Rabbits are another type of pet that people are currently interested in raising because they are cute and easy to raise in many people's minds. But cuteness and easy raising will only happen if we get a healthy rabbit to raise. If we get a sick rabbit, it will definitely be difficult to take care of. But how do you know which rabbits are healthy? Let's take a look at the basic guide to buying a rabbit.
pairRabbit Buyer Hand
eye : Healthy rabbits have bright, cheerful eyes, and their eyelids are not dry. The skin around the eyes looks normal. Sick rabbits have lethargic eyes, dry eyelids, eye mucus, and scales.
nose : A rabbit's nose is usually slightly moist and not dry. A sick rabbit will have cold symptoms, which are an overly moist or dry nose.
tooth : Teeth must not be crooked, protruding or tilted because these problems will prevent the rabbit from eating normally. In addition, the owner must cut the rabbit's teeth every 2 weeks.
ear : Good rabbit ears must be clean, free of earwax. The skin around the edges of the ears must not be hard or flaky. The fur must grow normally with no visible signs of hair loss. The rabbit's ear holes must be normal, with no lumps or signs of mites that may be hiding.
abdomen : When stroking a rabbit's belly, there should be no hard lumps that are uncomfortable to stroke. If the rabbit is sick, its belly will be hard or there will be some lumps that are uncomfortable to stroke. In addition, the rabbit will bend its body unusually (perhaps because of pain).
foot : The front and back feet must be normal and able to walk and jump well. The back feet must not be spread apart or have difficulty walking. The fur under both back feet must be thick and there must be no wounds under the feet. Try letting the rabbit run around to observe the rabbit's condition and balance.
Toenail : Toes and toenails must be complete and in good condition. There must be no traces of fungus, ringworm, or any wounds in the nail bed. The nail bed skin must be healthy and not flaky, inflamed, or itchy.
Hair :A healthy rabbit must have fur that is not coarse. The fur must be soft and smooth (except for some breeds), not easily shed, have dense fur, have clear colors that are in line with breed standards, and have skin under the fur that is free of scales, rashes, or hardness.
Torso : The rabbit's back body should be firm. When feeling the spine, it should not be bulging. The rabbit should not be too fat or too thin. The hip area should have muscles. When touching it with your hand, you will clearly feel the fullness of the body.
General characteristics : A good rabbit must be cheerful, alert and groomed regularly. A sick rabbit will be lethargic, look sad and not move much. Choose a rabbit that is highly alert because it will be healthy.
In addition to looking at the physical characteristics of the rabbit, the most important thing when buying a rabbit is: Avoid buying rabbits that are too young.
Reasons why you shouldn't buy a baby rabbit
1. If the baby rabbits we buy and raise are less than 1 month old, they will not have immunity because they still need their mother's milk, so they will not receive full immunity from their mother.
2. Baby rabbits cannot eat food because they do not have teeth yet, or if they do have teeth, they do not have enough strength to bite and eat food.
3. Some baby rabbits have not fully opened their eyes, their fur is still soft, their legs are weak and they are not able to walk steadily.
4. When buying baby rabbits to raise, we have to feed them milk instead of their mother, which makes the rabbit unable to adapt in time, which may cause diarrhea, illness, and early death.
How to tell if the rabbit you bought is a baby rabbit or not
- Small, about the size of a palm.
- The baby rabbit has not fully opened its eyes yet.
- Rabbit fur is still soft and has not shed yet.
- There are small white spots on the teeth. If you see that the baby rabbit is still eating normally at the store, don't be too confident because the baby rabbit still needs its mother's milk. However, the store may not have any. There is only food and grass. The hungry rabbit has to find something to eat by itself. This is the reason why the rabbit dies early because it cannot adapt because it cannot eat food yet.
- The rabbit looks sleepy and not cheerful.
- Look at the source we buy from to see if it meets the standards. Because each source has different costs, different breeding, and different care from the seller. Some stores just buy and sell without knowing anything about raising rabbits. If any store says that the rabbits are dwarf rabbits, remember that store is tricking people into buying baby rabbits.
When raising rabbits, we should buy them from a standard shop where the seller has knowledge in taking care of them. We should observe the rabbit's characteristics in detail so that we will have a healthy rabbit to live together as another member of the house. And don't forget to take the rabbit to the doctor to get vaccinated and dewormed before raising it.
Read other articles 5 Signs Your Rabbit Is Sick
Information from the exotic veterinarian at Taling Chan Animal Hospital
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