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10 Steps to Check Your Rabbit's Health
1. Watch the waistline.
Obesity is not only a problem with humans, but with our animal friends too. Yup, rabbits can definitely be overweight, especially if they eat a lot of pelleted food and treats. Need some info on how to check your rabbit's weight? Clickhere.
2. Take a look at those paw pads.
The paw pads ought to be nice and pink but not bright pink or red, and no signs of dryness or cracking. For more info on sore hock and bumblefoot (or what we call hurty paws), read more here. This can be quite painful, so don't ignore it!
"Patience is not a virtue, it is just annoying. I don't believe in it."
- Radicchio the Rabbit
3. Earsies!
Take a look inside those gorgeous ears. No dusty looking white stuff? No scratches from long nails digging in there? Nice and pink but no red? Well done, ears.
4. The flufferduster.
Those wonderful little tails! Any little poop bits sticking there? Any urine in the fur? Skin under the fur still looking good? Keep everything all clean and dry to avoid urine scald, infections, and matting.
5. Nailed.
Nails really need to be trimmed every few weeks. You want to keep them pretty close to the quick (the pink part you can see inside the nail). If nails get too long, the quick will get longer...but if you keep trimming a bit away every few days, that quick will recede and you can get back to a good length. Really long nails will begin to curl, and can grow back into the paw pads and cause a lot of pain. Mani-pedis for everybun!
6. Bright eyes.
You want to see nice clear eyes with a smooth clean surface on the cornea/eyeball. Check to make sure the fur around the eye is nice and dry, with no weepy stuff or gunk. (Did you know that weepy eyes can be caused by dental issues?)
7. That gorgeous fluff, and the skin underneath it.
Rabbits are big self-groomers, and if you have a bonded pair, they will also groom each other. With all this futzing with their fur, a nice full soft coat is typical. Any dryness, oilyness, fur that is sitting oddly along the body, bald patches, or other disruptions in the loveliness are something to notice and watch closely. You may find a little evidence of some poo stuck under that adorable tail...go ahead and clean that up and make sure that nether region is nice and dry. Some rabbits have very dense fur, so do feel and look around to find any lumps, sores, scrapes, or other injuries. Check the skin for any redness, urine scald, or sore hock. And of course, get to work on any matting that has occurred asap and you'll save both you and your bun a lot of aggravation.
WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR RABBIT'S HEALTH?
HAY! Great fiber, and lots of it, does 2 critical things: it helps keep those constantly growing teeth at the right length, and it keeps the GI tract moving right along, preventing GI stasis.
Hay quality matters! We've got the freshest, most fragrant hay around. It comes right to you - no middleman, no sitting in multiple warehouses, no sitting on store shelves. This is farm to table hay! Your rabbit will know the difference, and you'll be amazed at how happily they chow down on this great fiber.
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