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Summer care for rabbits
Warmer weather means more flies and raises the potential for fly strike affecting your rabbit. Fly eggs rapidly develop into maggots which bury into the skin and twice daily checks are necessary to reduce the likelihood of your pet being affected. Rabbits with long coats, elderly or overweight animals who may not be able to keep themselves clean are at greater risk from this potentially fatal problem so have a look at our prevention tips below. If you are at all concerned about your rabbit, please seek urgent veterinary advice
Preventions include
• Ensuring they don’t get diarrhoea from eating too many greens
• Cleaning out their living quarters daily so there is no dirty bedding to attract flies
• Check over your rabbit twice daily to make sure their back end is clean & the fur is dry
• Clip the fur around your rabbit’s back end to keep it short to help keep the area faeces and urine free. Our rabbit cordless trimmer or the grooming kit are ideal for helping keep your rabbit’s fur clean and tangle free click here for more information
• Disinfect equipment and living areas at least once a fortnight
• Clean their eyes and mouth daily and keep a look out for skin infections or wounds
• Try garden mesh over the enclosure to keep flies out
• Wet towels in direct contact with a rabbit to cool them down in extremely hot weather is not considered to be a good idea because of the risk of fly strike, instead place large bottles of frozen water in their living quarters. The bottles help to keep the body temperatures down and ensure your bunny is more comfortable. They may also enjoy having the bottles to play with!