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In the Spirit of Wabbit Wednesday- Share Your 'At Home Health Check' Tips :-)

Jack's-Jane

Wise Old Thumper
No idea if The Boss has the General Chat padlock at the ready this afternoon !!

So, how do you do a general health check of your Rabbits ?

This is a brief summary of what I try to do:

Obviously a constant Poo patrol !!

Under-carriage checks twice a day

Weight check once a week unless a particular Rabbit has a specific health problem. In those circumstances a weight check every 2 days

Nails checked once a week

General 'poke about' for lumps and bumps, especially around the jaw line and the ear bases (ear base especially in the Lops) once a week.

General feel of tummies, getting to know what feels 'normal' for each Rabbit- done once a week

Ear check with otoscope once a week, I also have a sniff in the ears of the lops !!

Coat check for any signs of mites once a week

As I have some Rabbits with known health issues including heart disease/lung disease I do have to listen to hearts and lungs daily. My Vet taught me what to listen for and having had so many Rexes who developed Heart Disease I have learned what some of the abnormalities may sound like.

But really this thread is more for us to share the basic health care things we do on a regular basis rather than how we might manage chronic illnesses (under the supervision of our Vet)

So, what does your Home Health Check involve and do you have co-operative Rabbits !! Most of mine are OK, but a couple really do make a big fuss. For example Rodney, when I have to trim his nails you'd think I was trying to amputate his legs !!
 
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I check bums daily, feel tums every other day, look in ears every day, check coats - specifically Biffy for knots near his bum, check nails every week then do them a bit at a time when necessary, keep an eye on how often they're eating/pooing/weeing so I know what's normal and that's it I think.
I need to get some scales or something really, so that I can weigh them and keep an eye on that too.

Brilliant idea for a thread Jane :)
 
I check them over daily looking at bums, nails, hocks, eyes, ears and they get a thorough feel over for tummies, lumps and bumps and tangles. But only Prim ever has tangles.
I don't weigh mine, I probably should, but you can feel if they change shape, lose weight fairly easily.
Oh and I'm really paranoid about poos and how much they're eating and drinking:D
 
I don't do a great deal as Rosy is a nightmare to handle or get meds in at the moment, Dee runs and hides under her hutch whenever I try and catch her and Alfie doesn't like being picked up at all :roll:

I turn them over twice a day to check bums and nails. I also check Alfie's eyes twice a day when I feed him, but I don't need to pick him up for that, as well as an occasional ear check. Obviously I check their litter trays for their poos and wees, and just a general behaviour assessment at the beginning and end of the day. I've been weighing Dee once a week as she was loosing weight for a while, but she's back up to her target now and I just go by eye/feel for weight. I also monitor how they eat their pellets, to see whether it seems uncomfortable or they're not eating at their usual speed :)
 
Mine hate their nails being done. Blackavar is the only one who will sit still and let me do it so I can do him by myself, but Blueberry is part kangaroo and part spring I think, so he's definitely a two person job as he needs some serious restraining. Slipper, honestly, we're a bit too scared to do her, so we let the pro's do her nails. She's fine with being picked up, but she bites if you hold on for too long and bites when she's brushed, so if we tried to do her nails, we might lose an arm!

I check to see if they're eating or drinking and otherwise I can usually tell something is wrong by how they're behaving. I know their personalities pretty well now so if they're not their usual selves, I worry and get them out immediately and depending on the results, ask on here for advice or straight to the vets.
 
Another tip is that if you notice your Rabbit resting in a place they would not normally be it can indicate a problem. Most Rabbits will rest in the same place, for example Morse always took to his chair to snooze. I would know if he was having a bad day if he was resting under his chair rather than on it.
 
Haven't really thought about this that much but I think I do alot of this sub-consciously if that makes sense.

All the buns do get checked over everyday - I just generally run my hands over them, checking for anything unusual but I do this as they are having strokes and I don't do it thinkingly if that makes sense - it's almost 2nd nature. This way I check their weight (making sure their ribs etc are still nicely covered). Nails are checked. They also get sniffed an awful lot by my hubby - he's got a very good sense of smell and has noticed that when a couple of our buns have had stasis they smell sick - so he does the smell test.

Poops are checked - and congratulations given for nice, big piles :thumb:

And I watch the buns as well - you get to know (or should) the individual buns body language and what is normal for a particular bun and what is not. I spend alot of time just bunny gazing and will generally know when something is not quite right.

Some of the checks - ears, underneath etc - are frankly beyond my capabilites with my buns - they are not easily handled and the resulting struggle could very easily injure them. Cheyenne is fine - the rest of them are little tinkers. BUT - they go to the vets for nail clipping frequently and the nurse gives them the once over then. They are all young and in good health though - but certainly something to think about as they get older.
 
I'm the same as above but at the moment am having to put cream on their sore hocks twice daily, which they do not like at all and in fact Thumper wees on me regularly, bless her ... :censored: :lol: and thus at the same time I can check and make sure their bums are clean. I do this anyway when they're hopping away from me in the garden.
 
I check eyes, ears, bum, jawline, teeth, nails, poops, how much they have eaten,, I run my hands through their coats to check for bites, wounds, limps or parasites as well. I keep a rabbit first aid kit too.
 
I don't do formal checks of Ludo himself as he's cuddled so much I just notice lumps, dirt, ear problems etc then. I do look at his fur whilst stroking to look for dandruff etc. If his behavious is off I tend to notice straight away as he lives in my main room so we're together most of the day.

