Myxomatosis

Myxomatosis

Signs:

Swollen eyelids - usually both eyes and both upper and lower lids.

Genitals are often swollen and redder than normal.

Rabbits become less responsive and will crouch in one psition for long periods.

Breathing becomes laboured. The eyes and later the nose stream with a thick white discharge.

The brain is affected and the rabbits become slow, appear not to see and cannot escape.

Most die within a few days.

A less fatal skin form may occur in vaccinated rabbits, with scabs on the body especially on the nose, ears or elsewhere on the head.. These scabs eventually fall off leaving scars or even holes in the ears, nose or lips of the mouth. The skin form is often fatal but some rabbits can survive.

 

Pasteurella (Snuffles) will cause weeping eyes and occasionally nose. The brain and lungs are not affected and rabbits remain lively and continue to eat.

Rabbit syphilis (Treponema spp) causes lumps on the genitals and occasionally on the mouth or even eyelids. Apart from the lumps, there are few other signs and the rbbits do not deteriorate.

Blocked tear ducts are very common in rabbits. The eyes have a variable amount of white matter in the inner corners and may weep but there are no other signs.

Conjunctivitis may cause a discharge from the eyes. The lids are not usually swollen and the lungs and brain are not affected.

First Aid:

There is no known cure for Myxomatosis. Keep your rabbit warm and comfortable and protect it from predators, until you can get it to a vet.

Observe the signs in order to eliminate the other similar conditions, none of which will progress through all the stages that Myxomatosis does.

 

Myxomatosis is not an emergency since there is no cure.

To avoid unnecessary suffering, make a routine appointment with your vet at the earliest opportunity.

Prevention:

Vaccination is very important in preventing Myxomatosis. Nothing else has much effect. Since the vaccine does not result in long term immunity, it is important to vaccinate once a year and preferably twcie a year. Timing one of the vaccinations to take place just before the onset of the heaviest Myxomatosis season in Autumn is a very good idea.

Some rabbits that are vaccinated will still get the disease, although most of them will get the milder 'skin form. A lot of them recover but it is possible for them to get all the symptoms and to die.

There are products that either deter or kill biting insects, that can be applied to rabbits. They can help prevent the spread of the disease but should never be relied upon in the absence of vaccination.

It also helps to cover over tyhe hutch in the late afternoon when the insects come out and only uncover it when the dew has dried in the morning.