Ned's lost weight and his appetite

[SnowyShiloh]

I'm quite concerned about Ned. For background, he's at least 3 years old but we don't know how old he is for sure because he came from the animal shelter as an adult. He was healthy his entire life with us until he came down with head tilt this past summer, here's his thread. Thankfully he recovered with no lasting effects, but now he has me worried!

About a week ago I noticed that he was starting to lose a little weight. He was still eating normally and I thought maybe it was because he was getting a little older so simply increased his food in the hopes it would help him plump up again. All seemed to be going well in that regard, but when I went to feed him his breakfast just now, much of his pellets from last night are still in his bowl! He proceeded to get excited about his food and is eating some now but not as voraciously as usual. That is so, so VERY unlike him. Heck, even when he was in the throes of head tilt and couldn't walk straight, he still freaked out over food. Weight loss is often a concern with head tilt bunnies but he didn't drop a single ounce the entire time. So the fact that he's lost some weight and seems to have a suppressed appetite now is setting off major alarm bells. I'm all set to call the vet here when they open in another hour and make him an appointment.

Other than the weight loss and appetite thing, he seems pretty normal. Drinking, pooping, peeing, etc. A few days ago he seemed a little clumsier than usual (he's a clumsy bunny) but it didn't last long. If anyone remembers, our dear Skyler died from E. Cuniculi a year and a half ago and it first presented with a white thing in his eye so of course we checked Ned's eyes but they're clear, thank goodness.

We try to keep his life very stable because we don't want him to get head tilt again. The only thing that has changed for him is his food, but we gradually switched them over to a new pellet about 3 months ago and no one, including him, has shown any negative symptoms.

Any ideas of what in the world could be the problem?

 

[Jenk]

What amount of weight has Ned lost? Was this loss definitely within a week's time--or might it have been occurring over a greater length of time? And has anything else about Ned changed recently--e.g., increased hay consumption, increased urine output, anything?

As you know, my Pinkerton--at about 3.5 years of age--is showing similar symptoms, though he's not slowed on his food consumption. But he's been less active most evenings, and his hay/water consumption have increased some days. (I'm talking about his consumption approximately doubling.)


Jenk

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Bad bunny mom alert: I'm not sure how much he's lost. The vet weighed him at his last visit though so if we take him in, we will know! Our scale is depressingly inaccurate. I first noticed he was losing weight a week and a half ago (went back to think on the exact amount of time some more) and it seems to have equalized but obviously if he won't eat a lot now, he won't gain weight!

Appetite aside, he seems normal.

 

[Jenk]

SnowyShiloh wrote:

Bad bunny mom alert: I'm not sure how much he's lost. The vet weighed him at his last visit though so if we take him in, we will know! Our scale is depressingly inaccurate. I first noticed he was losing weight a week and a half ago (went back to think on the exact amount of time some more) and it seems to have equalized but obviously if he won't eat a lot now, he won't gain weight!

A part of me wants to recommend blood work, but I've had such bad luck with it, myself. I'm not saying that I want to find something wrong with my bun crew. But we've spent far too much money on blood work in the past--per vets' suggestion--that has indicated everything is normal. Considering how badly blood work can fail to indicate an existing rabbit issue, "normal" results aren't always comforting. It seems like a Catch-22.

You've just reminded me that I want to get a good scale for weighing our pets. The problem is that vet bills always seem to impede me from doing so. Plus, most online reviews for pet and baby scales are all over the place, which doesn't inspire a vote of confidence in such products.

Appetite aside, he seems normal.

Is it possible that, like Rory, he's having a digestive slowdown issue that could be controlled with increased wet, leafy greens? (Is it just his pellets that he's slower at eating now?)

 

[SnowyShiloh]

I'm not a vet or anything, but I don't think it's the same as what Rory gets sometimes. For Rory, a symptom of something being wrong is he GAINS weight. Nedder has been eating normally until very recently (as in since he didn't finish all of his pellets during the night) so it's too soon to say how he feels about other types of food. I refilled his hay when I gave him pellets and he's munched on it a little. He's also had a drink of water.

At this point I'm far from panicked but am of course alarmed. The vet opens in 15 minutes and I will call and schedule an appointment then. Why do things have to happen on a weekend that is also a holiday?!

 

[gmas rabbit]

Shiloh - hang in there. I will pray for you and Ned

 

[Jenk]

SnowyShiloh wrote:

Why do things have to happen on a weekend that is also a holiday?!

That is an excellent question that I've posed to myself many times. *sigh* It seems to be a part of Murphy's Law.

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Wow, we actually got an appointment! The soonest they could see us is tomorrow at 4. His regular vet is on vacation until the middle of January unfortunately but the back up vet has some knowledge of bunnies at least. This isn't the vet that killed one of our baby birds and misdiagnosed our other bunnies multiple times, thank goodness. Also I'm out of lactated ringers and they're going to get some stuff ready for me so I can give sub q fluids if necessary, Paul will pick it up during his lunch break. Ned probably won't need it but it's good to have on hand!

 

[Nancy McClelland]

ray:

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Our little Neddie has finished all of his food (breakfast and the leftover pellets from last night) and pooped in his litter box!

