Cecal dysbiosis in rabbits causes serious and potentially fatal digestive disease that is largely preventable through appropriate diet and stress management.
Cecal dysbiosis causes some of the most acute and rapidly fatal welfare events in pet rabbits. Clostridial enterotoxemia from dysbiosis can kill rabbits within hours of symptom onset. Young rabbits in the critical weaning-to-6-month period are particularly vulnerable as their cecal microbiome is still establishing. The most important preventive welfare intervention is appropriate diet: hay-based feeding that provides the fiber substrate for beneficial cecal bacteria outcompetes pathogenic organisms and maintains normal gut motility. Avoidance of oral antibiotics without careful veterinary guidance is critical - several antibiotic classes catastrophically disrupt rabbit cecal flora and should never be administered without specialist consultation.