Rabbit Health Care for Non-Infectious Conditions

See Symptoms of Spinal Injury.

If the back is just bruised, the rabbit may regain full use of his limbs within a few days to a few months. Get a vet's assessment of your rabbit.

Cannibalism:
The most common cause of cannibalism is from the doe getting a fright around the time that she gives birth. Strange people, noises or predators in the barn can stress the doe to the point of eating her kits.

Some rabbit lines or families are more nervous or high-strung than others. If a doe destroys a second consecutive litter, remove her from your breeding program.

Other reasons for cannibalism to consider in order to give the best rabbit health care:

• Abnormal maternal instincts. Does that scatter their kits and/or build a poor nest tend to be more likely to also cannibalize their kits. If this is the doe's first litter, give her a second chance, but just one second chance.
• A low-calorie or restricted feeding increases the chance of cannibalism. If you palpate a pregnant rabbit's abdomen around day 10 and you feel babies, slowly increase the amount of feed until the doe has all the feed she needs.

Dystocia:
Very difficult birth. Dystocia can occur when the doe has only a couple very large kits. It is also more common in breeds with large heads. Dystocia is life threatening to both doe and kits. Rabbit health care requires immediate veterinarian assistance.

Hairballs:
Rabbits are excellent groomers. As the rabbit grooms itself, it ingests hairs, which can clump together in the stomach and form hairballs that can block the exit from the stomach to the guts. When this happens, the rabbit can't eat, and will eventually die of starvation. Long-haired rabbit breeds are more susceptible to hairballs.

Treatment: Surgery to remove the hairball can be performed. However you can also try these rabbit health care remedies, which may or may not be effective depending on the size of the hairball:

• A lubricant oil, such as mineral or olive oil
• Fruit juices or enzyme tablets containing bromelain, which is intended to digest the protein in the hairball.

Better to prevent the hairball than to lose the rabbit.

Heat Prostration:
Rabbits can overheat easily, and die from too-high body temperature. Temperatures above 90 degrees F, especially over several days, can kill rabbits.

With heat, prevention is much better than discovering you have to emergency-cool 15 rabbits at once. For some great ideas for keeping your rabbits cool, go straight to Cooling Rabbits.

Rapid respiration with open-mouth breathing is a very bad sign. If all other rabbit health care measures fail and the temps keep rising, then soaking the rabbit in a bucket of water (not the head!) may save its life.

Warning: Heat stress can be cumulative. Your rabbits may survive the heat on day one and day two, but then die on day three. Redouble your efforts to keep your rabbits cool as long as the heat wave continues.

Hutch Burn:
Sores and hair loss around the hind end due to contact with urine. Skin becomes reddened and tender, and the fur falls out in chunks where the urine has literally burned it away.

Rinsing the rabbit's hindquarters with lukewarm water (a couple inches in a sink) will help to sooth the rabbit's burned skin and stop the burning process. You can also apply a soothing balm to reddened skin.

We have only had one case of hutch burn. We followed these guidelines, and applied Emprizone (by Mannatech, Inc.) which is soothing and has actual healing properties.

(Emprizone® by Mannatech is amazing stuff. Click on picture to right, and then scroll down to Emprizone to learn more or to purchase.)

Note: Antibiotic ointments do help to prevent infection, but do nothing toward actual healing per se. If anything, the oily base of the ointments may delay healing a bit. Try Emprizone, which has no downside that we are aware of. You may be amazed...!

Emprizone is an excellent balm not only for rabbits, but also for rabbit scratches on rabbit breeders and for general household use, such as sunburns, cuts and scrapes. When our household tube runs low, we go into a bit of a panic till the next tube arrives. You never know when you'll need it, and you WANT it when you need it.

Click here to purchase Emprizone

Contact us if you'd like more information.

Best rabbit health care includes a thorough cleaning of the cage. Provide fresh bedding or a clean resting board. Keep a close watch on the rabbit to ensure that its environment stays clean. This should lead to complete relief.

Malocclusion:
Rabbit teeth growing too long is usually (but not always) the result of a recessive genetic trait. If the teeth are not trimmed, the rabbit may eventually not be able to eat, triggering a rabbit health care crisis. The Rabbit Teeth page has pictures and directions.

Red Urine:
Red urine is a normal condition. The cause for the red coloration is not known, however some researchers suggest it is possibly part of a male dominance display, or the result of pigments in the feed sources. Alkalinity enhances the coloration of the urine. According to Rabbit Production (Cheeke et al.), "This seems to be a normal phenomenon in the rabbit and does not indicate a disease problem" (pg 247). At any rate, no cause for alarm.

Sore Hocks:
Open sores on back or front feet. First the fur wears thin, as a callus builds up on the hind feet. If that callus should crack and bleed, they tend to get infected. This is called sore hocks.

Sore hocks are most often seen in...

• Thin-padded animals (some rex lines get sore hocks more frequently than other lines)
• Very large rabbits housed in all wire cages
• Unsanitary conditions
• An animal in poor condition with a drained immune system, such as one fighting snuffles or another condition.

Sore hocks are a challenge to eliminate. Your vet can help provide some rabbit health care, in the form of antibiotics to eliminate the underlying infection. In addition you can:

• Provide a clean resting board so the rabbit can retreat off the wire floor.
• Give the cage a good cleaning, to help eliminate germs.
• Various ointments are sometimes effective in supporting healing, including Mannatech's Emprizone.
• Build up the rabbit's immune system by treating underlying health issues, and augment the diet with a supplement such as calf manna or whole oats (not rolled).

As we are not veterinarians, we direct you to the disclaimers at the bottom of our Rabbit Diseases page.

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