Rabbit Care

Rabbit Care

Baseline Vitals

Normal: Temperature: normal range 100.5f-102.5f ,

          Does about to give birth may have a drop to as low as 98f

Capillary Refill : less than 2 secs.

Anatomy

Anatomy of the Rabbit

please use the formatting that follows for all condition articles

• ==Etiology (cause)==
• ==Clinical Signs==
• ==Treatment, Prevention, and Control==

Physical Warning Signs

Nose

• Bloody Nose
• Thick White Mucus
• labored or mouth breathing

Fecal Abnormalities

• Normal Poo: Rabbit poo should be round, dark brown or Black approx. 1/4 in diameter, and should have a very firm, but slightly moist consistency, it should break apart when squeezed, but not crumble.
• Light colored "Golden" poo : GoldenPoo is a sign of a rabbit getting TOO MUCH FIBER .
• Long oddly shaped Soft and sticky poo.
• Stringy Poo
• White or Clear Mucus
• Diarrhea

Urine

Rabbits do pee rainbows so colored urine is not always an issue, but some colors do flag possible issues.

• Normal Rabbit Urine ranges in colors from almost clear, to a dark Yellow, Red, and White.

• red urine (They should only pee red when fed red veggies)

• white urine, may be a sign of balder sludge, but this is not necessarily abnormal or means your rabbit is sick. White Urine if only occasionally may mean that your feed is high in calcium. Normal Rabbit Physiology is set up to process excess calcium, and even bladder sludge. this will become an issue if your rabbit has a genetic predisposition to narrow urethra, or poor mobility. If Your rabbit has poor mobility you will want to switch it to a lower calcium Diet, and add supplements to help mitigate bladder sludge.

Coat Texture

• Dry, Brittle Coat
• Oily coat

Eyes

Healthy eyes should be clear, Bright , and alert. Warning signs that your rabbit may be sick are:

• Squinted eyes, " Ouchie Face" this is an out ward indication your rabbit may be in pain, often a sign of bloat or gastric issues.
• Weepy eyes, can be a sign of allergy or eye irritations.
• White mucus/puss coming from the corner of the eye, several warnings: including eye infection, Pasteurella, Sinus, tooth or ear infection.
• Blood coming from eyes, examine for a physical injury, or RHDv2.
• White or cloudy film ON the surface of the cornea, eye infection, conjunctivitis, scratched cornea, entropion eyelid.
• White or Cloudy film INSIDE the pupal, E.C., Parasites, Cataracts or Juvenile Cataracts.

Diseases and Treatments

the following are links to in-depth pages on each item, as well as lists of topics you can peruse.

Medicine Cabinet

You should keep these Emergency items in your medicine cabinet. Antibiotics highlighted in red

 Exotic Animal Formulary -_by James W Carpenter 4th ed

By Use

Antimicrobial Agents Used in Rabbits.

Alphabetically:

• 4x4 Gauze

A

• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Athletes Foot Cream

B

• B-Complex Injectable
• Baby Gas Drops
• Baby Wipes
• Bleach
• Blue Kote

C

• Corid
• Corn Syrup
• Cotton Balls

D

E

• Electrolyte Powder
• Exam Gloves

F

G

• Gripe Water

H

I

• Imodium AD
• Iodine
• Iron 100 injectable
• Ivermectin

J

• Jumpstart Paste

K

L

• Lighter
• LA 200 , Liquamycin
• LA 300 , Noromycin ** harder to dose for rabbits due to concentration

M

• Mineral oil
• Molasses
• Monistat 7
• Mylicon

N

• Needles

O

• oxytetracycline (LA 200) (LA 300)

P

• Peroxide
• Preparation H
• Probiotic Powder

Q

• Q-tips

R

• Red cell
• Rubbing alcohol

S

• SafeGuard
• Slave
• Simethicone
• Selenium-E paste/Gel
• Sweet oil
• Syringes

T

• Toltrazuril 5%
• : Triple Antibiotic Ointment

U

V

• Vaseline

W

• Wonder Dust

X

Y

Z

Bacterial

• Abscess
• Blue Breast
• Conjunctivitis
• E.Coli
• Enteritis Complex
• Enterotoxaemia
• Foot Abscess
• Hemorrhagic Septicemia
• Listeria
• Listerious
• Mastitis
• Metritis
• Mucoid Enteritis
• Nest Box Eye
• Pasteurella
• Pasteurelosis
• Pneumonia
• Pseudomonas
• Rabbit Syphilis
• Salmonella
• Salmonellosis
• Snuffles
• Sore Eye
• Tyzzer's Disease
• Vent Disease
• Weaning Enteritis
• Weepy Eye
• Wry Neck

Viral

• Infectious Myxomatosis
• Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease 1 and 2
• Myxomatosis

Fungal

• Dermatophytosis
• Ring Worm

Parasitic

External Parasites

• Warbles
• Bot Fly
• Fly strike
• Fur Mites
• Mange Mite
• Ear Mites
• Ear Canker

Internal Parasites

• Pin Worms
• Tape Worms
• Whip Worms
• Nosema
• E.Cuniculi
• Coccidia
  • Intestinal
  • Hepatic

Non-Infectious Conditions

Gastrointestinal

• GI stasis

Reproductive Issues

• Cannibalism
• Ketosis
• Heat sterilization : Ginger added to the feed stopped the heat sterilization https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32819074/
• Pregnancy Toxemia
• Caked Breast
• "Young Doe Death Syndrome"
• Orphaned Kits
• Scattering Young
• Early Nest Box Fatalities
• Milk Enterotoxaemia
• de-sexing complications

Common Injury or Self-inflected

• Cancer
• Fighting
• Fur Chewing
• Hair/Wool Block
• Wet-Dewlap* can lead to infectious Pseudomonas
• Wry-Neck
• Sore Hocks
• Ulcerated Footpads

Dental

• Slobbers
• Tooth Abscess

Genetic Abnormalities Birth Defects

• Fetal Giantism
• Microcardia
• Malocclusion
• Calcium Sludge.

https://www.tiktok.com/@dominothespotcat/video/7124899522358267182?_t=8VSTtKvO62A&_r=1

• Torticollis
• Dystocia
• "Young Doe Death Syndrome"
• Enterotoxaemia
• Mastitis
• Staphylococcus sp.
• Agalactia
• Red Urine
• Paralysis of Hindquarter
• Hutch Burn/Urine scald
• Corneal Ulcer
• Keratitis
• Glaucoma
• Heat Prostration
• Coprophagy
• Non-Specific Diarrhea
• Porcelain Gallbladder
• Fatty Liver

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Housing

Wire floored cages are fine for most breeds of rabbits as long as the correct wire is used .