Rabbit medicine is a distinct clinical focus within small-animal practice. Rabbits are lagomorphs, not rodents, and their anatomy, physiology, and disease patterns differ from those of other small mammals. In Singapore, where rabbits are one of the most popular non-traditional pets, this focus has become increasingly visible.
Exotic mammal specialists and vets with a clinical focus in rabbit medicine manage conditions such as dental disease, gastrointestinal stasis, uterine adenocarcinoma, upper respiratory infections, head tilt from encephalitozoonosis or ear disease, and flystrike. Tools of the trade include rabbit-specific anaesthesia protocols, skull radiography for dental assessment, and a careful approach to drug dosing, as many antibiotics safe in other species can be fatal in rabbits.
While most general-practice vets are trained primarily to treat cats and dogs, a rabbit-focused vet is the practitioner who understands why a rabbit with a poor appetite is always an emergency, and why gut motility is the central concern in almost every rabbit case.
Rabbits hide illness exceptionally well, and many conditions progress from subtle to critical in less than a day. For rabbit owners, identifying a rabbit-focused vet before a problem arises is one of the most practical things they can do for their pet.
