Choosing a Rabbit Part 2: Health and Longevity

If you are looking for a pet as a companion it is a good idea to choose a breed which has generally good health and which has a long life span. Health problems will be as stressful for you as they are to the rabbit, and it is easier to form a strong emotional bond with your pet if you can expect it to live a good length of time. And if your rabbit is a pet for a child, then you will want to minimise the distress caused by a pet dying from either natural or unnatural causes. Here we look at the types of health problems that can affect rabbits, and differences in life span.

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Hygiene Related Problems
Many rabbit ailments stem from poor hygiene or inappropriate or insufficient rabbit bedding. You will avoid the vast majority of these illnesses by maintaining a clean, dry hutch. This means choosing a highly absorbent rabbit litter such as SmartBedz, and spot cleaning on a regular basis to remove solids and any wet patches.

For example, Sore Hocks is produced in rabbits which have insufficient rabbit bedding, resulting in too much contact with a hard hutch floor. A generous layer of SmartBedz rabbit litter, topped off with a soft layer of rabbit bedding such as fresh hay, is all that is required to prevent this painful condition.

For an indoor rabbit, infestation by lice, mites, ticks and fleas is almost always introduced into the hutch by inappropriate rabbit bedding, especially untreated straw and hay, although they can also be passed around between rabbits sharing a hutch, or from other household pets. Outdoor rabbits, especially those permitted to run outside, can obviously pick up these infestations from external sources, and makes managing and eliminating them more difficult. But using a sterile rabbit litter, such as SmartBedz which has been heat treated, will ensure that you are not inadvertently introducing mites or other creatures into your rabbit’s hutch, and will help prevent the proliferation of any that are introduced from outside.

Rabbits are somewhat susceptible to eye infections if there is dust present. Avoid using untreated straw and hay, and of course sawdust, as a rabbit litter or rabbit bedding, as these will usually contain dust. As rabbits like to burrow into a mound of hay or straw, any dust present will very easily get into the eyes. SmartBedz has dust extracted during manufacture and makes an excellent dust free bedding base for your rabbit. Any hay used as a bedding should also have been specially prepared to remove dust and be free of mites, lice etc.

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Dental Problems
Rabbits’ teeth grow continuously throughout their lifetime and are kept to a manageable length by regular chewing of fibrous foods such as grass and hay. Without a suitably fibrous diet rabbit teeth can get too long and require burring down by a vet. A gnawing block is also advisable so that rabbits can keep their own teeth in trim.

But some breeds have additional dental problems brought about by the selections made by breeders. Any breed which has been selected for a shorter head, such as the Dwarf and Lop varieties, are prone to problems such as jaw misalignment. Misaligned incisors can cause a range of problems which cause pain to the rabbit and can even prevent it eating properly. Often teeth have to be removed - which then requires the rabbit to need assistance feeding. In Lop varieties upper teeth roots can grow up into the eye cavity causing visual problems initially, and significant pain later.

Life Span
Longevity is, of course, related to health - and all the problems noted already will tend to shorten a rabbit’s life. However, health issues aside, some rabbit varieties will tend to live longer than others even if well cared for.

The longest lived rabbits - such as the Himalayan, Polish and European rabbits, tend to live around 8-10 years on average, but have been known to live even longer.
The Netherland Dwarf and Dwarf Lop can both live to around 8 years, provided the dental problems mentioned above do not prematurely shorten their lives. The Sussex has a life expectancy of 6-8 years while the New Zealand can expect just 5-7 years and the English Spot lives around 5 years or so.

Giant breeds tend to have much curtailed life spans due to the significant strain that being large places on various part of the rabbit’s body. A giant breed will have no larger a heart than a medium sized rabbit, which means the heart and circulation are under constant strain. Rabbit skeletons are also light and fragile, making a giant body hard to support. Giant breeds often suffer from joint problems and lameness.

As a rough guide, the less "artificial" the variety the fewer health problems and better longevity you can expect. Most breeds are based, however distantly, on the common European rabbit - the type you will see in the wild in field and hedgerows. These are medium sized rabbits with ears that stick up (as opposed to the floppy ears of the Lop varieties), short to medium length coats and long snouts giving plenty of room for jaws and teeth. The closer your rabbit is to this general form, the fewer health problems it is likely to have.