 

[naturestee]

Teeth would be my first guess. Make sure the vet takes a good look at them, and possibly takes an xray to check his tooth roots. I'm glad you got an appointment. As long as he's kept hydrated and eats and poops at least some, he should be fine till his appointment tomorrow.

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Naturestee, great idea! I'm not sure why I didn't think of teeth. I'll definitely mention it to the vet. Hopefully she knows enough about bunnies to know if his teeth are wonky but I'm skeptical.

 

[naturestee]

She should be able to notice molar spurs if they're not super tiny. My vet often gives me a look through the scope at my rabbits teeth and describes what she sees so I can see it too. While some rabbits will be set off by incredibly tiny spurs, most don't have issues until the spurs are pretty noticeable or even lacerating the cheek or tongue. If your vet has a video scope, all the better.

Teeth are always my first guess for this sort of problem because dental problems are so common. I think Loki (dutch) was around 4 when he first started having problems with spurs, and Mocha (dwarf) was probably around the same age. I'd have to go through my vet records to check for sure.

Oh, and overgrown molars sometimes mean overgrown molar roots too, hence the xray. That seems to increase the amount of pain a bun has when his teeth are uneven.

 

[SnowyShiloh]

I've had 9 bun buns over the years and never dealt with teeth so that's why it wasn't the first thing I thought of! I'm sure with more time it would have occurred to me though.

I know bad teeth can be really tough to deal with but I'd prefer molar spurs over something like bunny cancer or him wasting away or the dreaded EC.

But would molar spurs cause a rabbit to lose weight? I understand that they could make one not want to eat, but he's eaten all of his food up until last night (then he ate it today) and still lost weight.

 

[SnowyShiloh]

We're back from the vet's! Ned developed something odd this morning. His tummy was very full but his lower abdomen felt normal. The vet was concerned about this and did an x-ray. The x-ray showed all of his organs looking fine and his intestines were normal but his stomach had lots of food in it. She is of the opinion that Ned has a hair ball in his stomach and it was building up slowly over the past week and a half and somehow stopping his body from absorbing the nutrients from his food. I am skeptical of this- Ned has never had any kind of stasis issues and he isn't shedding at all, his last molt was months ago. Basically, we're going to give him lots of greens and we picked up some fresh pineapple and he'll get lots of exercise. I am still quite confused about what's going on with him because like I said, the full stomach is brand new as of today and he's very bony otherwise. The vet didn't want to do bloodwork at this time.

Ned himself is back to eating. Not with his normal voracity and it's taking him longer but he's eating. I can tell he doesn't feel good because of how he acts- he's clumsier and less active and not as bright eyed.

Thoughts and opinions? :?

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Maybe I should clarify- Ned isn't acting deathly ill. He still hops around and explores when he's out of his cage and stuff but I can tell he doesn't feel as good. Someone who didn't know him (and even my husband) probably couldn't tell. His head is also drifting to the side more like when he had the ear infection. I don't really think he's getting an ear infection again (though the vet did look in his ears), the slight head turn just shows up when he's tired or relaxed sometimes and it's been happening more lately. Know what I mean? I will certainly keep an eye on him for signs of another ear infection though since I could see it returning if he's sick with something else!

 

[TinysMom]

I've had head tilt bunnies show signs (even after recovery) when they get tired or if the weather changes, etc.

So what did the vet recommend since she felt he had a hairball? More fluids to get it to pass?

The first thing I thought of was teeth and whenever that happens - try the treat test with something soft. If he'll take that but not the pellets - I tend to think of teeth first thing.

You're an awesome bunny mama. I love the fact how you keep an eye on your bunnies but you aren't always rushing to the vet and waiting a bit to see if things resolve themselves. I think thats better than running to the vet all the time for the bunnies.

Here's hoping for a happy and healthy new year at your place.

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Aw, Peg, thanks for the comment. It means a lot coming from you!

The vet pretty much zoned in on the stomach issue. In all honesty, I wouldn't be surprised if he passed all that food fairly quickly because it just popped up today. She did look at his front teeth and thought they looked fine but did not want to do an x-ray on his jaw because she thinks the problem is in his stomach. Like I've mentioned before, she is not a rabbit vet (though she does know some about them) and I question whether or not she'd know what she was looking at if a dental x-ray was done.

To treat him she wanted to give him metoclopramide but we aren't doing that because I know it can be harmful and I feel he can pass it on his own. She also suggested subcutaneous fluids and I picked up supplies (I needed more!) but he's drinking like a champ so I don't want to stress him and his body (and risk a skin infection like what happened with Rory when the vet unnecessarily gave him fluids one day when I was not there). So to treat the stomach thing Neddie will just be getting his normal food, hay, lettuce and greens and pineapple. If it turns out a hairball was the problem, hopefully this will help clear him out completely and he can go back to normal. If not, at least his regular vet should be back in town soon and we can see her!

 

[LakeCondo]

Maybe it was just a matter of all the food in his stomach because he ate too fast. Maybe you could try smaller,more frequent servings for a little bit.

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

Though I don't have tons to add to the thread just thought I'd say I'm praying for Ned!
By the way, he's so adorable {Just thought I'd mention that from pics in his previous head tilt thread}