Hello and Seeking Advice...

[PATRICKW]

I am the owner of two white mini-lop bunnies, Metoo and Yutoo. Yutoo is almost 3 years old, born on 30 August 2020 and Metoo will be ten years old in October.

But unfortunately Metoo has been losing weight over the past month or so for no reason. Mywife and I are really very, very concerned.
We have always been very careful with the types of food we feed him since his purchase almost ten years ago, at the age of 8 weeks. We mostly feed him oaten hay, Oxbow adult rabbit pellets and some veggies after he became an adult. But over the past month or so he has been losing weight, from his normal1.8 kilos to 1.53 kilos. We took him to the best vets in Sydney, Sydney Exotics and Rabbit Vets in Artarmon (Dr David Vella is best known rabbit specialist in Sydney). They performed urine test, blood test and X-ray on him and found nothing unusual, except probably some arthritis issue in the hind legs. Painkiller was prescribed. His dental check result was also excellent. I gave him a bit more lucerne hay (known as alfafa in North America) but the vets advised against feeding this type of hay to adult rabbits because of the high calcium content and recommended feeding him Oxbow young rabbit pellets to help him put on weight.

I did Google search and read that feeding rolled oats may help rabbits gain weight. I have been doing this for a few weeks but so far have had no success. I have been feeding him Oxbow senior rabbit pellets for the past week or so, besides hay, because I saw this type of Oxbow pellets when I went to the store to buy Oxbow young rabbit pellets.

Metoo is almost as active as before (although he seems to sleep more, probably due to his age) and his appetite is definitely as excellent as before. I wonder if anyone else has encountered the same problem and how it was solved successfully if it was dealt with successfully. Thanks.

 

[Blue eyes]

@JBun

 

[JBun]

Often weight loss in older rabbits will be linked to kidney disease, dental issues, or reduced appetite from heart or other internal issues. But if the blood test came back with normal kidney and liver levels, no sign of cancer or infection from the xrays and blood test, dental was good, and there's absolutely no change or reduction of appetite, then it has to be something else.

Did the vet do a fecal float to check for parasites? And was the heart checked for any abnormalities?

I would stick with the adult or the senior pellets, as they're lower in calcium than the junior pellets and less likely to cause excess calcium issues. If your bun can tolerate having increased pellet amounts without it causing digestive issues, I would increase that amount, as much as can be tolerated without it causing issues.

 

[PATRICKW]

Often weight loss in older rabbits will be linked to kidney disease, dental issues, or reduced appetite from heart or other internal issues. But if the blood test came back with normal kidney and liver levels, no sign of cancer or infection from the xrays and blood test, dental was good, and there's absolutely no change or reduction of appetite, then it has to be something else.

Did the vet do a fecal float to check for parasites? And was the heart checked for any abnormalities?

I would stick with the adult or the senior pellets, as they're lower in calcium than the junior pellets and less likely to cause excess calcium issues. If your bun can tolerate having increased pellet amounts without it causing digestive issues, I would increase that amount, as much as can be tolerated without it causing issues.

Thanks for your reply to my post. No, no fecal float test was done. And the vet did not mention the need for such a test. Yes, I have increased Metoo's pellet (Oxbow pellets for senior rabbits) intake while keeping a close eye on the size of his poo pellets. It seems his weight is steady so far. Thank God.

 

[Harlinbearglitch3]

Often weight loss in older rabbits will be linked to kidney disease, dental issues, or reduced appetite from heart or other internal issues. But if the blood test came back with normal kidney and liver levels, no sign of cancer or infection from the xrays and blood test, dental was good, and there's absolutely no change or reduction of appetite, then it has to be something else.

Did the vet do a fecal float to check for parasites? And was the heart checked for any abnormalities?

I would stick with the adult or the senior pellets, as they're lower in calcium than the junior pellets and less likely to cause excess calcium issues. If your bun can tolerate having increased pellet amounts without it causing digestive issues, I would increase that amount, as much as can be tolerated without it causing issues.

Just got my first bunny only 8 weeks old not sure if it’s a boy or girl yet because it gets scared when I try to check but I named my bunny flopsy because it’s a boy or girl name and has 1 floppy ear the bunny seems calm social and curious and seems to like being held already any ideas what breed the black and white litter mate had 2 floppy ears

 

[JBun]

Just got my first bunny only 8 weeks old not sure if it’s a boy or girl yet because it gets scared when I try to check but I named my bunny flopsy because it’s a boy or girl name and has 1 floppy ear the bunny seems calm social and curious and seems to like being held already any ideas what breed the black and white litter mate had 2 floppy ears

Please start your own thread with your post, as it's unrelated to the OP and topic on this thread. Thanks

https://www.rabbitsonline.net/threads/how-to-post-on-the-forum.92892/