Rabbits - recognizing emergency and urgent care medical situations

If your bunny falls on his side while trying to hop, moves continually in a circle, holds his head tilted to one side, or moves his eyes continually in only one direction, these could be signs of seizures, neurological damage, or symptoms of Pasteurella infection.You can easily identify a bunny that is having trouble breathing.  Most of the time, they will have their head raised, their sides will be heaving, the mouth may be opening and closing with each breath, and the nostrils will be expanding and contracting in an exaggerated manner. If your bunny is down and will not respond to your voice or touch, your furry friend needs emergency care.  This could be symptoms related to cardiac arrest, shock or coma resulting from chewing on an electrical cord, an attack from a predator, or even a coma from exposure to excessive heatView the list »
Learn how to recognize medical emergencies and urgent care issues

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As a bunny companion, it is important that you learn to identify medical symptoms needing emergency care, urgent care, or standard care. Even though bunnies are hardy in many ways, there are some medical conditions if not treated quickly, could be fatal to your furry friend. Keep this list along with the name, address and phone number of the nearest emergency animal clinic and your rabbit trained veterinarian in a handy, easy to see place. If in doubt about a symptom and your bunny appears to be stressed or in pain, treat the situation as an emergency or urgent care medical condition. It is always better to be safe than sorry.

A medical emergency for your bunny means, do not take time to search the internet, research or send emails. Do not even stop long enough to call your vet. Bundle your bunny into your car and head immediately to the nearest animal emergency clinic or your veterinary office. Do not fret if the closest animal emergency clinic does not have a rabbit trained veterinarian on staff. Most medical conditions that fall into the emergency classification require the same initial treatment in a dog, cat, rabbit or any other animal and the staff at the emergency clinic will be able to take care of your furry friend.

Medical emergencies include:
* Your furry friend is down and does not respond to you
* Your bunny appears to be gasping for breath
* Your bunny falls over, tilts his head, or his eyes move in one direction only
* Your bunny has severe and/or continuous bleeding
* Your bunny’s body temperature is below 100 or 104 and above
* Your bunny has a foreign object (usually string or similar object) protruding from the mouth or anus that cannot be dislodged

An urgent medical condition should be handled within the same day the condition is observed. In these situations, when you contact your veterinarian for an appointment, stress the urgency of the matter.

* Your bunny has been attacked - even if wounds are not evident
* There are no or very small fecal pellets in your bunny’s litter box
* Your bunny has diarrhea, not just a soft stool, but severe watery diarrhea
* You suspect your bunny has eaten something poisonous or toxic
* Your bunny has maggots
* Your bunny cannot use his hind legs

If any of these urgent medical conditions occur and your veterinary office is closed - such as on the weekend - then visit the nearest emergency clinic.

View the list
  • If your bunny is down and will not respond to your voice or touch, your furry friend needs emergency care.  This could be symptoms related to cardiac arrest, shock or coma resulting from chewing on an electrical cord, an attack from a predator, or even a coma from exposure to excessive heat
  • You can easily identify a bunny that is having trouble breathing.  Most of the time, they will have their head raised, their sides will be heaving, the mouth may be opening and closing with each breath, and the nostrils will be expanding and contracting in an exaggerated manner. 
  • If your bunny falls on his side while trying to hop, moves continually in a circle, holds his head tilted to one side, or moves his eyes continually in only one direction, these could be signs of seizures, neurological damage, or symptoms of Pasteurella infection.
  • You can help control the bleeding and prevent debris from entering the wound by folding a number of paper towels, gauze pads or clean wash cloth, press it against the wound and tie it firmly in place using a strip from a sheet or a ribbon, then rush your friend to the emergency clinic.
  • Before going to the emergency clinic, if your bunny's temperature is below 100 degrees - the body is cold to the touch - wrap your bunny in warm towels, make sure the ears are covered also.  If his temperature is 104 or over - the body is hot to the touch - dampen his ears and put ice or a frozen water bottle wrapped in a towel against his body.
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Suggested by the author:

, Rabbits Examiner

Diana started rescuing rabbits in 2001. Her first rescued rabbit with hind leg paralysis passed away. Because of the loss, she bore in with incredible determination to find out everything she could about domestic rabbits. By applying everything she learned, her next three rabbits recovered...

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