Are rabbits gereally healthy?

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Hippidy

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I hope this is in the right spot, I'm still getting used to this forums layout. I am new to the rabbit world and I don't have one yet. I own a couple rats and in the few years that I've had them I have spent easily $1000 or more a year on a single rat (I had a sick one with very poor genetics who I just lost). I am curious if it's common for rabbits to get sick. So...

How many rabbits have you had?

Out of those how many have needed to see the vet for an illness?

What was the illness/was it a chronic issue?

About how much money did you spend in 2010 at the vet? and past years if you remember.

Are Rabbits generally a healthy animal? (if you can't answer this I will try to decide for myself by the answers I get)
 
Hippidy wrote:
I hope this is in the right spot, I'm still getting used to this forums layout. I am new to the rabbit world and I don't have one yet. I own a couple rats and in the few years that I've had them I have spent easily $1000 or more a year on a single rat (I had a sick one with very poor genetics who I just lost). I am curious if it's common for rabbits to get sick. So...

How many rabbits have you had?

Out of those how many have needed to see the vet for an illness?

What was the illness/was it a chronic issue?

About how much money did you spend in 2010 at the vet? and past years if you remember.

Are Rabbits generally a healthy animal? (if you can't answer this I will try to decide for myself by the answers I get)
Click to expand...
rabbits were once considered rats and hunted as such,,some similar characteristics they share are the ever growing teeth and need to chew -alot,,-rats are however omnivores--whereas rabbits are strictly herbivores./.a healthy immune system is a must for quality of life,,but then therecan begenetic disorders--any animal can be subject to being unhealthy--with cost overburdens--so you see there is no easy answer,,--i am currently caring for one of my havanna rabbits with gi-stasis--being a prey animal,-a rabbit would rather die than exhibit any distress/pain--knowledge/experience, and an electronic scale does help--any amount of money spent for a problem-should be a considered an education--sincerely james waller:halo:big wink:
 
I have had seven bunnies in almost eight years. Right now we still have 3 of those. All of them had been at the vets for various issues, some more severe than others.

The first two were chronic issues, the others not as much.

In 2010, we likely spent at least $1,500 - 2,000 on our three bunnies in vet visits alone. This isn't super typical for us though....more likely around $1,000.

I would say that rabbits are relatively healthy, but they are extremely sensitive to stress and illness. It's just that when they do get sick, it tends to be costly. I think it would be fair (for us) to say that a typical/serious vet situation would be around $400.
 
Our rabbits are pretty healthy. We have 9 right now and had one pass away (From what we think is GI Stasis, when we realised what was going on it was pretty late at night we couldn't get her to a vet) and other then the one who passed, we've only had one vet visit for our rabbit Willow going through GI Stasis as well, oddly just a day or two after Frost passed. This costed us $250 since we caught it pretty fast this time and it was fairly easily taken care of. Other then this, haven't had a sickness or injury, with these rabbits being a few years old.

Rabbits are generally pretty healthy but when they do get sick it adds up fast.

Horses though, wow. I don't think anything has as many vet bills as a horse does.
 
I think that most rabbits are healthy, but when they get sick they get sick.
I have had 7 rabbits over about 5.5 years.
3 have had to go to the vet for illnesses. Sophie had head tilt, she got over it once, but it cam back almost a year later and she had to be euthanized as she was not getting any better. Sean got a weepy eye and his tear ducts were blocked. He went to the vet twice for it. He died in my arms, he wasn't eating which I think was a result of one of the medications. I also think that he may have had tooth problems as well that may have caused the eye problems. Penelope got very sick. I don't know what happened, but I think it may have been bloat. She was at the vet overnight and the choices were to euthanize her to try surgery. Since I didn't know if surgery would have even helped and she was so sick, I decided to euthanize her.
Most of my vet costs have been routine check ups and spay/neuter surgeries. I don't really remember the other costs, but the last time for Sophie was around $250. Sean was probably another $200-300 and Penelope was about $300. I had all 3 cremated and got paw prints done which was another $200 each. I just got Amelia spayed and that was close to $400 when everything was considered (the spay, check up and meds).
My only vet fees for 2010 was Penelope.

My rabbits are healthy, they don't have chronic conditions that require regular vet visits.
 
Not counting the rescue rabbits, up until recently my vet bills have been minimal. I've had Sparky and Scooter for 7 years and rarely had them at the vet. Welcome 2011 and Sparky had some severe dental issues and a jaw abscess. My vet bills for the last 6 weeks are almost $2,000 and it's not over yet. She is doing very well though!
 
Hippidy wrote:
What is GI stasis? is it common?
Click to expand...
GI (gastrointestinal) Stasis is actually a symptom rather than a disorder in itself. It means that there's nothing moving through the bunny's digestive system. Because rabbits are so good at hiding illness, often the first thing you notice is that he's off his feed. The rabbit stops eating and drinking, and it's essential to get it started again ASAP. Even a day of stasis can be fatal, and if a rabbit doesn't eat for two days it's time to see the vet immediately.

It's common, in the sense that lots of different problems will show up as stasis. Stasis can be caused by mechanical issues - hair blockage, for example - or by medical problems such that the rabbit just doesn't feel like eating. Sometimes just a stressful situation will trigger a rabbit to stop eating - Scone's first stasis bout came after his first (and only) airplane ride.

He got stasis on and off after he reached middle age, most often during the heaviest of his shedding periods in September or October, but usually I could coax him into eating again, and once he started he'd pick right up again.

