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Information for Rabbit Owners
- Rabbits and hares are 'lagomorphs'
- Rabbits have front and back teeth which all grow continuously. If the top and bottom jaw don't line up perfectly, the teeth can grow too long and make it painful for the rabbit to eat.
- Rabbits have two sets of upper biting teeth or incisors.
- The average life span of a bunny is 7-10 years with some rabbits living up to 15 years of age.
- Rabbits make intelligent, friendly and quiet house pets.
- Rabbits breathe through their noses, only breathing through the mouth when they are very ill.
- Rabbits reach puberty at 4-8 months of age Female rabbits ovulate after mating which means they nearly always get pregnant (hence the term to breed like rabbits!)
- Rabbits are territorial creatures with scent glands - chin, anal and inguinal glands which they use to leave messages for other rabbits. Un-neutered rabbits also tend to use urine to mark their territories - neutering will usually prevent this - a bonus for house rabbits!
- Rabbits have a unique digestive system. Partly digested food is fermented in the large caecum, expelled as a cluster of soft faeces (or caecotrophs) and eaten again. After being eaten again from the anus by the rabbit , they are re-digested.
How to keep your rabbit happy and healthy
1. FEED HAY AND GRASS
Good quality grass or hay should make up 70% of your rabbits diet. Most rabbits will eat their body size in hay each day. The rest (about one handful each day) should be vegetable, herbs and small amounts of fruit. Pellets should only be 1-2 tablespoons per day. Feeding the right diet helps prevent teeth problems, obesity, abscesses and gut problems.
2. VACCINATE YOUR RABBIT EVERY YEAR
You can protect your rabbit from the killer diseases Viral haemorrhagic disease and Myxomatosis by annual injection.
3. PREVENT FLYSTRIKE (MAGGOTS) - USE REARGUARD IN THE SUMMER
Applying Rearguard to your rabbit will prevent flystrike and maggots for 10 weeks.
4. WORM TWICE A YEAR WITH PANACUR
This helps to prevent E cuniculi—another common and killer disease.
5. NEUTER YOUR RABBIT
Especially females who are very prone to uterine cancer. Neutering helps a lot of behavioural problems such as spraying in the house and aggression.
6. PET HEALTH INSURANCE
Hopefully if you follow this advice your pet will lead a long and healthy life. However modern rabbit medicine means that we have many sophisticated tests and treatments for rabbits which can become costly but would be covered by Petplan rabbit insurance.