Giving Vegeta Shots

[Gir Sammich]

- Location: NSW, Australia

- Description: Breed is unclear, he's white and dark gray, weighs about 5-7 lbs.

- Age: 9 1/2 months

- spayed/neutered?: Not yet

- Notes on Fecal and Urinary Output: Everything is normal

- Medical History -- has s/he been to the vet or been sick before?: No

- Diet - what does your bunny eat? Half a cup of pellets a day, if he eats them all, and about two cups of parsley and endive everyday and constant supply of hay. He gets carrots and certain fruits as treats every now and then.
- when and what did s/he eat last? Pellets

- movement - any unusual movements? Is s/he hopping normally? All normal

- are there any plants, chocolate or other substances within reach? Nope

- has the rabbit been outdoors? Once during winter when there were no mosquitos out.

Hi, I was just wondering how one would go about giving a rabbit a vaccination. In Australia there's a virus common among rabbits that was distributed among the rabbit population a while back in the hopes that it would cull the rabbit population. The rabbits became immune, though, and it's still a major problem here. (Rabbits aren't native and practically have 0 predators.) "Domesticated" rabbits, of course, aren't born immune and need to have a vaccine to prevent them getting sick with the virus which will certainly kill them. I'm having trouble finding a rabbit savvy vet nearby, though. I'd have to go by train for an hour to find a rabbit vet, and I don't want to put my rabbit through that kind of strain. There's a normal vet nearby (across the street as a matter of fact) that has basic knowledge on rabbits. I figure something as simple as a vaccination would be okay to do at a normal vet. I'll be taking him to a rabbit vet to get him neutered once I can get a lift in a car.

I just want to know how a vaccination should be administered to a rabbit so I can check and make sure the doctor knows what he's doing. Should it be injected in through a vein somewhere or is it similar to giving an antibiotic shot? I appreciate any information I can get. ^_^

 

[Pipp]

Very good question!

The Myxomatosis vaccine has to be administered in a very specific manner (partly in the layers of the skin), but I'm not sure about VHD and what's available in Australia. I'll check around and maybe one of our many members down under can provide more info.

Here's a bit of reading in the meantime:

Understanding Myxomatosis

Viral Hemorrhagic Disease (VHD)

EDITED TO CLARIFY: VHD is also known as RHD (Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease), RCV (Rabbit Calicivirus), and RCD (Rabbit Calicivirus Disease).

PS: Welcome to RO! :welcome1

 

[Gir Sammich]

Thank you very much. ^_^ This virus in particular (which I forgot to specify) is the calicivirus. He's a strictly indoor rabbit, but I don't want to risk it. He's also my first rabbit, so I'm a little overprotective. Will he need to be vaccinated for those other viruses too, do you think?

 

[cheryl]

Hi Sarah,

There is no vaccine for myxi here in Australia....which sucks badly cause theyhave the vaccine!..yet the governmentwon't let the pet bunny owners access to it.

We are only allowed the VHD vaccine

 

[Pipp]

Okay... Still no Myxi vaccine in your area, just the VHD, which is called RCD there, for Rabbit Calicivirus Disease.

This seems to be the only commonly available one, but I'll have to double check that too.

This is a bit technical, it's geared for the vets, but you should be able to glean enough info.

PS: When they say 'European rabbits', they mean domestic rabbits in general, which all originated in Europe.

Cylap RCD Vaccine

Composition - Each 1 mL dose contains inactivated rabbit calicivirus (2,560 haemagglutination units), thiomersal (as a preservative) not more than 0.1 mg/mL.

Description - Liquid oil adjuvanted vaccine.

Indications - Control of rabbit calicivirus disease (RCD) in European rabbits.

Precautions - To be used by, or under the direction of a registered veterinary surgeon. Rabbits in good health should be immunised when they are least likely to be environmentally stressed by extremes of temperature or humidity. A small number of animals in any population may fail to respond to vaccination as a result of immunological incompetence or for some other reason. Some breeds of European rabbits, particularly dwarf rabbits, may respond differently to vaccination, possibly due to their specific genetic profile.

