Even though caring and keeping rabbits is a rewarding and fun task, it is also tedious. Apart from ensuring you give them quality and nutritious foods, you need to be sure that you monitor their health always to avoid the onset of diseases and illnesses.
As a pet owner, it is your responsibility to take care of them to ensure that your rabbits are in the best of health. The primary concern of pet owners is the diseases they might get, and ways of preventing them. This article details the common diseases that rabbits have and how best to treat them.
Below are common diseases encountered by your pet rabbits:
- Colds - Like human beings, rabbits get colds too. Similar to humans, their symptoms also include runny nose and sneezing. Even though colds is not that serious, you should place the affected rabbits in separate cage because colds is communicable and can be transmitted to other rabbits. Most often, colds lasts for several days and can be cured on its own without medical intervention.
- Fungal diseases - Fungi infection is a communicable and transmissible diseases which can be spread from rabbits to human beings. Thus it is best to bring your pets to the veterinarian for immediate medical intervention. Fungal diseases usually affect younger rabbits and it is characterized by the loss of their fur.
- Coccidiosis - It is a type of disease which is contracted by licking their dirty fur and drinking and eating contaminated food. This disease is generally attributed to poor sanitation and cage maintenance. If you do not want your rabbits to die of premature death, then you should clean their cages twice or thrice weekly. The common symptoms of coccidiosis include abrupt weight loss, diarrhea and slouching or hunched sitting position. It can be treated by incorporating coccidiostat on their food. If you believe that your rabbit has coccidiosis and you do not know how to treat it, be sure to bring it immediately to your veterinarian for immediate medication.
- Heat stroke - If you notice that your rabbit is panting heavily and it is lying at full length, then your rabbit has heat stress. If you notice signs of heat stress, be sure to place its cage in the shade or in places with lower temperature and place a bottle of frozen water near the cage. Be sure to have a bottle of frozen water ready in your freezer because it comes in handy when such cases arise.
- Red water - It is a type of disease wherein the urine of your rabbit turns reddish due to feeding rabbits with too many green veggies, and the cold temperature. To address the problem, it is suggested to give the rabbit plenty of water to drink, minimize feeding your pet with green veggies and to keep it in warm area. Be sure to observe for a couple of days for any improvements on its condition, otherwise bring it to the veterinarian immediately.
- Ear Cankers - It is a case wherein you see small mites on the ears of your rabbits, causing it to have crusts on its outer edge. You will also notice that your rabbits will constantly scratch their ears as they are bothered by the mites. To appease the situation, put some canker lotion on their ears and clean their cage fully to eliminate the mites living in their cage.
These suggestions and ideas will guide you in case your rabbit experiences some of the diseases mentioned above.
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