I have over 15 years of experience with medical rabbits as a shelter advocate and as a baby-and-medical foster site for a local 501(c)(3) nonprofit Rabbit Rescue Group. I have at the request of the Rabbit Rescue Group's Director visited homes to do evaluation of the rabbit under their care. The visit happened when the foster reported a concern with the rabbit. There was no Rabbit DVM at the time or it happen late at night.  I have a keen interest in medical side because I helped design Pacemakers for Abbott.

Disclaimer:   If your bunny is in distress or if you have any concerns, don’t hesitate to promptly contact your local licensed Exotic Rabbit Veterinarian. I am not a licensed Exotic Rabbit Veterinarian and this should not be a substitute for official medical advice by a board licensed Exotic Rabbit Veterinarian

The purpose of this page is go over with videos, text and pictures the care and behavior of your rabbit. All of the rabbits shown are either my adopted rabbits, foster rabbits or ones that I have cared for.

GI Stasis  Link

GI Stasis is a Bunny 911. If you cannot see a Exotic Rabbit until the next day I created this page (Click on GI="GI" Stasis Link)

San Francisco Bay Area Bunny 911 S/N List Link

The Rabbit Heimlich Maneuver for a Choking Rabbit

It is important for you to watch this video in the event your bunny is chocking. We did use this when one of our baby fosters was choking. It worked and the bunny found her forever home. Chocking can occur during eating of pellets. You  do not have time to Google for help. You KNOW that your bunny is chocking and can pass away within minutes. You must support the bunny's back or you can cause great harm. 

You should ask your Exotic DVM to show you how to do the Rabbit Heimlich Maneuver on your rabbit i.e. based on the size of your rabbit and skill level. You will of course use a stuff rabbit or similar as an example.

Nose2Tail Home Health Check
It is important to do a once a month home health check of your rabbit. The shows how a simple check and uncover possible concerns early. You can see the slides on the "Nose2Tail Check" on the top of this page.



How to take the Temperature of your Rabbit.

It is important for you to know how to take the temperature of your rabbit. The normal temperature range is 101F to 103F.  Bunny 911 is 99F and below or 104F and above. If you feel your bunny is sick you should take their temperature. You should first take their temperature when your bunny is healthy. You don't want to this for the first time when your bunny is sick. You might get an invalid reading (You might not have put it in far enough). You can learn from your DVM, local rabbit group or shelter.



Rabbit Hydration Test
You can do this simple process to test the hydration of your rabbit. You should do this when you know your bunny is healthy as a reference.



Hydration Test of a dehydrated bunny.



Daily Rabbit Health Check
Rabbits are pray animals. Pray animals will hide when they are sick. Rabbits however like to have their own daily routine.  If they don't great you in the morning or eat it might be a sign that they are sick. It is important that you check that they are eating, drinking water and going to the bathroom each morning and at dinner time.  The purpose is to find out within 12 Hrs that they might be sick.



911 Breathing Problem.
We saw that our foster Mom Misty had breathing problems. The head pointed up along with her paws support her is text book. You can see the high rate of breathing. We took this video and sent it to her Exotic Rabbit DVM. Yes this was a 911. We took down to see her DVM. It turned out Yes this was a 911. It was caused by a heart problem. She was treated with heart medication and moved into a Medical Site Foster. The foster Mom took care of her for 6 months and later adopted her. Misty was able to see and talk with her kits via live calls.



 Classic Gas Pain
Sugarplum showed the “classic” gas pain in the playroom. She would try and lay down and not move around. She was also easy to pick up when we moved her to the playroom. We took her temp and she was 95 Bunny 911. She is fine now after seeing her Exotic Rabbit Vet. The key was to she that she was not "normal".  She was easy to pickup. She did not for the treats in the playroom. She did move around. She sat down due to her gas. It is important to know your rabbit.

1. How was pickup?
2. Did they go for their treats?
3, Did behave normal.

If the answer was No to any of the above. You should watch more closely. The taking of the temperature just like people is the number thing that you can do.




 

Review of Top Opening Carriers.

It is important to have top opening carrier for your rabbit. We will review several types.

Pick and hold Rabbits 

We go over the the pickup and hold of your rabbits. We go from basic to real life.  Real life the bunny will hop away.  We show you what you can do.

Zita's Guide to eating a Willow Bowl



Common Rabbit Behavior Part 1
A bunny kiss is a priceless way for your bunny to show affection to you. Periscoping is when your bunny stands on their hind legs to look around and observe their world. Cats are similar to rabbits in some ways. Like cats, rabbits are very clean and will groom their paws regularly.

Hay the most food that rabbits need. They need to have access to hay 24/7.



Binky's Physical Therapy. Binky our medical foster who we later adopted was spay leg due to a stoke. Our Exotic Rabbit DVM had us do PT for a few minutes each day on his arms and legs to help him recover. He did recover and lead a normal life after a few months of PT. We also used this on older Bunny Yuma who hopped less and less. We did PT on Yuma to help her maintain the function of her arms and legs.

Rabbits can sleep with eyes open and snore.

Echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart) examination with Dr. Chloe Bock DVM of Apex Veterinary Specialists in Saratoga, CA (Heart Specialist) for Ruby who had a heart arrhythmia which prevented her spay operation. The Echocardiogram detected no physical problems with her heart. She had her spay with medications from Dr. Bock.

Rabbit Behavior Part 3

A relaxed bunny feels safe and sound, scanning its surroundings by moving its head around. Rabbits yawn just like people! It is important that your rabbit eats their cecotropes. This is normal and necessary for their health. Cecotropes contain vital nutrients that support your rabbit’s well-being.

Rabbit Behavior Part 4

Welcome to the world of rabbits when you see the Dead Bunny Flop. Your bunny is very relaxed. They can do the DFF with their eyes closed or open. You may also see after grooming their Forever Friend they my flop.

Rabbit Behavior Part 5

Rabbits like to toss things around.