Rabbits & Guinea Pigs
Vaccinations
Rabbits are given a vaccination to protect them against rabbit calicivirus disease.
Microchipping
Microchipping is available for your pocket pets. A vet will inject a small identification ‘chip’ under the skin on the back of the neck area where it remains for life. The animal owner details are registered to your pet’s unique chip number which can easily be detected with a scanner if your pet is found wandering, lost or injured and brought in to an animal shelter, the council, or a vet clinic.
Dentistry
Rabbits and guinea pigs have teeth that continually grow hence overgrown incisors (front teeth) and molars (cheek teeth) can occur. We often see rabbits with overgrown teeth due to poor diet or hereditary factors.
Speys/Neuters
We recommend desexing of both male and female rabbits. This makes them much easier to keep in pairs without the risk of unwanted offspring and reduces aggressive behaviour, and some cancers developing.
The optimum time for speying female rabbits is around 5-6 months of age – before this age the surgery can be more difficult as the uterus and ovaries are very small and easily damaged.
Male rabbits should be castrated at around 4-5 months but they can still be done at an older age if you’ve missed this ideal age. Also keep in mind that males can remain fertile for up to 6 weeks after being castrated so they should ideally be kept separate from any unspeyed females during this time.
Guinea pigs may be desexed at 5-6 months of age. It should be remembered that a female guinea pig shouldn’t have her first litter after 6 months of age, as pelvic bones become fused and can cause problems with labour.