|
Rabbit false pregnancy or pseudopregnancy written by Dr Colt Ma Any.Mo Veterinary Hospital Cases- Female rabbits can be affected by the ovarian hormone (progesterone) that the body acts as if it is pregnant but there is in fact no pregnancy. Some female rabbits may find it stressful going through the nest building, lactation, protection of the territory for the youngs. They can turn aggressive to their cage mates and owners, making them difficult to handle during false pregnancy. They may also show a decreased appetite and have gastrointestinal disturbances. Fur plucking over the dewlap and ventral abdomen are associated with false pregnancy which lasts around 18 days. Stressful episodes, for examples, transportation, fighting, travelling, isolating etc. can cause ovulation and false pregnancy. Another common trigger is mounted by a castrated or female rabbit while establishing dominance. Maternal behaviour and loosening of the dewlap hair cause them to collect hay, straw, paper in their mouths and carry to the nest site such as next box. Some does interweave their dewlap fur with hay or straw. Mammary gland enlargement and abdominal distension are also seen with false pregnancy. Sometimes, owners report there is milk produced when they massage their rabbit mammary tissues. The nipples are prominent as if they are lactating for the newborns. Normally, once the hormonal cycle stops, the mammary engorgement regresses. Clinically, I can palpate a thickened uterus as it is progesterone primed and no obvious foetal development in the abdomen. Although this condition is self-limiting, surgical spay is recommended as repeated false pregnancy can lead to such problems as hydrometra, pyometra, mucometra and mastitis. And older female rabbits are prone to uterine adenocarcinoma. After surgery, some female rabbits may still produce milk for a short while as there is still prolactin circulating. In order to rule out actual pregnancy, owners need to recall the possibility of any entire male rabbits have come into contact with their female rabbits recently. Second, in the veterinary hospital, imagings such as abdominal radiography and ultrasonography are utilized. If the foetuses are mature enough, their skeleton is mineralized and shown radiographically. The latest case of pseudopregnancy was an abandoned rabbit presented by the Hong Kong Rabbit Society about 2 months ago. Since previous owner did not give a thorough history to HKRS, I had to go through all the diagnostics mentioned above to rule out true pregnancy. On physical examination, that rabbit had a very prominent dewlap over its neck, mammary gland and nipple enlargement, hair plucking signs. I could not feel any foetuses in the uterus and the imaging study showed no calcified foetal skeleton. Finally, that rabbit was taken to surgery to remove the uterus and ovaries. If you note any maternal behaviour of your rabbit as abovementioned, it is worth taking your little one to a rabbit veterinarian for a thorough check up and planning for surgery to prevent aging reproductive medical problems. |
