Love your pet ... love your vet - May 2011
Rabbit Awareness Week: 23-29 May 2011
and ensuring your Pet Vaccinations are up-to-date…
Did you know that 23-29 May is Rabbit Awareness Week? Rabbits, like our other pets need to visit the vets from time to time for routine health examinations and ensuring their vaccines are kept up-to-date.
Vaccination: with the onset of warmer weather now is the time to ensure your rabbit is vaccinated – this primes your rabbit’s immune system to recognise and defend against incurable and life threatening infectious diseases like Myxomatosis and Viral Haemorrhagic disease.
Myxomatosis is a distressing viral disease spread by rabbit fleas, mosquitoes and other blood sucking insects. Affected rabbits typically suffer from swollen eyes, leading to blindness and in most cases death.
Viral Haemorrhagic Disease (VHD) is another very serious viral infection. It spreads easily between rabbits or via contaminated hutches, bedding or food. Infected rabbits may show a variety of signs including nose bleeds, loss of appetite and lethargy. Sadly most will die despite treatment.
Protection against these deadly infectious diseases is vital, check with your vet to ensure these are up-to-date. Some vets during this week will be holding special promotions to support the campaign so ask yours if they are doing anything.
Flystrike is also a big problem for rabbits during the warmer months – rabbit rear ends often become damp and this can attract flies which lay their eggs there. These eggs hatch out into maggots which are capable of burrowing through the rabbit’s skin and into the underlying flesh. You should inspect your rabbit’s rear end daily for fly eggs/maggots and ensure bedding is changed daily to avoid flies being attracted in the first place.
Dental disease is also very common in rabbits – they have continuously growing teeth with both the check teeth and incisor (front) teeth growing by as much as 1-2mm per week. Therefore, ensuring the correct diet for your rabbit is important – this should include plenty of hay (high in fibre), together with a selection of fresh food and a small amount of commercial rabbit food. Commercial rabbit foods are now available as extruded pellets avoiding selective feeding.
Vaccinations against infectious diseases – Vets strongly recommend vaccinating your dogs and cats against the following potentially fatal diseases:
Dogs:
- Distemper
- Infectious canine hepatitis
- Parvo virus
- Leptospirosis
- Para influenza virus
Cats:
- Cat flu virus
- Feline panleucopenia virus
- Feline leukaemia virus
- Feline chlamydia
Parasites also need to be kept at bay: roundworms, ticks, fleas and worms should all be treated for – your vet will advise on the best form of treatment for you and your pet.
Keith Moore BVSc MRCVS is a Veterinary Surgeon at Hillside Veterinary Centre in Corfe Mullen. For more information visit www.hillsidevets.co.uk. Follow us on Facebook.
Archived Articles :
- April 2013 - New pet in the family
- March 2013 - Itchy skin – could it be an allergy?
- February 2013 - Thyroid problems in pets
- January 2013 - Arthtritis - is your pet affected?
- December 2012 - love your vet this Christmas
- November 2012 - Combat firework fear!
- October 2012 - Troublesome ticks!
- September 2012 - Thirsty work…
- August 2012 - Kennel cough – is your dog protected?
- July 2012 - Don't get the summertime blues!
- June 2012 - Rabbit dental problems & a growing issue
- May 2012 - Fact file: Heart Disease
- April 2012 - Healthy teeth and gums
- March 2012 - Healthy teeth and gums
- February 2012 - Drinking like a fish?
- January 2012 - New Rules for the Pet Travel Scheme (PETS)
- December 2011 - Top ten tips for Christmas
- November 2011 - Remember, remember your pets this November
- October 2011 - Autumn aches: is your pet affected?
- September 2011 - Worms: a wriggly problem!
- August 2011 - Kennel cough – is your dog protected?
- July 2011 - Summertime: The heat is on!
- June 2011 - Pet passengers - are fleas and ticks an issue?
- May 2011 - Rabbit Awareness Week
- April 2011 - Eyes: taking the long view!
- March 2011 - Spring has sprung!
- February 2011 - Getting to the root of the problem!
- January 2011 - Pet Insurance - a really good idea!
- December 2010 - The big chill – a seasonal survival guide!
- November 2010 - Ticker trouble! Is my pet affected?
- October 2010 - Remember, remember your pets this November
- September 2010 - Autumn Alert!
- August 2010 - Thyroid disease – is your pet affected?
- July 2010 - It's official: Chips are good for pets!
- June 2010 - Beat the heat this summer!
- May 2010 - Wriggle your way out of this one!
- April 2010 - Parasites… spring into action and pollen problems
- March 2010 - Planning your trip abroad this summer?
- February 2010 - Meal deal – choosing the ideal diet!
- January 2010 - Winter Worries!
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