Tips & tricks for rodents and lagomorphs

If your rabbit has eaten a poisonous plant or substance, please follow these instructions:

• Do not administer any human medications to your animal without consulting a veterinarian, even in an emergency!
• If you suspect poisoning, please bring your animal to the Veterinary Medical Center immediately. If possible, bring the suspected source of poison (ideally with the packaging), as well as any chewed or vomited material!

Guidelines for preventing poisoning in rodents and lagomorphs:

• All plant, insect, and rodent poisons must be treated as highly toxic. The same applies to fertilizers and cleaning agents of all kinds!

Substances and plants toxic to rodents and lagomorphs: avocado, eggplant, ivy, yew, monkshood, staghorn sumac, geranium, potato sprouts, magnolia, lily of the valley, oleander, black locust, tomato plant, butterfly bush.

Uterine cancer occurs more frequently in female rabbits than in other animal species. The only known preventive measure at present is spaying, which we recommend for all female rabbits not intended for breeding from the age of 4–5 months.

Uterine cancer has been detected in rabbits as young as just under one and a half years old. The incidence rate increases rapidly with age, and studies have shown that the probability of a female rabbit developing uterine cancer (80% of which are adenocarcinomas) is up to 75% from the age of five.

Affected rabbits often show bloody vaginal discharge, behavioral changes (increased aggression or unusually quiet behavior), signs of a false pregnancy such as nest building, but they can also be ill without showing any external signs at all.

In some cases, the veterinarian can make a diagnosis through palpation, X-rays, and ultrasound examinations; however, it is often only possible to express a suspicion, with a definitive diagnosis only being confirmed through surgery.

Treatment consists of spaying—the surgical removal of the ovaries and uterus. If uterine cancer is suspected, three chest X-rays should be taken before surgery to rule out lung metastases as far as possible. If the cancer has not yet spread, the prognosis after spaying is good!

The Standing Committee on Vaccination at the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut recommends core vaccinations against the myxomatosis virus and the rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHD), as well as non-core vaccinations against Bordetella bronchiseptica and Pasteurella multocida (rabbit snuffles complex).

Myxomatosis (Rabbit Plague)

Myxomatosis is caused by a virus from the poxvirus family. Transmission occurs primarily through blood-sucking insects, especially mosquitoes and rabbit fleas, but also through mites, ticks, lice, and flies, as well as from rabbit to rabbit or from human to rabbit. The main symptoms are initial swelling of the eyes, followed by swelling in the head area, fever, and edema. Myxomatosis is incurable; protection is only provided by timely and regular vaccination (starting from the 5th week of life, booster after 3 weeks, then every 6 months, or every 4 months in endemic areas).

RHD

RHD is a disease caused by a calicivirus that is 80–100% fatal. Transmission occurs in the same way as with myxomatosis. Protection is only provided by regular vaccination (starting at 4–6 weeks, booster after 3 weeks, then annually; breeding does every 6 months). In Germany, RHD vaccination is mandatory for show animals. The vaccines "Eravac" (from 30 days, 9 months protection) and "Filavac VHD K C+V" (from 10 weeks of age, 12 months protection) are approved for the new RHD virus-2 variant (RHDV-2); vaccinate young animals as early as possible (at 4 weeks) and again 3 weeks later.

Snuffles (Rabbit respiratory disease)

The main causative agents are Pasteurella multocida and Bordetella bronchiseptica. Vaccination is possible, though not entirely undisputed, as it only works against two of many pathogens. It is primarily recommended as a herd vaccination in breeding facilities. Basic immunization involves two doses at 14-day intervals starting from the 4th week of life, with boosters every 6 months. Administer separately from the myxomatosis vaccine!

Clostridiosis (Clostridium perfringens)

In commercial breeding and fattening operations, Clostridium perfringens causes diarrheal diseases with mortality rates of up to 90% in young animals. In addition to good hygiene and feed management, vaccination against the toxins can reduce the infection pressure – either as a maternal vaccine or through active vaccination of the young animals. Vaccinate does one week before mating and two weeks before the due date; vaccinate young animals/bucks twice at three-week intervals starting from the third week of life, then annually.

Rabbits are originally animals from the Spanish steppe regions. Accordingly, their digestive tract is designed for the intake of a high-fiber, relatively low-energy diet.

The basis of a rabbit's diet should therefore always be good, herb-rich meadow hay, which should be available to the rabbit all day long. In addition, rabbits need fresh greens in the form of fruit, vegetables, and fresh herbs. Rabbits also enjoy having fresh twigs or branches to chew on.

Feeding dry food or rabbit treats such as rabbit drops, rabbit rolls, bread, or rusks is completely unnecessary and often the cause of dental and gastrointestinal problems as well as obesity. These food products are low in crude fiber and high in calories. This leads to insufficient tooth wear and the proliferation of undesirable bacteria in the intestinal tract.

Fresh, clean water must always be available. The necessity of salt or mineral licks is controversial; these should not be provided if there is a predisposition to urinary sludge or bladder stones.

Herbs suitable for rabbits: Basil, stinging nettle, dill, dandelion, lemon balm, oregano, parsley, peppermint, sage, ribwort plantain.

Fruit and vegetables suitable for rabbits: Apple, broccoli, blueberries, chicory, Chinese cabbage, fennel, cucumber, currants, carrots, carrot greens, melon, bell pepper, beetroot, celery, tomato.

Branches and twigs suitable for rabbits: Birch, beech, hazel, fruit trees, willow, fir. Branches or twigs from yew, staghorn sumac, magnolia, black locust, or butterfly bush are toxic and unsuitable.