The rabies virus is very dangerous and can infect any mammal including rabbits. Understanding how to prevent the virus and protect your rabbits from the virus is very important. Additionally, you should know the signs and symptoms that your rabbit may exhibit if it gets infected!
If you’ve ever wondered, “Can Rabbits Have Rabies?” or “Can Rabbits Be Rabid?”
Yes, rabbits can have rabies and rabbits can get rabies. There is not a rabies vaccine for rabbits so once a rabbit has the rabies virus, it will die.
We repeat: the rabies virus is fatal for rabbits! And rabbits can pass on the rabies virus to humans and other animals.
How To Tell If A Rabbit Has Rabies
There are many complex ways to detect and confirm rabies in the laboratory. Detecting and confirming rabies on our hobby farms is a bit harder to do.
Rabbits infected with rabies show signs such as:
- anorexia,
- fever,
- restlessness,
- weight loss,
- teeth grinding,
- head tremors,
- poor coordination of the hind limbs,
- ascending paralysis.
The affected rabbit usually dies within 3–4 days.
How Rabbit Get Rabies Virus
If your rabbit gets bitten by an animal with rabies, then your rabbit will most likely contract rabies and die. There is no rabies vaccine for rabbits.
Some rabbit owners stress the need for hutches and cages with solid bottoms or floors vice wire mesh. They feel that the solid floor provides more protection for rabbits against pesky intruders and predators such as foxes, coyotes, and racoons.
Each of these pesky intruders and predators may carry rabies and if they nip your rabbit, then your rabbit will contract the virus and die.
If your rabbit is bitten by an animal that you think may have rabies, then consult your veterinarian immediately. If possible, the offending animal should be confined and observed in order to rule out rabies.
The incubation period in rabbits is 2 to 3 weeks, meaning a rabbit may not show symptoms for 2 or 3 weeks after being infected with the rabies virus.
However, once the symptoms begin, they will usually progress rapidly to paralytic rabies. The rabbit will die in 3 or 4 days of exhibiting symptoms.
More Detail: Rabbit Rabies
Most often animals spread the vaccine by fighting and biting. When the infected saliva of one animal mixes with the blood of another animal, the virus is transmitted from the saliva to the blood.
Rabies Virus is transmitted by contact with the saliva of an infected animal. Contract with the infected animal’s brain or nervous system tissue can also transmit the virus.
“Contact” is usually by broken skin, as in a bite from an infected animal. The infected saliva mixes with the blood of the animal that was bitten and the virus is transmitted.
But the virus may also be transmitted in the animals saliva with no need for a bite or broken skin. Infected saliva that gets on an open scratch or scrap may also cause rabies.
Merely petting a rabid animal will not transmit the virus. Further, contact with the blood, urine, or feces of an infected animal will not cause transmission.
As the saliva dries up it becomes non-infectious. So, sunlight and drying up the infected saliva help the virus become non-infectious.
How To Prevent Rabbit Rabies
Keeping your rabbits away from the local wildlife that may be carrying the rabies virus is probably the best way to prevent your bunnies from contracting rabies.
Again, local wildlife such as foxes, coyotes, racoons, and feral cats are the typical carriers of the rabies virus that are a risk to your rabbits.
Some rabbit owners stress the need for hutches and cages with solid bottoms or floors vice wire mesh. They feel that the solid floor provides more protection for rabbits against pesky intruders and predators such as foxes, coyotes, raccoons and feral cats.
Ensuring that your hobby farm and homestead bunnies are safe from the rabies virus means ensuring that the local predators can not get their mouths on your rabbits.
Hutches and cages need to be well built.
Additionally, we encourage a solid bottom and some solid walls for a portion of the rabbit’s hutch.
A “hiding box”, similar to a nesting box, will suffice. This allows your rabbit a refuge from a local predator that finds the hutch and decides to linger.
A lingering predator will stress your rabbits, but if the rabbits can hide in a sheltered part of their hutch, then they will feel more secure and less stressed.
Additionally, as they hide in the portion of solid floor and solid walls, they will not get nipped by the predator and risk contracting the rabies virus.
Background Regarding Rabies and Rabbits
The rabies virus or disease has existed for over 5,000 years. Rabies remains a concern in developing nations, particularly in Asia and Africa, where vaccination of dogs in not mandated. While the majority of the rabies problem is due to dogs not being vaccinated, rats, bats and cats can also have and spread the rabies disease.
Rabies vaccinations exist for dogs, cats and ferrets. Dogs and cats are common family pets in the United States and around the world.
In the 1940 and 1950s the United States implemented mandatory vaccination of pet dogs and cats. This policy greatly reduced the instances of rabies in the United States.
Now various rabies strains exist almost exclusively in small wild animals. As such, now the common carriers for rabies include racoons, foxes, coyotes, skunks and rabbits.
For good reason, it is law in the United States that all dogs and cats must be vaccinated for rabies. Your veterinarian administers the rabies vaccination to your pet dog or cat either annually or triennially, depending on the vaccine used.
Although there is no rabies vaccine for rabbits, rabbits were used by Dr. Louis Pasteur when he created the first vaccine for rabies.
Frequently Asked Questions About Can Bunnies Have Rabies
Can A Rabbit Bite Cause Rabies?
Yes, if the rabbit is infected with the rabies virus that the bite can transmit the rabies virus.
Can Rabbits Give You Rabies?
Yes, a rabid rabbit can give you rabies. If the rabid rabbit bites you, breaking the skin, then you will likely contract rabies. If bitten by a rabid rabbit, then you should immediately seek professional medical advice.
Can Wild Rabbits Have Rabies?
Yes, wild rabbits can carry rabies. Rabies in wild rabbits is not prevalent but it can and does happen.
Do You Need A Rabies Shot If A Bunny Bites You?
You do need to call your doctor if a rabid bunny bites you. You will probably need to go through the rabies protocol so that you don’t get sick with the rabies virus.
Do Rabies Bites Look Infected?
Truth is most animals bites (whether rabid or not) will quickly become infected and therefore look infected. The bite of a rabid animals does not necessarily look any more or less infected than the bite of a non rabid animal.
Final Thoughts On Can Rabbits Have Rabies
Rabbits can have rabies.
A bite from a rabid rabbit can, probably will, cause rabies.
There is no rabies vaccination for rabbits.
A rabid rabbit will die.
Your hobby farm and homestead rabbits may contract rabies if a local rabid fox, feral cat, racoon, etc is able to reach them and nip at them, breaking the skin.
Hutches must be well built and we recommend including a “hiding box” in the hutch. A solid floor and walls of the hiding box allow the rabbit to hide and feel more secure if a local predator is lingering near the hutch.