Harley - vet visit update

[gmas rabbit]

Well he doesn't have any joint problems. Xrays were all normal. They have decided that he has injured a ligament or has weak ligaments in his knees from being confined or from doing the frog walk on Lauri's hardwood floors when he was out of shape. He is confined to a small 4 x 6 area for awhile, nothing to walk on except good carpet. Our throw carpet is even too slippery so have coarse throw rugs for him. At first they thought that he had blown the joint in his hip and it won't stay put but the xrays show that all the joints are fine. So he needs to convialance for awhile and do small areas of exercise, some joint excerises in a sink of warm water and in general get a lot stronger. ray:I was so scared they were going to say his joints were blown and we had to put him down. Thank goodness that is not the case. He will always have some leg problems, arthritis etc as he gets older, but who know maybe not. Too little for anti inflamitories and pain meds so will have to put up with me just holding him and rocking him
Other note of interest. There were 2 rabbits in the vet with bladder sludge. Kale, spinach bigger offenders according to the vet. If you are feeding your rabbit lots of Kale maybe rethink their diet. Also do not want any small rabbit or large rabbit of alfalfa hay, just timothy from the start but okay to give alfalfa pellets until about 5-6 months. Interesting

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Oh no, poor Harley! And so soon after Benjamin's death and so soon after you brought Harley home. I hope he gets better!

 

[ZRabbits]

gmas rabbit wrote:

Well he doesn't have any joint problems. Xrays were all normal. They have decided that he has injured a ligament or has weak ligaments in his knees from being confined or from doing the frog walk on Lauri's hardwood floors when he was out of shape. He is confined to a small 4 x 6 area for awhile, nothing to walk on except good carpet. Our throw carpet is even too slippery so have coarse throw rugs for him. At first they thought that he had blown the joint in his hip and it won't stay put but the xrays show that all the joints are fine. So he needs to convialance for awhile and do small areas of exercise, some joint excerises in a sink of warm water and in general get a lot stronger. ray:I was so scared they were going to say his joints were blown and we had to put him down. Thank goodness that is not the case. He will always have some leg problems, arthritis etc as he gets older, but who know maybe not. Too little for anti inflamitories and pain meds so will have to put up with me just holding him and rocking him
Other note of interest. There were 2 rabbits in the vet with bladder sludge. Kale, spinach bigger offenders according to the vet. If you are feeding your rabbit lots of Kale maybe rethink their diet. Also do not want any small rabbit or large rabbit of alfalfa hay, just timothy from the start but okay to give alfalfa pellets until about 5-6 months. Interesting

Such Great New! So glad to hear that a little R&R and lots of TLC from you will get him back to hopping around. Plus you know what to expect when he gets older.

Interesting about the alfalfa pellets, lol, here in the United States many use alfalfa pellets and timothy hay combination. I'm kind of like an outlaw, lol, I thought to myself, why start a rabbit on a pellet that Vets in the United States said rabbits must be wean off of at 7-8 months and started on timothy pellets. I asked my Rabbits Vet, and he said "try it my way". Did the Timothy pellets and Alfalfa hay, weaned them off the Alfalfa hay at 4 months to Timothy hay. No problems so far. But I'll let everyone know about how it's working out in my journal.

And regarding the kale and spinach, don't do a lot of greens. Read that would cause what you referred to. It's good in small quantities. That's what my Rabbit Vet says in the United States.

Truly appreciate you bringing it up, it's interesting to me what others do, not just here in the United States. I like to be a free thinker. Gets me in trouble lol, but hey I learn a lot.

Please keep us posted how Harley is doing. Wishing him all the luck.

K

 

[MiniLopHop]

*snuggles for Harley* I'm glad he's going to be ok. It might even be a good bonding opportunity for the two of you.

I think as far as vegetables go, Kale and spinach should be limited, but greens in general are great. I try to feed a veriety so no one nutrient gets over dosed. Parsley and Cilantro are basics at our house though, the buns can't get enough of thoes.

 

[JimD]

Sending prayers and good thought your way!!!

ray:



gmas rabbit wrote:

Other note of interest. There were 2 rabbits in the vet with bladder sludge. Kale, spinach bigger offenders according to the vet. If you are feeding your rabbit lots of Kale maybe rethink their diet. Also do not want any small rabbit or large rabbit of alfalfa hay, just timothy from the start but okay to give alfalfa pellets until about 5-6 months. Interesting

I've always avoided anything with a higher calcium content as far as veggies go.
My buns get mainly romaine, and occasionally some parsley.

As for pellets, I've been giving my buns alfalfa-basedPurina Complete (green bag) for YEARS with no adverse effects. Benji's been getting them for almost 8 years now.
I used Kaytee Timothy Complete for a while, but the quality was so inconsistent that I switched back.

The difference in calcium content between the two pellets isn't really that significant.
Purina @ 1.1% max....Kaytee @ 0.8% max.

Rabbits need vitamin D to assist in metabolizing calcium. The best source is direct sunlight.
A lot of owners that have rabbits that get limited sunlight will use full spectrum lighting thatconsists of fluorescent tubes which imitate natural sunlight.

In addition, most feeds have a vitamin D supplement to assist in processing calcium.

 

[MiniLopHop]

Good thing we have started walking in the park, now they will get more D

Yeah, that's why I take the cuties to the park....

 

[gmas rabbit]

We night one of being confined to a 3 x 6 area and he did just fine, didn't seem overly stressed. Gave him lots of snuggles during night, he was not chattering as much from the pain. Vet says rule of thumb is if the leg goes straight out like a spay leg it is joint damage, straight up the side it is usually ligament or soft tissue stress. His is straight up the side and his joint on his foot locks up. Glad the xrays showed no fractures or joint malformation. If he cannot do marathons we will just live with his limitations, but don't want him in pain. He made quite an impression at the vets, kissed and licked all the vet techs that worked with him, hardly seen his cage or feet while he was there. One day at a time.

 

[MiniLopHop]

Harley is going to be a local celebrity! He is so cute and sweet it's impossible not to fall in love with him. It must be a relief that the joints are ok. Makes me want to kick the breeder in the shins though for letting him on the slippery floors. ray:

 

[LakeCondo]

The difference in calcium content between the two pellets isn't really that significant.
Purina @ 1.1% max....Kaytee @ 0.8% max.

Actually, this is a 37.5% difference. 1.1/0.8=1.375

But of course neither is high compared with carrot tops or some such.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

ray: