
reach sexual maturity (around 4-6 months of age): they can become
aggressive towards other rabbits and humans. Female rabbits can be
neutered (spayed) from four to five months of age, depending on their
size: this can be discussed with your veterinary surgeon.
Males: un-castrated male rabbits (bucks) can be very aggressive with other
rabbits and humans, and will also spray urine like male cats. Bucks reach
sexual maturity at around 3-4 months of age and can be castrated from this
time, depending on their size: this can be discussed with your veterinary
surgeon.
There is no upper age limit for neutering your rabbit, although the risks of
anaesthesia can be increased in very young or older rabbits. General
anaesthesia always carries a risk, although with advances in veterinary
medicine and modern anaesthetic agents, the risk of general anaesthetics in
small furries has been greatly reduced. If you have any concerns, please
discuss these with your vet, do not be embarrassed to ask, your vet is there
to give you informed advice and hopefully put your mind at rest.
Vaccination
There are two diseases that we vaccinate against in rabbits: one is
myxomatosis and the other is viral haemorrhagic disease. Previously, both
diseases had to be vaccinated against separately, but now there is a single
vaccine for both which can be given from five weeks of age, with a
booster given annually.
Myxomatosis: this disease is caused by the myxoma virus and is spread
by blood sucking insects, most notably the rabbit flea Spilopsyllus
cuniculi: the incubation period varies depending on the strain and
virulence encountered, but it is typically at least 5 days. Clinical signs
include bulging eyes with lots of white discharge, localized swellings
around the head, face, ears, lips, anus and genitalia. Treatment is limited
to supportive therapy only, and success rates are low: many rabbits have to
be euthanased on welfare grounds. Traditionally, the disease occurs
between spring and autumn, so an ideal time to vaccinate would be
March/April. It is still important to check your rabbit regularly for fleas,
since these are the most common vector of the disease.
Viral Haemorrhagic Disease (VHD): this disease is caused by a
calicivirus and is spread by both direct contact between rabbits and
indirect contact such as people, contaminated bedding or hutches, as well
as insect vectors such as fleas and flies. The incubation period is 1 – 3
days and the virus can survive in the environment for up to 105 days.
Symptoms include depression, collapse, difficulty breathing, convulsions,
high temperature, lethargy and bleeding from the nose. The mortality rate
is 90 – 100% with death usually occurring within 12 – 36 hours.
Common Health Problems
As discussed before, rabbits are prey animals in the wild, and as such,
often do not show any signs of illness until the disease is quite far
progressed. Many health problems in rabbits are as a result of an
inappropriate diet, whether it be directly or indirectly. Please refer to the
feeding section of this leaflet to remind you of what you should be feeding
your rabbit.
The following is a list of common bunny ailments: it is not exhaustive, and
if you have any doubts as to the health of your rabbit, you should seek
advice from your veterinary surgeon. The most common initial signs of
illness are a decrease in appetite and a decrease in faecal output: if your
bunny is exhibiting any of these signs, you must take it to the vet.
Dental Problems: overgrown teeth due to malocclusion is a very common
problem in rabbits. Their teeth grow continually, so unless they are worn
down in an even manner, they can develop spurs on the inside or outside
of their molars (cheek teeth) which dig into the tongue or cheeks
respectively. The incisor teeth (front teeth) can also become overgrown
and in extreme cases will curl and grow into the roof of the mouth or
lower jaw. Rabbits can also get dental caries (rotting teeth) if they are fed
a diet high in simple sugars (i.e. too many treats, too much fruit, bread
etc). Signs of dental problems include selective eating (i.e. preferring to
eat certain foods, usually the softer ones), saliva dribbling/staining around
the chin, a decrease in faecal output, an accumulation of caecotrophs
around the anal region, and matted fur. Ensuring that your rabbit has a
proper diet, high in hay and low in fruit and treats, will help to prevent
dental problems: a gnawing block can help to keep the incisors nicely
trimmed, and a varied environment will help to stop your rabbit damaging
its incisors by chewing at the bars of its cage. Dental problems should be
dealt with as soon as they are recognized: if the teeth become too
overgrown, your rabbit will not be able to eat properly and will therefore
not be getting a complete nutritious diet. It may lose a significant amount
of weight, and the longer the teeth are left, the worse the chances of being
able to correct the problems. In extreme cases, abscesses form at the tooth
root: these are very difficult to treat and carry a poor prognosis. Your vet
will be able to see your rabbit’s front teeth with it awake, but it is not
always possible to get a good look at its cheek teeth: this may require
anaesthetizing your bunny.
Flystrike: generally a problem in summer, it is caused by flies laying eggs
in the rabbit’s fur: these eggs hatch within 3-24 hours into maggots, which
bore into the rabbit’s flesh, eating away at it. The rabbit will soon go into
shock, and will ultimately die. It is absolutely imperative to check your
rabbit at least twice a day during the warm months. If you notice any
soiling around the rabbit’s back end, you should clean this off immediately
and dry your rabbit thoroughly: the combination of soiling, moisture and
the warmth from your rabbit will encourage flies to land on it and lay their