It’s best that you never put a collar on your rabbit. Rabbits are known to have sensitive necks and spines. Therefore, they are prone to injury.
The collar could get caught in something. That could hurt your rabbit’s neck or injure it if it tries to break free.
Therefore, this article discusses why you shouldn’t use various types of collars on rabbits. It also provides alternatives for using specific types of collars.
Why You Should Not Put a Collar on a Rabbit
Injury to your rabbit’s neck or spine is the most important reason to avoid putting on a collar on them.
Neck Injury or a Broken Neck
It’s important to elaborate on this point, as a collar can be fatal to your pet. Rabbits are prey animals. Therefore, they react quickly to any sudden noises.
So, your rabbit could react by turning its head around. If the collar gets stuck in any object, it will immediately pull on the animal’s neck.
As a result, it may have a severe neck injury, or its neck may break. In either case, your pet’s life will be at great risk.
A neck injury could harm its ability to move around, and it may lead to death.
A Risk of Strangulation
In addition to injury, there’s a significant risk of strangulation. If your rabbit’s collar gets caught in something and it pushes forward, it could strangle itself.
Typically, with larger animals, such as cats or dogs, breakaway collars are used to prevent strangulation. These collars are designed to function like regular collars.
However, they snap open if the collar gets caught onto something. The process is automatic, so you don’t need to worry about opening it.
That said, a breakaway collar is still not appropriate for rabbits. This is because it needs enough force to open the collar.
In addition to that, the mechanism that opens the collar can get damaged or dirty.
As a result, there’s a risk that the collar may not open as readily or may not open at all. Thus, the collar will be of no benefit.
It Can Cause Your Rabbit to Panic
It is highly unlikely that your pet rabbit will find a collar comfortable. Therefore, it will keep trying to remove it from its neck. As a result, its foot or mouth may get stuck in the collar.
Your rabbit is likely to feel panic at that moment. This is especially true if you’re not around to help it. Stress and fear can be damaging for rabbits.
In some cases, high levels of fear and anxiety may trigger a heart attack. As a result, they may die. In addition to the panic it may experience, it may also injure itself.
Incurring an injury when you’re not around is doubly dangerous. This is because you won’t be able to rush it to the vet immediately for treatment.
Putting the Collar on Can Also Harm Your Rabbit
There’s also a good chance that your rabbit will get stressed out when you try to put the collar on. This is especially the case for rabbits that don’t like to be handled.
Considering it may not like the feeling of a collar, it may struggle as you put it on. Its struggling and squirming can result in spinal injury.
This is typically a risk even when handling certain rabbits. In this case, it’s worse because you’re trying to put something on your rabbit’s neck.
Collars May Cause Your Rabbit to Fear You
As prey animals, rabbits are not forthcoming to touching or handling. So, you may teach your rabbit to fear you if you try to force a collar on it.
As a result, you will ruin the ability to share a meaningful bond with your pet. In addition to that, your pet will be in a constant state of stress and anxiety.
That can be dangerous to its physical health, as mentioned above.
Collars Can Lead to Skin Infections
Collars can also harm rabbits’ skin and fur. Collars can be fairly tight around the animal’s neck. Thus, the fur in that area may start to fall off, and it may suffer from abrasions on its skin.
If that happens to your pet rabbit, it can develop skin infections.
These infections can compromise your pet’s health, especially if you don’t notice and treat them immediately.
What to Keep in Mind if You Still Want to Put a Collar on Your Rabbit?
While it is highly not recommended that you put a collar on your rabbit, you could still take this unnecessary risk. If you do try to put on a collar, keep the following in mind.
Use the Safest Possible Collar
The safest possible collar you can use on a rabbit is a kitten’s breakaway collar.
These ones are designed to snap open with minimal force. Therefore, it will pose less of a risk to your pet.
Limit Your Rabbit’s Outdoor Playtime to Spaces Where It Is Most Likely Won’t Be Startled
Preventing your rabbit from getting startled is an impossible task.
However, you can limit its playtime to spaces where it will feel safe at most times. A caged portion of your backyard is a good example.
Being in a safe space will reduce the chances your pet gets startled. So, there’s less risk of its immediate movements causing itself harm if the collar gets stuck.
Only Put the Collar On During Specific Periods
If you really must put a collar on your rabbit, try to do it only for short periods.
For example, put it on only when you need to take it somewhere where you use the collar as a means of identification.
Supervise Every Moment Your Rabbit Has
You should always monitor your rabbit when it has its collar on. This way, you can immediately help it if the collar gets stuck on something.
However, don’t run toward your rabbit. You may frighten it, which may make it pull on the collar even more.
In addition to that, you can also stop your rabbit from trying to remove the collar. Also, remove the collar if your rabbit is clearly in discomfort.
Make Sure the Collar Fits Well
Your rabbit’s collar should not be loose. Your pet can easily fit its mouth or foot in that space to remove it then.
Its attempts at removing the collar will do more harm than good. That said, make sure that the collar is not too tight as it may harm its skin.
What to Know About Using Different Types of Collars
There are two types of collars that you may want to consider for your rabbit. One is a GPS collar. It helps triangulate your pet’s position.
This device can be useful if you’re afraid your rabbit will escape.
Another type of collar is a flea collar. A flea collar is designed to repel fleas or kill them. So, here’s what you can do to remove the need for such collars.
What to Do to Eliminate the Need for a GPS Collar
Instead of investing in a GPS collar, invest in making your rabbit’s hutch more secure. Also, if you allow outdoors playtime, pick a spot where it is difficult to escape.
Your backyard is a good option. However, you will need to make it more secure. For example, you may need to use a caged space to prevent it from running away.
In addition to that, rabbits tend to dig holes a lot. So, it may dig a hole under your fence and escape. Thus, it’s best to use a sandbox to allow it to play and dig.
In that case, it can still dig but won’t be able to escape. If your rabbit cannot escape from your home, there’s no need to have it wear a GPS collar.
Why You Don’t Need a Flea Collar for Your Rabbit
Rabbits are less likely to get fleas than cats or dogs. Thus, you don’t need to worry about a flea problem.
Moreover, if it does catch fleas, take it to the veterinarian. They will provide a suitable treatment to deal with the issue.
Last Few Words
There is no important reason to put a collar on a rabbit. There’s a high chance that it can injure your pet or even takes its life away.
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