Rabbit health: signs of illness to watch for

What are the most common health problems in rabbits?

The RSPCA names six illnesses it sees most often in pet rabbits. Most of them are linked to diet, housing or neutering, which means most are preventable.

Other common problems include E. cuniculi (a parasite that can cause head tilt), myxomatosis and rabbit viral haemorrhagic disease (RVHD), heatstroke, bladder sludge and stones, and abscesses.

Signs your rabbit is ill

Rabbits are prey animals and hide pain well, so the RSPCA says changes in behaviour matter. Learn what is normal for your rabbit, then check every day:

• Eating less, eating slowly, or dropping food
• Fewer, smaller, darker or misshapen droppings, or droppings strung together with fur
• Drinking more or less than usual
• Weight loss or gain
• Being quieter, hiding, or sitting hunched
• Discharge from the eyes or nose, or a wet chin
• Noisy, fast or open-mouth breathing
• A head tilt, wobbling or circling
• Loud tooth grinding
• A dirty or sticky bottom

The Rabbit Welfare Association (RWAF) says healthy rabbits pass up to 300 droppings a day, large, round and golden brown, made mostly of chewed hay. Droppings are your best daily health check. Our rabbit behaviour guide helps you tell pain from mood.

When to see a vet: the emergencies

The RWAF's rule is simple: if you are not sure whether it is an emergency, treat it as one. See a vet at once for any of these:

• Not eating or not passing droppings; the RWAF says "tomorrow" will be too late
• Maggots or fly eggs anywhere on the body
• Breathing through the mouth (rabbits breathe through their nose)
• Collapse, fitting or screaming
• Blood in the urine with straining
• Watery or jelly-like diarrhoea with a hunched, miserable rabbit
• A wound, bleeding or suspected broken bone
• Signs of heatstroke: red, hot ears, fast shallow or open-mouth breathing, wobbling or collapse (PDSA)

Rabbit teeth: what healthy teeth look like

A rabbit's teeth never stop growing. The RSPCA says the front teeth grow about 2 to 3 mm (roughly 0.1 in) a week, and they are only kept the right length by chewing. Rabbits have long front teeth (incisors) at the top and bottom, two small "peg teeth" tucked behind the top pair, a gap, then rows of back teeth (molars). They have no canines.

Healthy front teeth are straight, even in length, smooth and meet neatly when the mouth closes, so they wear against each other. The back teeth grind hay from side to side. You can only see the front teeth at home; the RWAF says the back teeth are checked by a vet with an otoscope, and the Scottish Government suggests this ideally every 6 months.

Bunny teeth problems and their signs

The RWAF lists the warning signs of dental disease as loss of appetite, a bumpy jawline (overgrown roots, possibly infected), runny eyes from blocked tear ducts, a missing tooth with the opposite one overgrowing, and sharp spurs on the back teeth that cut the cheeks and tongue. PDSA adds drooling, a wet chin and fur loss around the mouth; healthy rabbits don't dribble.

The causes are mainly too little long-fibre hay and teeth that don't meet properly (malocclusion). The RWAF says round-faced breeds such as lops and dwarfs often don't have room for their teeth, and suggests choosing a rabbit shaped as much like a wild rabbit as possible.

Bunny teeth care

1. Feed hay above all. Unlimited hay or grass, about 85% of the diet, is what wears the back teeth down. Our rabbit diet guide has the amounts.
2. Check the front teeth weekly. Gently lift the lips and look: straight, even and meeting cleanly. Note any chips, curling or one tooth longer than the other.
3. Feel the jaw. Run your fingers along the jawline under the cheeks. Lumps or a sore reaction need a vet.
4. Watch eating and eyes. Slow eating, dropping food, a wet chin or a runny eye are early signs.
5. Book dental checks. Ask your vet to check the back teeth at every visit, ideally every 6 months.

Never clip rabbit teeth. The RWAF says clipping can split the tooth and let infection into the root. Vets trim teeth with an electric burr, usually under anaesthetic for the back teeth, and may use a gag to see the whole mouth.

Gut stasis and digestive problems

Gut stasis means the gut slows or stops. It is painful and can kill, so it is always same-day vet work. The RWAF lists the common triggers: a diet that isn't about 85% hay, too many treats, eating something unsuitable, swallowing fur during a moult, and dental pain that stops a rabbit eating.

At home you can prevent it: unlimited hay, few treats, daily brushing during moults, and watching the droppings. The RSPCA says to see a vet urgently for diarrhoea, soft droppings or abnormal droppings that don't settle within 24 hours. Uneaten caecotrophs (the soft, shiny droppings rabbits normally eat from their bottom) building up are a sign the diet needs more fibre, and they raise flystrike risk.

Flystrike: the summer killer

Flystrike happens when flies lay eggs on a rabbit, usually on a dirty bottom, and the maggots eat into the skin. The RWAF says blowfly maggots can damage flesh within about 24 hours, and the Scottish Government says flystrike can kill within hours.

1. Check the bottom. Look under the tail daily, and at least twice a day in warm weather.
2. Keep it clean. Remove wet or dirty litter daily and clean any droppings or urine off the fur straight away.
3. Fix the cause. A dirty bottom usually means too few hay fibres, obesity, arthritis or a urinary problem. Ask your vet.
4. Ask about prevention. Your vet can advise on a fly-preventing product, but it never replaces daily checks.
5. Act at once. If you see maggots, ring a vet immediately, day or night. Don't wet the fur.

Infections and viral diseases

Snuffles is a bacterial infection, most often Pasteurella. The RWAF says rabbits don't get colds, so a runny nose is always serious. Vets usually treat with antibiotics, sometimes with nebulising.

E. cuniculi is a parasite that the RWAF says around half of pet rabbits carry, though only a small number become ill. Signs include head tilt, flicking eyes, weak back legs, rolling, and drinking and weeing more. Vets test with blood or urine tests and treat with a course of wormer.

Myxomatosis and RVHD are viruses that kill most unvaccinated rabbits. Myxomatosis spreads by fleas and mosquitoes and starts with red, swollen eyes. RVHD spreads on hay, shoes, insects and birds, survives for months, and often kills with no warning signs. The RWAF says rabbits can be vaccinated from five weeks old and need vaccines against myxomatosis, RVHD1 and RVHD2 every year, including indoor rabbits.

Sore hocks, heat and other problems

Sore hocks are pressure sores under the back feet. The RWAF says a bald patch bigger than a match head, or pink or red skin, needs a prompt vet visit, as even small sores can turn into abscesses. Prevent them with soft flooring, trimmed nails and a healthy weight.

Heat is a bigger danger than cold. The RSPCA gives 10 to 20°C (50 to 68°F) as the right range for pet rabbits; see our rabbit temperature guide. Womb cancer is very common in unspayed females, with the RSPCA citing up to 60% of females over three years old affected; our neutering guide explains timing.

Health care for rabbits: the routine

• Daily: appetite, droppings, drinking, behaviour, bottom (twice daily in summer)
• Weekly: front teeth, nails, feet, ears, a full body check for lumps
• Monthly: weigh and write it down
• Grooming: weekly for short coats, daily for long coats, more in a moult
• Yearly: vaccinations and a full vet check, back teeth ideally every 6 months
• Once: neutering or spaying

Lifespan depends heavily on this routine; see how long rabbits live, and the complete rabbit care guide for the rest.