YVCipedia RABBITS

RABBIT HEALTH PROBLEMS

Health problems seen in rabbits:

SKIN

• Itch - various mites, lice, fleas, maggots, ear mites, bacterial infection, dermatophytosis (ringworm)
• Alopecia (hair loss) - self-inflicted due to itch, sebaceous adenitis, lack of dietary fiber can lead to barbering, hormonal, cystic ovaries and other ovarian disease, myxomatosis
• Scales and crusts - mites, especially Cheyletiella and ear mites, sebaceous adenitis, ringworm, myxomatosis, Treponema (rabbit syphilis)
• Nodules, swellings, nonhealing wounds - abscesses, salivary mucocele (pockets of saliva), herpesvirus, poxvirus, Cuterebra (fly larvae), mycobacteria, myxomatosis, Shope papilloma and fibroma viruses, lyphoma, various neoplastic diseases, abnormally large dewlap
• Fur mats, especially angoras, especially of rear quarters, involving hair and droppings
• Pododermatitis - inflammation and infection of feet

RESPIRATORY

• Upper respiratory - dental disease, Pasteurella and other bacterial infection (includes atrophic rhinitis), poxvirus, Treponema, Toxoplasam, allergy
• Viral - myxomatosis, viral hemorrhagic disease, herpes, paramyxovirus (Sendai)
• Bacterial - Pasteurella, Bortdatella, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Moraxella, Pseudomonas, mycobacteria, cilia-associated respiratory bacillus, mycoplasma, chlamydia
• Protozoa - Toxoplasma
• Neoplasia - thymoma, lung metastasis from uterine adenocarcinoma
• Allergy
• Congestive heart failure
• Heatstroke

DENTAL

• Dental formula of rabbits is: I 2/1, C 0/0, PM 3/2, M 3/3
• Protozoal - E.cuniculi - abnormal chewing movements, tongue paralysis
• Nutritional - lack of fiber (hay)
• Neoplasia - osteosarcoma of bone of mandible
• Congenital incisor malocclusion
• Overgrowth of teeth orally (into the mouth) and aborally (from the roots, away from the mouth, into the bones of the skull)
• Dacryocystitis - tear duct problem secondary to dental disease

GASTROINTESTINAL

• Viral - rotavirus, papillomatosis, VHD
• Bacterial - normal rabbits are mostly gram-positive and have no coliforms, E coli, Staph enteritis in newborns, Clostridium, Salmonella, Klebsiella, Pseudomonas, Mycobacterium
• Protozoal - intestinal coccidia, liver coccidia, Cryptosporidia, Giardia
• Parasitic - roundworms, tapeworms, flukes
• Nutritional - lack of fiber (hay), excess carbohydrate (grain) predisposes to Clostridium
• Neoplasia - adenocarcinoma, leiomyoma/sarcoma, metastasis from uterine adenocarcinoma, rectal papillomas, inflammatory polyps
• Salivary mucocele - pocket of saliva from leaking salivary duct or gland
• Stomach hairballs
• Caecoliths - stones in the cecum
• Mucoid enteropathy
• Dysautonomia
• Secondary to dental disease - very common
• Failure to eat caecotrophs
• Gastric stasis and bloat
• Foreign body
• Intussusception - telescoping of intestine into itself, may be secondary to polyp in cecum

FAILURE TO EAT CAECOTROPHS

• Nutrition - lack of dietary fiber, excess carbohydrates (grains) , obesity
• Dental disease
• Spinal problems
• Stress - caecotrophs usually eaten at a regular quiet time of day

LIVER

• Viral - VHD, Viral Hemorrhagic Disease, a calicivirus
• Bacterial
• Protozoal - coccidia
• Parasitic - tapeworms
• Nutritional - mold in food, hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver)
• Neoplastic - benign and malignant bile duct cancer, metastasis from uterine cancer
• Liver lobe torsion - spontaneous twisting of a lobe of liver

CARDIOVASCULAR

• Viral - coronavirus
• Bacterial - pericarditis and endocarditis, numerous bacteria implicated
• Protozoal - E. cuniculi, Trypanosoma
• Nutritional - Low vitamin E, myocardial musculodystrophy
• Neoplasia - thymoma
• Congenital heart valve and muscle problems
• Hypertrophic and dilated cardiomyopathy - spontaneous heart muscle disease
• Arteriosclerosis and atherosclerosis

SYSTEMIC

• Problems involving multiple body systems
• Viral - VHD
• Bacterial - Salmonella
• Neoplasia - lymphoma
• Hypoglycemia, especially due to dental disease
• Heatstroke
• Pregnancy toxemia

NEUROMUSCULAR

• Viral - Rabies, Herpes
• Bacterial - bacteria include Pasteurella, Bordatella, Staphylococcus, Listeria; sites of problems include middle and inner ear, spine, all bones
• Protozoal - E. cuniculi, Toxoplasma, Sarcocystis
• Parasites - aberrant migration into the nervous system of Baylisascaris or other worms, ear mites causing middle ear disease
• Nutritional - improper diet causing low vitamin A or low vitamin E
• Neoplasia - bone tumors, nervous system metastasis
• Trauma
• Atherosclerosis
• Splay leg - genetic deformity of bones and joints
• Epilepsy
• Poisons

OPHTHALMIC

• Viral - Myxomatosis
• Bacterial - conjunctivitis, retrobulbar abscess (abscess behind the eye
• Protozoal - E. cuniculi
• Neoplasia - thymoma, causing bulging of the eye
• Entropion (curling of lids)
• Glaucoma
• Cataracts
• Foreign bodies, especially straw or hay under the lids
• Corneal occlusion syndrome - conjunctiva covering the cornea
• Dental disease complications - very common

ENDOCRINE

• Diabetes
• Adrenal gland problems
• Excess testosterone from adrenal glands in neutered males

URINARY

• Bacterial - kidney infections, bladder infections
• Protozoal - E. cuniculi
• Nutritional - urinary stones, kidney calcification, fatty degeneration of the kidneys
• Neoplasia - kidney and bladder tumors
• Congenital defects
• Inguinal hernias of the bladder

REPRODUCTIVE

• Viral - myxomatosis
• Bacterial - numerous, including Treponema (rabbit syphilis)
• Nutritional - poor diet resulting in low vitamin A and/or E
• Neoplasia - uterine adenocarcinoma, ovarian tumors, testicular tumors, mammary adenocarcinoma
• Ovarian cysts
• Endometrial hyperplasia
• Uterine polyps
• Uterine torsion (twisting)
• Vaginal prolapse
• Hydrometra (fluid filled uterus)
• Pseudopregnancy
• Dystocia
• Cystic mastitis - may progress to mammary cancer
• Testicular stone - not reported in the veterinary literature, but seen in one patient at Yarmouth Vet Center