I think rabbits are generally healthy, but their digestive systems are a bit delicate, especially as they get older, so you have to watch their diet. Scone was healthy for his first four or five years, but then as he got to be an elderbun he developed arthritis and kidney calcification which required an increasing number of vet visits. Toward the end, he stopped eating more often as his kidney and spinal problems increased, but once those were addressed he went back to his usual happy and healthy self for his last six months or so. I don't remember what it cost, but believe me, it was worth it.
 
How many rabbits have you had? Omygoodness. Um lets just say over 25

Out of those how many have needed to see the vet for an illness? 2 about to be three for the vet. another 3 that didnt go to the vet but died.

What was the illness/was it a chronic issue? E.cuniculi(not chronic), and pneumonia(not chronic). Other one is getting fecal tested tomorrow. He isnt eating(not chronic but it seems to be contageous).

About how much money did you spend in 2010 at the vet? and past years if you remember. I MUST SAY: this may not be valid for i get a discount because im an employee. For pneumonia i think the bill was no more than 50-100. For E.cuniculi the bill was 300-350 this included euthanasia, necropsy, labwork, xrays, and 3 doctors visits.

Are Rabbits generally a healthy animal? (if you can't answer this I will try to decide for myself by the answers I get)
I think that they are a delicate animal. You definitely can't go into buying a rabbit without doing homework
 
I have had 4 (all of which I still have). I first got rabbits in 2007.

Annual exams run around $50 for each when they are young, and $100 over the age of 6 when they should get bloodwork annually in addition to their exam.

We have one very sick bunny and will probably spend over $2,000 on his treatment. I think we are lucky that only one has been seriously ill, but unfortunately he's just about as ill as a bunny can get (cancer).

When rabbits get sick, it is often very expensive because they are considered "exotics" by vet practices and you have to pay top dollar to get a vet who has recent info on rabbit medicine. What we know about how to treat rabbits increases every year so vets must keep up with continuing education for exotic species.

However, it can be as inexpensive as you want it to be: if a treatment is beyond your financial means and beyond what you value the rabbit to be, you don't have to have it done. The bunny of ours that is very sick is worth so much to us that we are going to spend as much on him as we can possibly afford.
 
How many rabbits have you had? Oh jeez...Thirty? Unless you'd like to count my little peanut baby too, in that case 31.

Out of those how many have needed to see the vet for an illness? Two, and one for neutering.
I had another that I should have taken, but unfortunately she died...(due to dehydration, as her water bottle had been emptying itself in an hour and no one had ever noticed, so it wasn't medical). I also had one with what we think was an intestinal block((probably hair ball) that died and should have gone to the vet, but it was my first meat pen and I had no idea anything about rabbits. :/

What was the illness/was it a chronic issue? One wasn't eating all her food, and the vet said she just needed variety- but I don't like this vet. The other had a little rectal prolapse(but I had never seen it before). Neither was chronic.

About how much money did you spend in 2010 at the vet? and past years if you remember. Heh, like $80? It was just check ups both times. Spent like $300 on the whole neutering thing though.

Are Rabbits generally a healthy animal? (if you can't answer this I will try to decide for myself by the answers I get) Overall, I think yes. However they are delicate, especially the digestive system, and also are very good at hiding their symptoms thus when they are sick they are REALLY sick. It takes some homework, but if a rabbit is cared for correctly(like in my cases, paying attention to water and hay) they will be very healthy.
 
Thanks for all the replies so far guys! It really helps, I just don't want to go into this expecting perfect health or being constantly worried something will go wrong.

Would you say if you get a rabbit from a reputable breeder they have better health in general? I want to adopt but I'm just curious for later in my rabbit owning life.

I know they have delicate digestive systems and I'm glad I know what to look for now. You guys have been a great help!
 
With breeders, or any rabbit, it really depends on the breeder and their lines. Some lines do have issues and some breeds can be more prone to issues. Some breeders also might not have the best sanitation, so a rabbit could have parasites that would need to be dealt with. There are breeders who are great and do take into account the health of the rabbits over show quality. Genetics do play a part with some illnesses, especially tooth problems.
You can get healthy rabbits from other sources as well. I got Korr from a pet store and he is very healthy. He is about 5.5 years old and has a shiny coat, good teeth and is still quite active. I am sure people don't believe me when I say he is 5 years old. I have also gotten rabbits from the humane society who have had health problems, one was older and the other I think had tooth problems. I have gotten 2 directly from the breeder and they are both healthy.
I don't think where you get the rabbit comes from determines health, it is the conditions they are kept in and the individaul rabbit. You should check the rabbit over to see if there are any issues you can see right away and get it checked out by a rabbit savvy vet.
 
I have had...a lot of rabbits. Since I breed, I've had more than I can count since it's been years now.

Rabbits are generally healthy. Mine have rarely had illnesses and of those, only one was chronic (arthritis). In my early years, I had to visit the vet once or twice about something, but I have recently learned to treat the most common rabbit illnesses myself. So even when rabbits get sick, it's a matter of $5-20 for over the counter meds from the farm supply store.

If you visit a vet regularly (or even just for emergencies), I'm sure the bills can add up QUICK! But in reality, a seasoned "bunny person" has more rabbit specific knowledge than the average vet and there are a multitude of illnesses that you can treat- legally- on your own. :)
 
You can also hit the lotto--our Hoss was over 12 when he passed. He was fine, happy and hungry the night before and was gone in the morning--just thought he was resting. The only time he Had to go to the vet was for neutering. He was never ever ill. Sure do miss our big boy.
 
I have two and they've been pretty healthy. One needed her molars trimmed right after I got her but has been fine for the rest of the year she's lived with me. Both go in for yearly check ups (which aren't cheap in my area) but that's pretty much it. I own two and I've been a rabbit owner for two years.
 
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