First aid - Self-injection. Accidental self-injection may lead to an inflammatory response, and medical advice should be sought on the management of deep injections, particularly those near a joint or associated with bruising. If possible the application of gentle squeezing pressure with absorbent material (e.g. facial tissues) at the injection site will swab up unabsorbed vaccine. Strong squeezing of the site should be avoided. The damaged area should be thoroughly cleansed and a topical antiseptic applied.

Disposal - Dispose of empty vials and outer packaging by wrapping with paper and putting in garbage. Discarded needles should immediately be placed in a designated and appropriately labelled sharps container.

Withholding Periods - Nil.

Adverse Reactions - In a small number of vaccinated animals a localised injection site reaction may occur. This may be seen as a swelling and/or alopecia (loss of hair). Some rabbits may show a transient general malaise. As with all immunobiological and chemotherapeutic agents, occasional hypersensitivity reactions such as anaphylaxis may occur. In such an event these rabbits should be treated without delay by the parenteral administration of antihistamines, corticosteroids or adrenaline as is appropriate.

Dosage and Administration - The entire contents of the bottle should be used as soon as possible. Aseptic techniques should be applied if the vaccine is held for use for any length of time to prevent possible contamination. Each injection should be with a sterile syringe.

Dose - 1 mL injected subcutaneously high on the neck. Massage injection site for approximately 10 seconds to reduce the chance of possible injection site reactions.

Vaccination program

- Primary vaccination - Rabbits should be vaccinated at 2 1/2 to 3 months of age. If epizootic conditions make vaccination advisable before the age of 2 1/2 months, the animals should be revaccinated at 2 1/2 to 3 months of age.

- Booster vaccination. An annual booster vaccination is recommended.


Hope this helps!


sas :bunnydance:

 

[Pipp]

There's a thread on this in our Australia and NZ forum, btw, I just added this info.

calicivirus vaccination in western australia


sas :bunnydance:

 

[Gir Sammich]

Thank you very very much! I'm a lot less worried now. : ) You've been a great help! ^_^

 

[Flashy]

I don't know what vaccine they have over there, but over here (being the UK) we have one called Cylap, and one called Lapinject. They both work against VHD, however, the Cylap vaccine carries an awful lot of undesirable side effects. If you have the choice, ask for Lapinject, which seems to be kinder on the buns, but if you have Cylap then be aware that you can see a variety of side effects over the following days (localised reaction-can be soreness, a scab, flakey skin, a limp in a front leg, lethargy- similar to humans being achey after a vaccination, loss of appetite, losing fur-this may occur after a week or two.).

For mine, they all have the Cylap vaccine, but after some nasty hairloss reactions any bunny under 1.7kg get a half dose of the vaccine and I've not seen any side effects in them since (I have 18 buns currently, and more previously, so we're a bit tried and tested with that).

Good luck I hope it all goes smoothly.



ETA- now having read Pipp's reply fully I can see the Cylap one is definitely available, and is probably the only one available.

 

[Maureen Las]

Flashy wrote:

I don't know what vaccine they have over there, but over here (being the UK) we have one called Cylap, and one called Lapinject. They both work against VHD, however, the Cylap vaccine carries an awful lot of undesirable side effects. If you have the choice, ask for Lapinject, which seems to be kinder on the buns, but if you have Cylap then be aware that you can see a variety of side effects over the following days (localised reaction-can be soreness, a scab, flakey skin, a limp in a front leg, lethargy- similar to humans being achey after a vaccination, loss of appetite, losing fur-this may occur after a week or two.).

For mine, they all have the Cylap vaccine, but after some nasty hairloss reactions any bunny under 1.7kg get a half dose of the vaccine and I've not seen any side effects in them since (I have 18 buns currently, and more previously, so we're a bit tried and tested with that).

Good luck I hope it all goes smoothly.



ETA- now having read Pipp's reply fully I can see the Cylap one is definitely available, and is probably the only one available.

:thanks:Tracy ; this info is fantastic


Myxi is so terrible