Here at Leonard Brothers we understand that rabbits should not be treated the same as dogs or cats. Rabbits have a completely different anatomy, physiology and behaviour to other animals and this has to be taken into consideration when dealing with their health issues.

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Unfortunately there are still lots of rabbits kept completely inappropriately. First and foremost rabbits are social animals. They live in family groups and should not be kept alone if at all possible. Males should be castrated at 6 months if being kept together as this will stop them fighting. Rabbits also need plenty of room to exercise. If kept in a small hutch they need to be let out twice daily to run around.

Husbandry and Feeding

Another essential thing to get right is diet.

Rabbits eat grass. Sounds simple, and it is. Without grass (or good quality hay, which is dried grass) rabbits are in danger of life threatening dental problems and other ailments. Rabbits teeth grow continuously through their life because the grass they eat contains silicates (similar to sand). The silicates act to wear the teeth down so if the diet doesn’t contain them the teeth will grow out of control.

You can supplement your rabbit’s diet with a commercial food but only a small amount and of a good quality. We recommend Supa Excel Rabbit Food. There are lots of cheap inappropriate foods out there which contain high levels of cereals and low fibre (remember wild rabbits hardly ever get access to cornflakes!)

Health Issues

Vaccinations

Prevention is far better than cure and here are a few things you should consider:

The two diseases that we vaccinate against are:

Myxomatosis - a fatal disease transmitted by biting insects. Signs include swollen eyes and genitals, respiratory disease and death. The vaccine lasts for 6 months so rabbits are vaccinated twice a year.

Viral Haemorrhagic Disease - a fatal disease that causes fever, depression, diarrhoea and death. The vaccine lasts for 12 months so rabbits are vaccinated once yearly.

Neutering

We advocate castration of males to reduce aggression to other rabbits or their owners. Females should be spayed to prevent aggression, unwanted pregnancies and cancers of the womb (up to 80% of female rabbits over the age of 5 will develop cancer if not spayed). Rabbits should be at least 4 months old before they are neutered.

All rabbits will receive a full health exam when vaccinated including checking their teeth for overgrowth. We will also weigh your rabbit as weight loss is often a sign of ill health (we strongly recommend you weigh your rabbits weekly at home to make sure that we pick up any problems early).

Health Examination

Worming / Preventative Medicine

Encephalitozoon Cuniculi - this is a intracellular protozoan (single cell organism like amoeba) that can invade a variety of tissues. Signs of disease include: head tilt, loss of balance, hind-limb paralysis, urinary incontinence, eye lesions and sudden death.

Routine treatment with Panacur Rabbit two to  four times yearly is recommended to help prevent this nasty disease.