Without a doubt, domestic rabbits are at risk of contracting Lyme Disease, especially if they are raised with other hobby farm livestock or pets.
In this post we will cover all there is to know about Lyme disease and rabbits so that you can be a prepared rabbit owner that takes preventative steps for your furry friends!
Just What Is Lyme Disease?
Lyme disease is a syndrome of symptoms due to a nasty bacterial infection of Borrelia burgdorferi and (less often) Borrelia mayonii within the body and, if left unchecked, can spread and negatively affect the joints, the heart, and the nervous system at large.
Lyme disease can be hard to combat the longer the bacteria lives in the body and always causes the infected animal lots of pain and discomfort.
This is why early detection and treatment of Lyme disease is key!
Infected animals can usually be cured with a heavy, long round of antibiotics that will eliminate the Borrelia. But many humans and pets still feel phantom pain and discomfort in their joints and fatigue after a particularly strong bout of Lyme disease.
Ticks Do Carry Lyme Disease
Ticks are small, blood sucking arachnids that prey on many different types of animals, including mammals, birds and amphibians.
Ticks are tiny, about the size of an apple seed, and can be very hard to see!
They are so dangerous because they actively transmit bacterial and viral diseases to their host animals while they feed, Lyme disease being one such bacterial infection.
Watch out: many of these tick borne infections are serious illnesses and can be deadly.
Can Indoor Rabbits Get Ticks
You may think that your rabbits are only at risk of hosting a tick if they are housed outdoors or spend time outside.
This is a common misconception, as even indoor house rabbits can host ticks!
Ticks can get on your rabbit from a number of different sources, the most often ones being:
- Grass Or Bushes – By transiting in the grass or bushes
- Feed – The tick may be in the hay your feed your rabbit
- From You – If you were in the grass or bushes then a tick may “jump” from you to your rabbit as you tend to your rabbit
- From Another Rabbit, Farm Animal or Pet – A tick may crawl or jump from one rabbit, farm animal, or pet to another.
Lyme Disease Symptoms In Rabbits
The top 5 most common symptoms of Lyme disease in rabbits include:
- Finding of a blacklegged tick on the rabbit
- Joint Swelling
- Fatigue
- Sudden loss of appetite
- Inability to walk or move
If you notice any of these symptoms in your rabbit, or have removed an engorged tick from their body, we highly recommend calling your local vet.
Veterinarians are able to take a blood sample and perform a laboratory test to determine the presence of Borrelia. Your local vet will also have the right antibiotics to prescribe in order to treat your infected bunny!
One of our daughters got bitten by a blacklegged tick when she was young and, fortunately, we diagnosed it in time. Abigail exhibited some of the classic signs of Lyme disease, especially joint swelling and an inability to walk.
We’ve learned to be very attentive and check our animals as well as ourselves after a day outside during the warmer months, and hope you are attentive as well.
Do Ticks Cause Lyme Disease
Ticks themselves do NOT cause Lyme disease. Rather, it is the bacterias they transmit that cause Lyme disease in infected hosts.
The two types of bacteria that cause Lyme disease are Borrelia burgdorferi and Borrelia mayonii.
That’s right, Lyme disease is caused by bacterias that infect the tick and are then spread to the tick’s host when they bite and feed!
Both of these nasty microbes most often infect blacklegged ticks, which are very very small, with reddish brown coloring and tiny mouths.
You may be interested in learning more about ticks in our Ticks On Rabbits post.
Best Rabbit Tick Treatment
The number one rabbit tick treatment is prevention.
This means engaging in daily grooming and petting of your rabbit so that you can examine and remove any potential ticks before they latch on and start feeding.
Remember that ticks love to burrow in soft skin, so on a rabbit this is often their:
- Dewlap
- Ears
- Inner Legs
- Face
In addition, it is important to remove any brush and tall grasses from around your rabbit’s outdoor hutches, as this is prime tick habitat.
Finally, you can find rabbit-safe insect sprays to use during hot summer months (especially if you live in a tick-heavy area like we do!).
We like to use some yarrow steeped in vinegar or alcohol for our bunnies and their outdoor hutches in summer, as yarrow is a strong, natural, and safe tick repellant.
Is Lyme Disease Contagious
Note that Lyme disease is easily spread through physical contact and urine.
For this reason we highly recommend setting up a comfy, separate quarantine area for any infected bunnies until full recovery.
This will help ensure your other rabbits, pets, and/or homestead animals aren’t at risk of getting infected with the Borrelia and subsequent Lyme disease.
Frequently Asked Questions Related To Can A Bunny Get Lyme Disease
What Animals Can You Get Lyme Disease From?
Blacklegged ticks feed off of any animal they can latch on to!
So getting near an animal that is harboring a tiny, infected blacklegged tick puts you at risk of getting Lyme disease.
In addition, if you come in contact with the saliva or urine of any animal that is infected with Lyme disease you can be infected yourself.
What Does A Tick On A Rabbit Look Like?
The few times we have caught a tick on our rabbits it has either looked like a little speckle of dirt (if it has yet to feed) or a black/gray swelled blob (when it has already fed).
If you remain curious about this, take a look at this video with lots of different examples of what (multiple) ticks look like on a wild rabbit.
Final Thoughts On Can A Rabbit Get Lyme Disease
Your outdoor and indoor rabbits are definitely at risk of contracting Lyme disease simply because they are an ideal host for blacklegged ticks. .
Remember that some of the best preventative measures when it comes to keeping ticks off of your rabbits are easy, including daily grooming and petting of your bunny.
Finally, do not EVER use dog or cat tick guards or collars on your rabbits – they are toxic for rabbits and will harm them!
Not sure if it’s a tick you’re seeing on your bunny? It may be another burrowing pest, like a mite! Read our post on Rabbits With Mites to learn more.