Finding a vet with rabbit experience
Before covering specific health problems, the most important practical step for any rabbit owner in Poland is identifying a veterinarian with experience in small exotic mammals before a health crisis occurs. Rabbits are classified as exotic animals in veterinary medicine — their physiology differs significantly from cats and dogs, and a vet without specific training may not be familiar with rabbit-appropriate anaesthetics, medication doses, or diagnostic priorities.
Directories such as Polskie Towarzystwo Patologów and local exotic vet forums can help identify specialists. Some larger city clinics in Warsaw, Kraków, Wrocław, and Poznań maintain rabbit-specialist practitioners. Register your rabbit, have a baseline health check, and ask about emergency availability before you need it.
Gastrointestinal stasis
GI stasis is the most common life-threatening condition in domestic rabbits. The gut slows or stops moving, gas builds up in the intestines, and without intervention the rabbit can die within 24–48 hours. It is not a disease in itself but a symptom of an underlying problem — most commonly insufficient hay intake, stress, pain from another source, or a blockage.
Signs of GI stasis
- Reduced or absent droppings over several hours
- Refusal to eat — particularly refusal of hay, which is the most reliable indicator
- Hunched posture, teeth grinding (bruxism), pressed abdomen against the floor
- Reduced or absent gut sounds (you can listen by placing an ear gently against the rabbit's abdomen)
- Bloated abdomen in more advanced cases
When to act: A rabbit that has not eaten for more than 4–6 hours and has produced no droppings requires a veterinary assessment the same day. Do not wait to see if it improves. GI stasis escalates quickly and the window for treatment narrows within hours.
Reducing the risk
Unlimited hay access is the single most effective preventive measure. Hay provides the indigestible fibre that stimulates gut contractions. Additional risk reduction measures include: adequate daily exercise (minimum 3–4 hours outside the hutch), stress reduction (consistent routines, gradual introduction to new environments), and avoiding sudden dietary changes that disrupt caecal bacteria balance.
Dental disease
Rabbit teeth grow continuously throughout the animal's life — approximately 3 mm per week for the incisors and slightly less for the molars. Normal chewing of fibrous hay creates the grinding motion needed to wear teeth evenly. When hay intake is insufficient, or when a rabbit has an underlying malocclusion (misalignment of the teeth), the teeth overgrow and develop sharp spurs that lacerate the tongue and cheek tissue.
Dental problems are often first noticed as reduced food intake — particularly reduced hay consumption, since the lateral grinding motion required for hay is more demanding than soft food. Weight loss despite apparently normal appetite, excessive salivation, or a wet chin are further signs. Diagnosis requires a veterinary dental examination under sedation; it cannot be reliably assessed without sedation as rabbits do not open their mouths for inspection the way dogs do.
Treatment involves dental filing (coronal reduction) under anaesthesia and addressing the underlying cause. Rabbits with congenital malocclusion may require dental procedures every 6–12 weeks for life. Prevention is largely dietary — a high-hay diet is the most reliable way to maintain natural dental wear.
Flystrike (myiasis)
Flystrike occurs when blowflies (primarily Lucilia sericata in Poland) lay eggs on a rabbit's fur, particularly around the hindquarters, and the hatched larvae feed on the rabbit's flesh. It progresses from egg-laying to visible larvae in as little as 12 hours in warm weather and can become fatal within 24–48 hours if not treated.
Risk factors include: dirty or damp hindquarters from urine or soft droppings; obesity or dental disease preventing the rabbit from performing caecotrophy (consuming its own caecotrophs from the back end); and warm, humid conditions that favour fly activity. In Poland, the main risk period is May to September, with peak risk in July and August.
Prevention involves: daily checking of the rabbit's hindquarters throughout the risk season, keeping the hutch clean (eliminating the soiled material that attracts flies), treating the underlying cause of any soiling (obesity, dental disease, diet), and using veterinary-approved insect repellents such as Rearguard (ivermectin-based) applied in spring and reapplied per product instructions. Any rabbit found with larvae must be treated by a veterinarian as an emergency.
Viral Haemorrhagic Disease (VHD / RHDV2)
Viral Haemorrhagic Disease is caused by two related caliciviruses, historically designated VHD1 and the more recently identified VHD2 (RHDV2). RHDV2 has been responsible for most cases in Poland and across Europe in recent years. The disease causes acute hepatic necrosis and disseminated intravascular coagulation. In the classic form, rabbits may be found dead with no prior signs; some show brief symptoms of lethargy, fever, and respiratory distress before rapid deterioration.
Vaccination is the only reliable preventive measure. In Poland, combination vaccines covering both VHD1 and VHD2 (such as Nobivac Myxo-RHD Plus or Filavac VHD K C+V) are available through veterinary clinics. The primary vaccination schedule and booster frequency should be confirmed with your vet, as recommendations have been updated following the spread of RHDV2. Outdoor rabbits and those in contact with wild rabbits or their droppings (which can carry the virus) are at highest risk, but RHDV2 can also be transmitted via contaminated hay, equipment, and clothing.
Respiratory infections (snuffles)
Upper respiratory infections in rabbits are often caused by Pasteurella multocida, though other bacteria including Bordetella bronchiseptica and Staphylococcus aureus can be involved. Symptoms include nasal discharge, sneezing, and matted forepaws from the rabbit wiping its nose. The inner foreleg fur is often the first place an owner notices the signs.
Snuffles is rarely cured entirely — most affected rabbits carry the infection chronically and experience periodic flare-ups, particularly during periods of stress, immunosuppression, or environmental changes. Management involves veterinary-prescribed antibiotics during active episodes, good ventilation to reduce ammonia build-up (a respiratory irritant), and minimising stress triggers. Pasteurella can spread between rabbits kept together, so new rabbits should be quarantined for a minimum of four weeks before introduction.
Sore hocks (ulcerative pododermatitis)
Sore hocks develop when the skin over the rabbit's heel bones becomes inflamed, ulcerated, or infected, typically as a result of continuous pressure on a hard or wire floor surface. Heavier breeds and rabbits with thin or absent fur on the hock (common in Rex rabbits, whose fur lacks guard hairs) are more susceptible.
Prevention involves appropriate soft flooring — rubber matting, cork tiles, or thick hay over any hard surface. Once sore hocks develop, treatment depends on severity: mild cases respond to improved flooring and topical antibiotic cream; severe cases require veterinary-prescribed systemic antibiotics and wound care. Untreated sore hocks can progress to osteomyelitis (bone infection) and become a chronic welfare problem.