Rabbits have traditionally been children’s pets, but as many people have discovered they are often better suited as adult pets.
They are very inquisitive animals and much more intelligent than most people realise.
It is now being understood that it is not enough for a rabbit to be kept in small solitary situations.
They need a wind and waterproof area of shelter with an outdoor space as large as possible that has plenty of interesting things in it.
Some people allow their rabbits to roam the whole garden but this can have problems if cats hunt them. Also care must be taken with possible poisonous plants.
Some rabbits are kept in the house and can easily be toilet trained. Great care needs taking with electrical wires as rabbits love to chew them.
If kept indoors they still need plenty of outside sunlight to ensure adequate vitamin D levels.
Correct feeding is vital for a rabbit’s health. Poor diets and limited access to sunlight can result in loose teeth and abscesses, digestive problems, poor coat and obesity.
Rabbits have teeth and a digestive tract very similar to horses. Their caecum (equivalent to our appendix) is large and full of bacteria that digest their plant diet. They have to eat almost constantly to maintain proper digestion. This food needs to be mainly grass and hay. Ideally this should compose of a variety of different grasses and other plants (meadow hay is best).
Limited amounts of rabbit mix and vegetables can be given but great care must be taken to not over feed these. Too much grain will result in obesity.
It is also very important to vaccinate rabbits. There are two diseases that we see regularly, myxomatosis and VHD (viral haemorrhagic diarrhoea).
Myxomatosis causes the swollen eyes that are commonly seen in wild rabbits and causes severe pneumonia that usually results in death after two weeks. This disease is spread via rabbit fleas and possibly some of the newer continental midges.
VHD causes rapid death and often the rabbit is just found dead. Occasionally the rabbit will live a couple of days.
There is an effective combined vaccination against both these diseases.
Lastly it is very important that a rabbit is given plenty of attention. They are very intelligent and need a lot of interaction.
Ideally rabbits should be kept in pairs.
Males in particular will need neutering.
Two entire males kept together will often fight which neutering will usually stop. The male rabbit will also need neutering if kept with a female for obvious reasons!
