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
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