But the one really important check for him is POO CHECK! Before bed and first thing in the morning I inspect his poos to make sure he's not showing any signs of stasis. If he's poorly then it's a check every hour or so. :oops:

ETA: Ludo's nails are done by a vet nurse. Well worth it there's no way I'm doing that myself! :lol:
 
No idea if The Boss has the General Chat padlock at the ready this afternoon !!

So, how do you do a general health check of your Rabbits ?

This is a brief summary of what I try to do:

Obviously a constant Poo patrol !!

Under-carriage checks twice a day

Weight check once a week unless a particular Rabbit has a specific health problem. In those circumstances a weight check every 2 days

Nails checked once a week

General 'poke about' for lumps and bumps, especially around the jaw line and the ear bases (ear base especially in the Lops) once a week.

General feel of tummies, getting to know what feels 'normal' for each Rabbit- done once a week

Ear check with otoscope once a week, I also have a sniff in the ears of the lops !!

Coat check for any signs of mites once a week

As I have some Rabbits with known health issues including heart disease/lung disease I do have to listen to hearts and lungs daily. My Vet taught me what to listen for and having had so many Rexes who developed Heart Disease I have learned what some of the abnormalities may sound like.

But really this thread is more for us to share the basic health care things we do on a regular basis rather than how we might manage chronic illnesses (under the supervision of our Vet)

So, what does your Home Health Check involve and do you have co-operative Rabbits !! Most of mine are OK, but a couple really do make a big fuss. For example Rodney, when I have to trim his nails you'd think I was trying to amputate his legs !!

:lol::lol::lol:

What a brilliant thread. I need to check mine more. They mainly loathe (really really loathe) even being touched, let alone picked up. *Sigh*

I do watch them for any sign of discomfort and always watch them eating (I especally love the way Daisy eats grass, she looks really extra cute with little green strands sticking out of her chops) and I check poos and look out for tangles.

Mine are young and healthy atm. The quad are due for vaccs and health check very soon.
 
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I don't have a formal bunny health check routine but Bunnies currently live in our bedroom so they have quite a lot of contact with us. They get hay daily so it's easy to see if 'output' is poor and I tend to check their toes when they are having a cuddle. I notice they need their nails more when they come into the bathroom when I'm cleaning my teeth and they clip clop :lol:

I do check Betty's eyes a few times a day and it's a bit of a weird obsession for me but that is because she has bad tooth roots.

I check for over drinking too incase she is in pain.

Bunnies are still moulty so I check their fur for mites when I groom them (lion heads).

Betty hates being caught and checked. She will wriggle until she is free and then binky away looking pleased. :roll:
 
I just do a quick check of my outdoor pairs' bums, ears, eyes and nails and have a general feel of their heads and tums daily.

I don't really check my indoor buns, I see much more of them due to them being in the house and they're regularly getting stroked and cuddled, so I feel like I'd be able to see pretty much straight away if there was something wrong (I don't know if that makes sense lol.)
 
daily brush, especially during periods of heavy moult which has been never ending this year, to help stop excess hair getting into GI tract

checking in the ears, the nails, bottom, nose, eyes (I remove sleep from mabels eye, since we lost sox, he used to do the cleaning and vice versa)

check eating

listen for any uncomfortable noises, like loud teeth grinding to know if in pain or if soft content

checking the litter tray

stroking not only for cuddles but check the body

weight check each month

molar teeth check each month to if I suspect any changes
 
another thing I check if the wooden toys have any work done at them by bunny teeth, mabel not one for chewing wood, but this time as with sox, I noticed she had chewed at the wooden toys, so it rang alarm bells to check her teeth
 
For those of us whose bunnies are not keen on being handled when needing to be checked over.....I always remember this.

As hard and as difficult they may be to handle........you may find something that needs veterinary attention to save their lives.

Rather endure a little discomfort.............than the heartache of mourning over a dead bunny which you possibly could have helped.

Remember, all you are doing is helping them. Over the years I have countless scars where I have been bitten and scratched, but without sustaining them, the bunnies may well have died.

Great thread Jane.
 
Lopsy gets a brief physical look over every few days at worst, I usually try and do every day. I can't lift him as he won't have it (super-panics, hurts himself), but from experience with my other bunny I know where to poke my fingers under his back end for a bum check! Nails and underside are easy: he's so eager for food he'll stretch up really high and lean on the bars to sniff fingers, and once he's easting his back feet can be stroked/poked. Also while he's eating, he can be stroked, even round partly under him, so I can get a good feel all over, which is how I check his weight etc. I also check his ears at this point, though I have to wait until he's eating off or near the floor rather than high up, or I can't get a good look into them! Eyes are also easy because he'll sniff my face if I poke it towards him >D

I also check his poo and wee every day, of course! And his general temperament: the point about sitting in an unusual place is very good. Lopsy used to sit in a corner but since he's had more interesting things to do he doesn't sit there as often! He tends to jump up on to his log thing or orange box and sit there and be nosy. I also get worried if I can't see him and he doesn't practically throw himself at the bars when the door/gate opens, but he's usually on the loo ;P
 
I do all of the things above as everyone else has said, check bums, nails, teeth, tummies, hocks, ears, eyes all the time!

I check weight maybe once a week sometimes every two weeks.

Another thing I tend to do is give them something to chew on and watch how they chew so I know what is a ''normal'' chewing? If you know what I mean? I feel around their mouths for lumps and bumps but I think its important to know what you rabbits normally looks like when eating. :thumb: x
 
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