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Detailed Explanation of Prevention and Treatment Techniques for Heatstroke in Rabbits

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1. Etiology This disease mostly occurs in the hot summer weather, and is most common in wool rabbits. Domestic rabbits have underdeveloped sweat glands and dissipate body heat very slowly through the body surface. Wool rabbits whose wool has not been sheared have even more difficulty dissipating heat. When the external temperature is above 33°C, heat dissipation mainly relies on increasing respiratory rate to regulate body temperature. According to measurements, when the temperature reaches as high as 35°C, the respiratory rate of domestic rabbits surges from an average of more than 40 times per minute to more than 200 times. During high-temperature periods, if the rabbit hutch is poorly ventilated, overcrowded, or during long-distance transport, the body heat of wool rabbits cannot be dissipated in time, which will cause heatstroke. Rabbits of all ages can

1. Etiology This disease mostly occurs in the hot summer weather, and is most common in wool rabbits. Domestic rabbits have underdeveloped sweat glands and dissipate body heat very slowly through the body surface. Wool rabbits whose wool has not been sheared have even more difficulty dissipating heat. When the external temperature is above 33°C, heat dissipation mainly relies on increasing respiratory rate to regulate body temperature. According to measurements, when the temperature reaches as high as 35°C, the respiratory rate of domestic rabbits surges from an average of more than 40 times per minute to more than 200 times. During high-temperature periods, if the rabbit hutch is poorly ventilated, overcrowded, or during long-distance transport, the body heat of wool rabbits cannot be dissipated in time, which will cause heatstroke. Rabbits of all ages can develop the disease, but pregnant does are the most severely affected. When the bedding straw in the nest box is thick and ventilation is poor, young rabbits are also particularly susceptible.

2. Clinical symptoms Does in late pregnancy are the most susceptible. Growing rabbits only become ill when they are very crowded in the cage. At the beginning of the disease, the rabbit's appetite decreases, its responses become sluggish, its limbs stretch forward and backward, its abdomen presses tightly against the cage bottom, and its breathing and heartbeat speed up. As the disease progresses, it manifests as complete loss of appetite, rapid breathing, conjunctival congestion and redness, wetness around the nostrils that is bright red, and discharge of blood-tinged fluid from the mouth and nose. The sick rabbit shows intermittent trembling or convulsions until death. Some run wildly and bump around, some suddenly fall down and lie on their side, develop generalized spasms, have a dull gaze, venous congestion, and cyanotic mucous membranes, and then die after uttering a few screams. Some lie on their side with legs extended, move their limbs as if swimming, become comatose, have shallow breathing, and die from suffocation and cardiac paralysis.

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