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How to identify a sick rabbit? Three methods to help you tell

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First, look: A sick rabbit is listless, emaciated, with bones showing, a ruffled and lusterless coat, and does not shed fur according to the molting season. A healthy domestic rabbit has a strong appetite and eats quickly; a sick rabbit has a poor appetite, eats slowly or refuses food. The droppings of a healthy domestic rabbit are pellet-shaped, oval, uniform in size, with a round, smooth surface. If dry, hard, small droppings appear, it indicates constipation, and more green, succulent feed should be given; if the droppings are tadpole-shaped or soft and loose, this indicates indigestion, and charcoal powder, yeast tablets, etc. should be added to the feed; if the droppings are piled up and

First, look: A sick rabbit is listless, emaciated, with bones showing, a ruffled and lusterless coat, and does not shed fur according to the molting season. A healthy domestic rabbit has a strong appetite and eats quickly; a sick rabbit has a poor appetite, eats slowly or refuses food. The droppings of a healthy domestic rabbit are pellet-shaped, oval, uniform in size, with a round, smooth surface. If dry, hard, small droppings appear, it indicates constipation, and more green, succulent feed should be given; if the droppings are tadpole-shaped or soft and loose, this indicates indigestion, and charcoal powder, yeast tablets, etc. should be added to the feed; if the droppings are piled up and mushy like mud, sometimes mixed with blood and gas bubbles and giving off a foul fishy odor, it is mostly acute enteritis, dysentery or an infectious disease, and the rabbit should be isolated for treatment.

Second, feel: A healthy domestic rabbit has firm, dense, elastic skin that is rosy, smooth and clean, with a normal skin temperature of 33.5-36°C, and a soft abdomen with a certain elasticity. If the rabbit becomes restless when the abdomen is touched, with tense abdominal muscles and trembling, this is mostly seen in peritonitis; when there is abdominal fluid, a fluctuating sensation can be felt on palpation.

Third, measure: This mainly means measuring body temperature, pulse and respiratory rate. Body temperature is generally measured rectally; the normal body temperature of a rabbit is 38.5-39.5°C, and the body temperature of young rabbits is higher than that of adult rabbits, and that of adult rabbits is higher than that of old rabbits. If the body temperature rises to 41°C, this indicates an acute, highly virulent infectious disease. The pulse rate of a healthy rabbit is 120-150 beats per minute. An increased pulse rate indicates febrile diseases and infectious diseases. The respiratory rate of a healthy rabbit is 50-80 breaths per minute. The respiratory rate of a sick rabbit increases or decreases.

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