Video:How to Choose a Healthy Pet Rabbit

Transcript:How to Choose a Healthy Pet Rabbit

Hi, I am Dr. Rebecca Campbell, of Symphony Veterinary Center in Manhattan, for About.com. Today we will be talking about how to go about choosing a pet rabbit.

Where to Buy a Healthy Rabbit

Rabbits make great pets and there are a number of places where you can get a rabbit companion. The first place I always recommend that people look is at your local animal shelter. They do not always have rabbits, but they often do, and the House Rabbit Society or other local rabbit rescue organizations are a wonderful source of companion rabbits.

The rescue groups go to animal shelters and choose adoptable rabbits, they may help rehabilitate them, they always make sure that they are spayed and neutered, and then they keep them in foster care until they are adopted. If you adopt a rabbit from an animal shelter or from one of the rescue groups, and you give it a home. That provides space for another rabbit to come in and be rescued as well.

Alternatives are pet stores, which sell young rabbits -- although they are not spayed or neutered, and they often do not provide much information about the animals gender or health -- or breeders who are people who breed rabbits for sale as pets or for fur.

Check Rabbit Eyes and Ears

Wherever you get your rabbit companion, you should look for signs of health. Some of these things can be corrected, but you need to at least be aware of them. The rabbit should not have excessive discharge from the eyes or from the nose -- respiratory infections are quite common in rabbits that are housed in groups. He or she should not have teeth obviously protruding from the mouth. There should not be an excessive amount of discharge inside the ears.

Examine the Rabbit's Fur

And you can carefully lift the rabbit up and look underneath to make sure there is not urine scald or soiling from urine and feces on the skin below the underparts. You also want to briefly look through the rabbits fur to make sure you do not see insects crawling around -- there are fleas and ticks and other little insects that can infect a rabbit. You want to make sure the rabbit is not sneezing excessively, and feel his or her head, especially underneath the jaw to make sure there are not hard lumps, which can be a sign of dental abscesses which can be very dramatic.

Choose a Sociable Rabbit

And you want to make sure your rabbit is at least reasonably sociable. Rabbits, when you approach them, will sometimes bite you or show signs of fear and aggression, and that bunny is probably not very socialized or is still afraid of people, and will take a little more coaxing to come around as a house pet.

Although rabbits are cute pets, they are not as simple to take care of as they might look. Remember, it is a ten to twelve-year commitment.

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