Rabbit Vaccinations

Health Care

Rabbit Vaccinations in Geelong

Rabbit vaccinations are essential for protecting your bunny from serious diseases and ensuring they live a healthy, happy life. Your rabbit’s health, environment, and local risk factors all play a role in determining which vaccinations are necessary. Our experienced vets will create a customised and easy-to-follow vaccination program to keep your rabbit safe and thriving.

Why you should vaccinate your Rabbit

Prevent Diseases

Vaccinations protect against preventable diseases

Peace of Mind

Vaccinations protect your rabbit from contagious diseases that can be contracted in boarding facilities, outdoor environments, or even during visits to the vet. If your rabbit ever needs to be hospitalised due to illness, their immune system may already be weakened, making it even more important to ensure they are properly vaccinated and protected.

Cost Effective

Vaccinations are substantially less expensive than the cost of vet treatment for the diseases they protect against

Vaccinating your Rabbit

A bunny’s first vaccinations should be administered at 6-8 weeks, followed by a booster at 12-14 weeks. After this, annual boosters are recommended to maintain protection. It’s important to wait at least one week after the final vaccination before allowing your rabbit to interact with other rabbits or go outdoors.

Rabbit Viral Haemorrhagic Disease (RVHD) 1 & 2

A deadly virus that causes internal bleeding and sudden death in rabbits, RVHD can spread quickly in local rabbit populations.

Does My Rabbit Need Vaccinations?

Vaccinations are an important part of any preventative healthcare plan for your pets, and where there are vaccinations available, we recommend having them. Aside from boosting your own pet’s immune system and providing extra protection against picking up infections, vaccines also help reduce the spread of these diseases to other animals. Getting your pets vaccinated will also save you money in the long run because if your pet does get ill, the chances are the symptoms they get will be less severe and therefore their treatment will be cheaper.

Our vets in Geelong highly recommend rabbit vaccinations to protect your furry friends against the rapidly progressive and often fatal disease known as Rabbit Haemorrhagic Diarrhoea Virus (RHDV) that is caused by the calicivirus. This virus causes symptoms like fever, lethargy and poor appetite, attacks the liver and intestines and may cause bleeding, however, most rabbits die suddenly without showing any symptoms. Rabbit vaccinations are not a guarantee against catching this disease, but they will provide a certain level of protection giving your rabbit a better chance of survival should they become infected.

How To Protect Your Rabbit

Calicivirus is spread by direct contact with infected rabbits, through their droppings, secretions and urine, through contaminated items such as food bowls, clothes and cages, and most importantly it can be transmitted by insects such as flies, mosquitoes and midges. Good hygiene practice is vital when caring for any animal, and cages, bowls and hutches should be regularly cleaned, and any unwanted food removed. Reducing exposure to insects by covering their hutch with a flyscreen or keeping rabbits in mosquito-proof enclosures will help, as will moving them indoors during dawn and dusk when mosquitos are most active, or simply keeping them inside during the warmer months. Preventing access to wild rabbits and limiting contact between unfamiliar rabbits will reduce the risk of exposure, and of course, sticking to a rabbit vaccination schedule will ensure their immunity remains high.

A Healthy Rabbit Is a Happy Rabbit

You can’t control all the factors that can make your rabbit ill, but you can help prevent some of them. Whilst there is no vaccine available in Australia against myxomatosis, this fatal disease is spread in the same way as RHDV, so by adopting the preventative measures mentioned above you will greatly reduce the risk of your rabbit becoming infected. We can administer rabbit vaccinations in Geelong at 10-12 weeks of age, and it is recommended to give a booster every 6 12 months to maintain your rabbit’s immunity. Regular check-ups at Vets Of Geelong will help remind you of the rabbit vaccination schedule and also allow us to keep a regular check on the wellbeing of your rabbit. Read Less