{"id":253,"date":"2020-06-01T14:47:20","date_gmt":"2020-06-01T13:47:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.608vets.com\/news\/?p=253"},"modified":"2026-02-16T10:01:58","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T10:01:58","slug":"rabbit-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.608vets.com\/news\/rabbit-care\/","title":{"rendered":"Looking after your pet rabbit in the current environment"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The general docile nature of rabbits makes it seem\u00a0like\u00a0they\u00a0can be looked after by young children with minimal supervision. However,\u00a0there are many things to consider before welcoming a rabbit to the family\u00a0as their care can be more complex than imagined.<\/p>\n<p>Rabbits require as much attention as any other pet, including a healthy diet,\u00a0routine monitoring, social interaction,\u00a0large, interesting and\u00a0secure environment, a companion\u00a0and medical care from veterinary surgeons.\u00a0They\u00a0are highly social animals that crave\u00a0entertainment,\u00a0contact and interaction. Rabbits are\u00a0much happier living in pairs and will become very lonely if kept on their own.\u00a0\u00a0Whether you are a new rabbit owner or have had your beloved pet for many years, there are\u00a0several\u00a0steps you can take to ensure they are protected in the current environment.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Veterinary care for your rabbit\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0British Veterinary Association (BVA)\u00a0and\u00a0Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS)\u00a0have advised veterinary practices\u00a0to\u00a0change how they work, and many\u00a0routine procedures\u00a0are being delayed. This is to conserve essential supplies, protect the health of veterinary staff\u00a0and our clients, and\u00a0to\u00a0avoid further spread of\u00a0COVID-19.<\/p>\n<p>If\u00a0your rabbit\u00a0has\u00a0not had their\u00a0vaccinations\u00a0yet, they will be at higher risk of developing diseases.\u00a0Please speak to your vet\u00a0about\u00a0how you can get care for your pet\u00a0as we are\u00a0prioritising\u00a0rabbit vaccinations\u00a0and now have the new &#8216;triple\u00a0vaccine for those\u00a0rabbits that can respond to its protection.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u00a0are some actions you can take to look after your\u00a0rabbit during this period:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>As the weather gets warmer, the number of\u00a0biting insects\u00a0in your local area may increase. Keep your rabbit safe from\u00a0fleas, ticks,\u00a0mosquitos,\u00a0and midges\u00a0because biting insects are\u00a0the\u00a0primary vector of both Myxomatosis\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: line-through;\">&#8211; <\/span>these\u00a0only carry\u00a0myxo, RHDV is carried on fomites and carrion faeces so grass and forage plants should\u00a0be washed before feeding, which can be fatal for your pet.<\/li>\n<li>Look out for flystrike during the hot summer months. Flystrike is caused by flies that are attracted to damp fur, urine,\u00a0faeces. Flies will land on the rabbit,\u00a0typically\u00a0around the\u00a0rabbit&#8217;s\u00a0rear end and lay\u00a0 This is an\u00a0emergency, and you should seek immediate vet care.<\/li>\n<li>Practice good When you\u00a0interact with\u00a0your\u00a0rabbits,\u00a0thoroughly wash your hands before\u00a0and after\u00a0handling\u00a0them\u00a0or any of their food and toys.\u00a0There is currently no evidence that rabbits can spread\u00a0COVID-19\u00a0to or from humans.<\/li>\n<li>Since you\u00a0are\u00a0spending more time at home, it might be tempting to give your rabbits&#8217; a variety of foods but to minimise the\u00a0danger\u00a0of gut problems, do not\u00a0make\u00a0substantial\u00a0changes to\u00a0their diets. If you are self-isolating, you might not be able to get your usual supplies but try to ensure that you maintain normal diets where possible.\u00a0Good hay remains the mainstay of a healthy rabbit diet.<\/li>\n<li>If your rabbit is housed with other rabbits, and they are not neutered yet, discuss the\u00a0best\u00a0options with your vet.\u00a0It is advised to spay all female rabbits\u00a0on the\u00a0long-term to prevent reproductive tract cancers. Still, in mixed couples, we may opt to castrate the males under\u00a0COVID-19 guidelines as this helps\u00a0conserve\u00a0oxygen and surgical supplies, we will then at a later date, book the female in.<\/li>\n<li>Monitor the claws of your rabbit. Keep them trim, to avoid them catching and breaking them. If you do not have the necessary tools, contact your vet for guidance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Finally, make the best of this period by spending some quality time with your rabbit. Should you require any specific advice for your rabbit during this period, please don&#8217;t hesitate to contact us.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The general docile nature of rabbits makes it seem\u00a0like\u00a0they\u00a0can be looked after by young children with minimal supervision. However,\u00a0there are&hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.608vets.com\/news\/rabbit-care\/\" class=\"cta\">Read more&hellip;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":250,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.608vets.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.608vets.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.608vets.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.608vets.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.608vets.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=253"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.608vets.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.608vets.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.608vets.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.608vets.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.608vets.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}