Vaccinations

Rabbit vaccinations are highly recommended as a yearly injection for the life of your pet. There are life-threatening diseases out there where a simple yearly booster vaccination will help protect your pet from:

  • Viral Haemorrhagic Disease (VHD) 1 and 2. This awful disease can affect rabbits over 6 weeks old, and unfortunately the majority of infected rabbits die.

     

  • Myxomatosis. This disease causes swelling of the eyelids, mouth, ears, nose and genitals. It causes a high fever and breathing problems. Sadly, the majority of infected rabbits die even with intensive treatment.

These diseases are spread by biting insects (such as mosquitoes) and wild rabbits, so even house rabbits are at risk. 

Rabbits need their 1st injection at 5 weeks and then an injection every year thereafter (booster).

We recommend keeping your pet away from public places/ other animals until a week after their vaccination. This is to help prevent them contracting any of the above diseases

Flystrike

In hot weather, rabbits are at a high risk of developing Flystrike. This is a painful and potentially fatal condition where flies lay their eggs on the rabbit. These then hatch into maggots that feed off the rabbits. By keeping your pet clean & well groomed especially around the bottom area by removing any matted fur/faecal matter that can get stuck on the fur/skin- this will help reduce the risk of your pet suffering from flystrike. Immediate veterinary attention is required if you suspect your rabbit has this condition. 

Neutering

With animal charities over-run with thousands of unwanted pets each year, and the known lifetime cost of owning a rabbit to be in the region of €1,500. Rabbits are social animals so should at least be kept in pairs- however rabbits breed very quickly so neutering is vital to avoid any surprises! Responsible owners know that it makes sense to neuter their pet to avoid unwanted pregnancies, undesirable behaviours and also life threatening illnesses such as:

Males

  • Testicular cancer
  • spraying
  • Fighting

Females

  • Ovarian cancer (80% of unspayed females over the age of 5 years will develop uterine cancer)

MYTH: neutering your pet (males- castration, females- spay) does not change their personality

It is a day procedure and we perform the surgery to the highest standards possible.

We offer standard neutering options along with our gold neutering options which include pre-anesthetic blood

testing to make sure it is safe to perform the anesthetic.

Microchipping

It is a sad fact that pets go missing every day, fortunately fitting a microchip in your pet greatly increases the chances of you being re-united with your four legged friend. 

A microchip is a permanent electronic identification device injected under the skin at the back of the neck- it is about the size of a grain of rice. It contains a unique identifying number unique to your pet. If your pet gets lost a quick scan at a vets and you will be quickly re-united with them. It is quick and simple to implant the device and your pet will be blissfully unaware it is there afterwards. It is important to keep your details up to date if you move/change address/change phone number as your details are kept on a national database. 

Please bring proof of address (utility bill) along with photo ID at your pets microchipping appointment.

Dental Care

Just as we humans have regular dental checks pets need them too. Dental disease is very common and you may not notice that your pet has issues with their teeth as they are naturally very good at hiding aches and pains. 

Rabbits have at least 28 teeth that grow about 3mm every week. Feeding a diet high in fibre helps keep the teeth worn down evenly and helps prevent overgrowth/sharp edges forming. 75% of your rabbits diet should be made up of grass and hay to make your rabbit chew all day to keep those teeth in check! Fresh vegetables (broccoli, kale, spinach, peppers etc) and rabbit pellets- 1 tablespoon per day can make up the rest of your rabbits daily diet. 

We recommend that your pet has a dental examination twice yearly to detect problems early with the gums/teeth. Hopefully all be well but if any problems are detected we can examine your rabbits mouth under an anaesthetic. We will treat any loose/overgrown teeth and any sharp edges that cause sores in the mouth. We will always discuss our findings first, make you aware of the cost implications of any required treatments. 

Please ask us for advice on preventing dental disease such as special foods and cleaning products.