Diet

Rabbits are herbivores, this means they only eat plants. The most important things in a rabbit’s diet are water, hay and grass, fresh food, and dry food. Make any changes to the diet gradually.

• Water
• Hay & grass
• Fresh food
• Dried food

Water

Fresh, clean water should always be available. Bottles are best as the water cannot be contaminated and bowls may cause dewlap infections.

Hay and Grass

Most of the rabbit’s diet should be made up of hay and grass. This is essential for healthy digestion and to wear the teeth which grow continuously. Do not feed treated grass, or mown grass as it rapidly ferments. Meadow hay is better than Alfalfa hay which contains too much calcium.

Fresh food

Rabbits appreciate a variety of fresh food. Some safe foods are listed below.

Fruit – apple, pear, tomato, melon, kiwi fruit, peaches, strawberries, bananas
Vegetables – carrots, spinach, celery, cucumber, swede, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, kale and lettuce in moderation as too much may cause diarrhoea
Garden weeds – dandelion, chickweed, sow thistle, plantain, clover, groundsel

Dried Food

Complete, high fibre rabbit food should be fed, for example Supa rabbit excel or Russel rabbit. Pellets may be best as the rabbit receives a balanced diet, whereas the rabbit may only eat its favourite bits of a mix.

Health Check

It is sensible to check your rabbit daily so problems can be treated early and it gets used to being examined. Below is a checklist.

Eyes – cloudiness, swelling or discharge
Ears – discharge, wax – a little may be normal but lots suggests ear mites
Nose – discharge, sneezing, check forepaws for discharge wiped onto them
Mouth – overgrown teeth, drooling, difficulty eating or lumps around jaws
Breathing – laboured, noisy, coughs or sneezes
Rear – matted fur, soiling, maggots, genital swelling
Coat – poor coat, matts, scurf, sores, itchiness
-normal for rabbit to moult and to pluck hair when nesting
Condition – overweight, underweight or unexplained weight change
Urine – normal urine varies from yellow to orange to brown and is cloudy
- however there should be no blood in it and the rabbit should not strain
Faeces – normal rabbit droppings are brown, dry, pea sized pellets
- rabbits produce a second type of dropping which they eat, these are large, brown and soft
- droppings should not be runny, pale or have blood in them
Behaviour – squealing, tooth grinding, aggression or depression may indicate pain or illness.
Feet – overgrown nails, sores on base of feet

Dental Care

Dental disease is a common, painful condition in rabbits. The teeth continue to grow throughout life and can become overgrown or distorted. Some rabbits have inherited bad teeth; others have bad teeth due to poor husbandry. To avoid dental problems ensure your rabbit eats hay and grass as the bulk of its diet and provide chews or fruit wood branches to gnaw on. Look out for difficulty eating, selective feeding, dropping food, lumps around the jaw or drooling. Weight loss and poor grooming are also signs of tooth problems.

Handling

Rabbits are naturally nervous as they are prey animals. They need regular, quiet, careful handling. Make sure you support the weight of the rabbit with one hand around the shoulders and one around the rump. You can also pick the rabbit up by the scruff but take care with this method & always support the weight at the rear end. Never pick the rabbit up by the ears or leave the rump unsupported.

Grooming

Brushing keeps the coat in good condition and is a good opportunity to check the coat and get the rabbit used to handling. Look out for small yellow clumps of fly eggs in the coat and ensure the rear remains free of matts and soiling to prevent maggots.

Housing

The rabbit’s hutch should provide an enclosed sleeping area and space for exercise and feeding. The hutch should be at least 2 feet deep, 2 feet high and 5 feet long. The hutch should keep out predators, and provide shelter from sun, wind and rain. It may need to be undercover to provide shade in the summer and warmth in the winter. Newspaper, shavings, straw and hay make good bedding. The hutch must be cleaned at least twice a week. The rabbit should have a run for exercise and grazing at least 6 hours a day. Place mesh under the run if the rabbit tries to dig out. Access to sunlight is also important for vitamin D, needed for skeletal and skin health. Rabbits can be kept as house pets and be litter trained, but do not use clay litter as this can cause impactions. Hazards such as electrical wires and poisonous houseplants must be covered or well out of reach. Rabbits appreciate commercial toys or cardboard tubes and boxes. They also love playing in plastic tunnels and digging in earth or sand.

Companions

The best companion for your rabbit is another neutered rabbit of the opposite sex. Ideally they should be kept together from a young age. It is not advisable to keep rabbits and guinea pigs together; the rabbit may injure the guinea pig, guinea pigs require higher vitamin C diets and rabbits may carry bacteria which causes serious respiratory disease in guinea pigs.

Neutering

Males become sexually mature around 4 months, females around 5 months. Neutering is advisable to prevent unwanted offspring and fighting. It is especially important in female rabbits as cancer of the uterus is extremely common. Males can be neutered from 3 months of age and females from 5 months old.

Parasite Treatment

External parasites

Maggots – are a common problem in rabbits. This is painful and can be fatal. This can be prevented by keeping your rabbits environment clean, using safe fly repellents and treatments such as ‘rearguard’ and ‘xenex’ and checking your rabbits rear is clean.
Fleas and mites – cause waxy ears or poor coats with sore and itchy skin. These can be treated using ‘xenex’ spot on.

Internal parasites
Two microscopic parasites can cause internal problems:

Coccidiosis – is often asymptomatic but may cause diarrhoea in young rabbits, large colonies or poor hygiene conditions. Coccidiosis is treatable but preventative medication is not usually necessary.
E.cuniculi – can cause kidney disease, blindness and nervous system disease. Good hygiene and use of ‘Panacur’ rabbit wormer can reduce the chances of E.cuniculi infection. The treatment should be used whenever new rabbits are introduced or the rabbit moves house, or as a routine 2-4 times a year.
Worms – rarely cause problems in rabbits.

Vaccination

There are two fatal diseases rabbits can be vaccinated against. These diseases only affect rabbits. Vaccines for the different diseases must be given at least two weeks apart.
• Myxomatosis
o Transmitted by fleas and biting insects, so even house rabbits can be infected
o Causes swelling of head and genitals, skin lesions and death.
o Vaccine given every 6 months from 6 weeks of age.
• Viral haemorrhagic Disease
o Transmitted via body fluids, can survive for 3 months on carrier animals, clothes or other items
o Causes internal bleeding, convulsions and death.
o Vaccine given every year from 10 weeks.

Insurance

Insuring your rabbit allows us to do the best for your rabbit at times of accident or illness, without the worry of whether treatment costs can be afforded. Several companies now offer rabbit insurance including petplan and exotic direct.

We hope you will find this information is helpful but if anything is unclear or you have a specific problem please ask the one of our vets or nurses on your next visit or ring the surgery on 01451 830620 between 8.30am – 6.00pm Monday to Friday.