General Rabbit Care Tips
Grooming Your Rabbit
Rabbits are very clean because they groom themselves many times every day. But they still need human assistance because they molt (lose their hair/fur) all the time just like humans do.
Although rabbits seem to molt continuously, they have four molting seasons per year, with two of the molts being very heavy in summer (when they lose their winter coats) and in winter (when they lose their summer coats).
Since rabbits ingest (eat) their hair as they groom themselves, hairballs are a daily fear for every rabbit lover. Combing or brushing your rabbit daily for angoras and at least three or more times per week for other shorter-haired breeds can help prevent hairballs.
Hairballs are scary for rabbits because they cannot vomit like cats do, so the hair they ingest has to pass through their digestive tract and be eliminated via their feces.
If your rabbit's fecal pellets are strung together with hair like a string of pearls, this means that the hair is passing through, but there may be a lot of hair and reason to worry about a potential hairball.
Some rabbits treat themselves by eating enough hay to help the hairballs pass through their system. Others need additional help in the form of fresh papaya or papaya tablets, fresh pineapple juice, or Petromalt. You can ask your vet for more information about hairball prevention.
What Are Cecal Pellets?
Cecal pellets (also known as night feces) are those soft, shiny, round pellets you may see clumped together like a cluster of grapes. Most rabbits eat their cecal pellets and their humans never see them. Some rabbits, however, produce an overabundant amount of cecal pellets, which their humans sometimes confuse with diarrhea. Cecal pellets are the rabbit's way of producing their own vitamins. If your rabbit produces copious amounts of cecal pellets, you may want to reexamine his or her diet to make sure that it's not overly rich in things like alfalfa and proteins.
Dental Hygiene
A rabbit's teeth grow continously throughout the rabbit's life. Most rabbits have beautifully aligned teeth, but for those few who don't, additional care is needed. When a rabbit's teeth are not correctly aligned, this is called a malocclusion. Maloccluded teeth may need to be clipped regularly, so that the rabbit can continue to eat normally. Untreated malocclusion can be fatal, so it must be treated regularly.
If your rabbit's teeth are maloccluded, take him or her to a good rabbit vet who knows how to clip the teeth correctly. Rabbit's teeth although hard, are delicate because they have a quick that bleeds if you clip the teeth too short. Have your vet do the clipping or ask your vet to teach you to do it.
Nail Care
Indoor rabbits often do not have adequate opportunity to dig and scratch enough to keep their nails trimmed. You can ask your vet or vet technician to clip your rabbit's nails for you or you can ask them to teach you to clip them. Remember to take care not to clip them too short because, like their teeth, their nails also have a quick that will bleed if their nails are clipped too short. Most vets will teach you how to clip nails, so ask for a lesson or two until you feel comfortable doing it yourself.
Daily Health Care Tips
The better your rapport with your rabbit, the more likely the chance that you will recognize any warning signs that your rabbit may be ill and be able to take your bunny to the vet for treatment. Always remember to check your rabbit daily for the following:
- Check the eyes for any discharge.
- Check the nose for any discharge.
- Check fecal and cecal pellets (we call them pebbles in our house). Make sure they're the right size (yes, *sigh,* you will become an expert on fecal pellet size!). If they are consistently small, there may be a hairball problem. If they are mushy or runny like diarrhea, check your rabbit's diet. Have you introduced a new vegetable? If so, remove it from your rabbit's diet. Diarrhea can be fatal in as few as 24 hours, so if the problem seems serious, take your rabbit to the vet immediately.
- Check to see if there are any cecal pellets around. If there are too many, recheck your rabbit's diet as described above.
- Pet your rabbit and feel for any lumps or bumps. Report any to your vet immediately and take your rabbit in for an examination.
- Check your rabbit for scratches, cuts, broken nails.
- Check your rabbits teeth, especially if they are maloccluded. If they are maloccluded (misaligned), see your vet to have them clipped. If they are correctly aligned, have your vet check your rabbit's teeth and molars every three or four months to make sure they remain aligned. Sometimes older rabbits develop malocculsions.
The Rabbit's W