What are the common health problems?
Most health problems arise from poor nutrition, so please ensure that you have read that section. Common conditions to look out for include:
This is a common, life threatening but entirely preventable condition. It arises when flies are attracted to moist, soiled areas on the rabbit, where they lay eggs. The eggs hatch into maggots that burrow through the rabbits skin, feeding on the rabbit’s body tissues as they progress deeper and deeper into their bodies. Not at all pleasant!
Excellent hutch hygiene and prevention of obesity and diarrhoea, through sensible feeding, will prevent this condition, since the flies will not be attracted in the first place. Fly repellents can be bought at the practice, but they are no substitute for the above measures. If you do wash your rabbit, ensure they are completely dried by using a hair dryer. Also be particularly vigilant in the warmer, summer months when there is greater fly activity.
Dental Problems
These arise mainly due to poor nutrition or a genetic predisposition. Common presentations are:
Overgrown incisors, making feeding difficult. These can be cut back to size using a high speed dental burr. The lack of nerve supply to the teeth means this can usually be done conscious during a routine consultation; the continuous growth of the teeth, means this procedure usually has to be repeated every 4-6 weeks. The incisors can be permanently extracted, but it is not an entirely straightforward procedure, so please discus this option with a vet. Overgrown molars, making chewing difficult and painful. Spurs of sharp enamel form, abrading and ulcerating the tongue and insides of the cheek. Treatment requires a general anaesthetic, burring of the spurs and sometimes extractions. A cautious outlook must be taken, since there is a high risk of recurrence.
Jaw Abscesses, causing pain and general malaise. Treatment is problematic. Occasionally radical surgery and dental extraction will effect a cure, but high recurrence rates are to be expected, and often euthanasia is required.
This common problem in rabbits is usually due to poor nutrition, so please read that section. It can arise directly as a result of obesity and the consequent failure of the rabbit to ingest the caecotrophs (the part of the faeces that a healthy rabbit eats) or due to a urinary problem called hypercalcuria. Affected rabbits are at risk of fly-strike, so please seek veterinary advice if your rabbit ahs a mucky back end.
Eye Problems
Production of a sticky, sometimes white discharge from the corner of rabbits’ eye is often diagnosed as conjunctivitis. Unfortunately the condition rarely responds as quickly and simply as you would expect, since it often reflects an underlying problem, usually with the molar teeth. Whilst a course of eye ointment is sometimes worth trying, many cases require investigation including xrays, and treatment in hospital.
Scurfy Skin
Sometimes this is a mild, transient problem seen when a rabbit is under stress or moulting. However, it can be caused by a mite called cheyletiella that requires specific veterinary treatment.
Myxomatosis
Please see the section under vaccination.
Finally, an interesting fact about rabbits is that they produce two types of faeces; the familiar, dry pellets but also a softer type known as a caecotroph. Even though it sounds revolting, rabbits eat these as they pass them! They provide an important source of certain nutrients. Obese rabbits, physically cannot reach around to eat them, depriving them of these nutrients and causing their back ends to become soiled and the rabbit vulnerable to “fly-strike”.
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