Prevalence, treatment and management of health conditions in pet rabbits presented to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH), University of Peradeniya

Forty five pet rabbits of different breeds with various clinical conditions were presented to the VTH from January 2014 to March 2016 reflecting an emerging trend in companion animal ownership and health concerns. Of these cases, Psoroptic mange was the commonest disease condition while traumatic injuries (26.7%) including dog bite wounds, fractures, eye conditions were regularly encountered. Chemical trauma and infectious diseases (17.8%) namely, ulcerative pododermatitis, respiratory tract and urinary tract infections; miscellaneous cases such as floppy rabbit syndrome, heat stress, nutritional deficiency and prolapsed vagina were also presented. The objective of this communication is to make the veterinary practitioners aware of the common health conditions encountered in pet rabbits and how those were treated and managed.