Common Rabbit Health Issues and Why You Need the Right Vet

Common Rabbit Health Issues and Why You Need the Right Vet

Before anything else on this list: rabbits need a rabbit-savvy exotic vet, not a standard small-animal clinic. Find one before you need one, ideally through a rabbit rescue or the House Rabbit Society, since a vet unfamiliar with rabbit-specific physiology can genuinely miss or mishandle the conditions below. See our full Rabbit care guide for everything else.

GI Stasis: The Most Common Emergency

This is the single most important condition to understand. A rabbit's gut can slow down or stop entirely, allowing gas to build up, and it's genuinely life-threatening if not caught quickly.

Watch for: not eating, few or no droppings, a hunched posture, teeth grinding, and a visibly bloated abdomen.

A rabbit that hasn't eaten or passed stool in 8 hours or more is an emergency, not a wait-and-see situation. GI stasis is often secondary to something else, dental pain, stress, or another underlying illness, which is why a rabbit having a stasis episode usually needs a full workup, not just symptomatic treatment. Our dedicated Rabbit GI Stasis guide covers the causes and treatment in full depth.

Dental Disease

Rabbit teeth grow continuously, as much as 4 to 5 inches a year, and overgrowth or molar spurs cause real problems: drooling, dropping food while trying to eat, and weight loss. Treatment often means a sedated trim. The best prevention is a properly hay-based diet, which wears teeth down naturally the way pellets alone don't, covered in more detail in our Rabbit housing guide. Our guide on why rabbits need unlimited hay explains how fast those teeth actually grow and what the grinding action of long-strand fiber prevents.

Flystrike

Flies lay eggs on soiled or damp fur, and the maggots that hatch can kill a rabbit within 24 to 48 hours. This is a genuine emergency, and it's a particular risk for rabbits kept outdoors or any rabbit with mobility issues or urine-soaked fur that isn't caught and cleaned promptly.

Respiratory Infection ("Snuffles")

Often caused by Pasteurella multocida. Watch for eye or nasal discharge, sneezing, and crusty, matted fur on the front paws, from a rabbit wiping its own nose repeatedly.

Uterine Cancer

A significant risk in unspayed females. Up to 80% of unspayed does aged 5 and older develop uterine cancer, with risk beginning to climb from around age two. This is one of the strongest arguments for spaying a female rabbit early, well before this becomes a concern rather than after.

A Few Other Conditions Worth Knowing

• E. cuniculi, a parasite that can cause head tilt and contributes to recurrent GI stasis episodes.
• Sore hocks (pododermatitis), from wire flooring or inadequate bedding, another reason flooring choice matters.
• Bladder sludge or stones, related to calcium in the diet.
• RHDV2, a fatal viral disease. Annual vaccination is recommended in the US and is genuinely worth discussing with your vet, not an optional extra.

When to See a Vet, Immediately

• No food or droppings for 8+ hours
• A bloated or tense abdomen
• Visible fly eggs or maggots in fur
• Open-mouth breathing or persistent discharge
• Sudden lethargy or hiding

For anything less urgent, a twice-yearly wellness exam with a rabbit-experienced vet catches most of the above well before it becomes an emergency. Our Rabbit cost guide covers what routine and emergency vet care typically runs, or browse the rest of our Small Mammals care guide category. For a full breakdown of what and how often to feed a rabbit, since diet ties directly into the GI stasis risk covered above, see our Rabbit Feeding Guide.

Sources & Further Reading