“Rabbits are similar to horses biologically.”
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While an unusual comparison, Echuca Moama Vet Clinic vet Dr Sophia Johnson said it was accurate.
“We don’t care for our rabbits often because we’re not sure of what to do, but essentially they’re just little horses,” she said.
“A lot of people around here know how to take care of horses, so it’s about transferring that knowledge over.”
Among their similarities, horses and rabbits have similar teeth, and suffer from the same common health issues like colic and gut stasis.
Dr Johnson said people may like to own rabbits to benefit from their gentle nature as companion animals.
She said they could also live a long life if given proper care.
“In the wild the life span of a rabbit is one to two years, but in a domestic setting they can live 10 to 12 years plus,” she said.
“We can do so much for them, we just have to be on top of it.”
Dr Johnson said Australians had a complicated relationship with rabbits, but ownership had been increasing during the past two decades.
“Obviously Australia has a very complex relationship with the rabbit, culturally,” she said.
“The UK has Peter Rabbit and all of these fictional characters that are very important to them, and make them more common household pets.
“We are seeing an increase in not only ownership, but also the value that people ascribe to them in Australia — people are wanting them to have long lives with good care and health.”
Proper care for our own rabbits is made easier by consulting your local vet, who can advise you on preventative healthcare measures, such as desexing and diet.
“Bugs Bunny has a lot to answer for — they don’t eat carrots all day every day,” Dr Johnson said.
“Just like horses, they have teeth that grow throughout their lives, so we need to make sure that they are eating a high-fibre diet to wear their teeth down and to provide roughage — if they’ve got very high sugar diet they are prone to being overweight and having dental issues.
“They can still have carrots, but they’re better to have as treats — it should be around 10 per cent good quality pellets, 10 per cent veggies, and about 80 per cent is hay and grass.”
Two diseases are currently of concern around Australia: myxomatosis and calicivirus, also known as rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV).
“There is a nasty version of RHDV going around at the moment that has a high mortality rate, so we are recommending vaccination against calicivirus every six months until we get a better vaccine developed,” Dr Johnson said.
“With myxomatosis, there is not a lot you can do except for avoid insect transmission, with mosquitoes as the main source.
“Also minimising contact with wild rabbits, which is tricky if they’re outdoors and you’re getting them to eat your grass.”
Dr Johnson recommends desexing male and female rabbits, as they are famous for being easy to breed, which can lead to accidental inbreeding.
“We see desexing animals a bit later in life as best, so they can have full muscular and skeletal development, with female rabbits though, I do like to do it at six months of age,” she said.
“If they are not desexed by the age of three to six they are guaranteed to get some kind of uterine or mammary cancer, so it’s important for that preventative health aspect, but also behavioural.”
Female rabbits can become very territorial over their space and have “hormonal outbursts” if not desexed, and it’s recommended not to have more than one that is not desexed.