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Rabbit:  Most frequent diseases.   Vet Dr. Tiger gives information and advice.

Rabbits frequently show teeth abnormalities. These can be       so bad that taking up food gets impossible and the animals       starve. Regular shortening of the incisor teeth can prevent       this.       Hereafter a summary of the most frequently occuring       diseases which often also are a result of hereditary defects.

Disease	Causes	Symptoms	Visit veterinarian?
Nasal catarrh, transmissible	Various bacteria	Sneezing, nasal discharge, encrusted hair on nose and forelegs, inflammation of the eyes, head-tilting	Go to see the vet
Teeth abnormalities	Faulty teeth conformations, above all dwarf rabbits	Slow and cautious eating, salivation, apparent lack of appetite, emaciation	Go to see the vet, regular shortening of the teeth
Digestive disturbances	Infection through unbalanced food, quick change in feed, excessive eating	Bloating of the body due to overloaded stomach, tiredness	Go to see the vet, perfect food
Coccidiosis	Various kinds of protozoon	Heavy disturbances in general health, tympanism, watery to bloody diarrhoea, tiredness, lack of appetite	Go to see the vet
Ear mange	Ear mange mites	Itching, scab formation just like puff pastry in the ear, head tilting	Go to see the vet
Hind leg ulcers	Housing on wire mesh unsuited for tthe animal, damp bedding material, frequent beating with the hind paws, food too rich in protein	Round to lengthwise oval denuded spots on the solear colium, redness, ulcerous lesions	In ugly cases go to see the vet, optimizing of the feeding, soft and dry bedding material
Abscess formation on the head	Various causes	Visible swelling and reddening	Go to seee the vet
Obesity	Insufficient moving, too high-caloric feed	Shortness of breath, zyanose, formation of dewlaps, chafe abscesses, obesity, coma	Sufficient moving, suitable food

Self-Medication

Many indispositions rabbits may have can be treated at home by oneself, without the assistance of a vet. Let us mention above all the importance of good feeding with green roughage and of a steady control: Eyes, ears and anus have always to be kept clean and a regular control of the teeth position is absolutely imperative. Moreover, a great number of diseases of the rabbits has to be attributed to the fact that these animals are often not kept and fed in ways appropriate to their species. And also to boredom because an animal of the same species is missing. Unsuitable food, water shortage, draught, too low or too high ambient air temperature, drenched bedding material, poor teeth rubbing due to the lack of gnawing material, sudden change in feed, not enough room, not enough run-out yard, no care of the pelage at the time of pelage change and so on. Keeping animals in ways appropriate to their species reduces disease! A suitable medicine cabinet for rabbits is advisable. One needs cotton wool, cotton buds, a spray to disinfect external parasites, dressing material and some remedies described by the vet against ear mites, reddening of the skin, itching and the like.

Emergency situations

If a rabbit gets caught in a door or gets an unintentional kick, this might hurt his spine and in the worst case lead to paralysis. Also accidents with rabbits biting through electrical wires and cables can sometimes cause emergency cases. In general, however, there has been little record of real emergency cases with rabbits, because the diseases are detected at an early stage so that the vet can intervene in due time.