Mäkitaipale J, Harcourt-Brown F M, Laitinen-Vapaavuori O
Department of Equine and Small Animal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Crab Lane Vets, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, UK.
Vet Rec. 2015 Oct 24;177(16):418. doi: 10.1136/vr.103213. Epub 2015 Oct 16.
Only a limited amount of information is available about health status of pet rabbits. The aim of this study was to obtain data about the health status of pet rabbits considered healthy by the owners in Finland. Physical examination and lateral abdominal and lateral skull radiography were performed on 167 pet rabbits of which 118 (70.7 per cent) had abnormal findings in at least one examination. The most common findings were acquired dental disease (n=67, 40.1 per cent), vertebral column deformities and degenerative lesions (n=52, 31.1 per cent), skin disorders (n=28, 16.8 per cent) and eye disorders (n=12, 7.2 per cent). Vertebral column angulating deformities were significantly more common in dwarf lop rabbits (P≤0.001). The prevalence of health disorders was significantly higher in rabbits over three years of age of which 51 (82.3 per cent) had findings in at least one examination (P<0.05). Rabbits as prey animals hide their illness, which cause difficulties to owners to recognise health problems. Because of the high prevalence of clinical and radiological findings in apparently healthy pet rabbits, regular physical examinations are advised, especially for animals over three years old.
关于宠物兔的健康状况，目前可获得的信息有限。本研究的目的是获取芬兰宠物兔主人认为健康的宠物兔的健康状况数据。对167只宠物兔进行了体格检查以及腹部外侧和颅骨外侧X线摄影，其中118只（70.7%）在至少一项检查中发现异常。最常见的检查结果是后天性牙齿疾病（n = 67，40.1%）、脊柱畸形和退行性病变（n = 52，31.1%）、皮肤疾病（n = 28，16.8%）和眼部疾病（n = 12，7.2%）。脊柱成角畸形在矮脚垂耳兔中明显更常见（P≤0.001）。三岁以上兔子的健康问题患病率显著更高，其中51只（82.3%）在至少一项检查中发现有问题（P<0.05）。兔子作为猎物动物会隐藏自己的疾病，这给主人识别健康问题带来困难。由于在看似健康的宠物兔中临床和放射学检查结果的高患病率，建议定期进行体格检查，尤其是对于三岁以上的动物。
