possible reasons for apparent weight loss...

[mummybunny]

Hi all,

I am a bit concerned that Miffy is/has lost weight - she's always been a big girl - if overweight, but I can now quite clearly feel her spine bone and hip bones - I heard somewhere that lops' skin sags as they get older, hence their backbone being more prominent, but could there be another reason? She does 'houch' over when she sits. She is now 4 and a half, eating/pooing/peeing/behaving totally normally. Am I being a paranoid bunny mum?...I'm just sure she's lighter!!

mummybunny

 

[HoneyPot]

How fast did she lose the weight? Have you ever had her poop checked at the vet for parasites?

_____________
Nadia

 

[mummybunny]

I've been thinking it's over a couple of months. She's a house bunny though and doesn't go outside, we also have Munchkin, a male and he's fine too- so parasites are unlikely.

 

[naturestee]

Is she eating normally? Is it possible that she's been eating slightly less or avoiding certain things like hard veggies that she used to love? That might show a tooth problem, probably with the molars.

It would also be a good idea to have a blood test done to check her kidney and liver values. There might be something going on that you couldn't see any other way.

 

[tamsin]

If she's been to the vets before they may have a weight recorded for her that you can use to compare her current weight with. Either way I'd recommend you start weighing her weekly/fortnightly and keep an eye on how that changes.

Tamsin

 

[HoneyPot]

Both my buns are indoor as well and somehow one of them got pinworms and coccidia. Check for worms in the poop - they can eat and eat and still loose weight with worms.

________
Nadia

 

[mummybunny]

No worms evident in poos, thank goodness! I wonder if the stroid injections given for her dewlap chewing (see other post on Miffy chewing her dewlap) can cause weight loss ? Any ideas?

thanks

mummybunny

 

[mummybunny]

Got an appointment for the vet on Saturday morning...will let you know what happens...

am really quite worried

mummybunny

 

[naturestee]

ray:

 

[mummybunny]

OK, I'm REALLY worried now.

She was 2.7kg in Feb when she had her dewlap operation....and now she's 2kg - that's 7kg weight loss = 25% body weight loss. Sh*t.

Vet did routine examination - didn't feel anything out of the ordinary thank goodness so no tumours etc.

He's referred her to the vet hospital for blood analysis - he's going to phone them Monday and call me then too. She'll have to get tests done to find out why so much loss - I'm sooooooo worried about by bun bun.

She's acting normally and eating/drinking/pooing/peeing fine thank goodness though - I don't understand it! I wish we'd taken her sooner, but she has had a marked difference in the 2 weeks we were away on holiday.

Please advise - anyone got any ideas - no matter how scary - the vet didn't indicate ANYTHING.

mummybunny

 

[mummybunny]

bump

 

[naturestee]

Oh, poor Miffy!

I don't think the vet could have done anything without blood test results. That's usually one of the most important things to do in cases like this. So till you get the tests done and the results back, there's really not much to be done.

At least she's eating/pottying normally. That's really important.

 

[mummybunny]

We have an appointment for the vet hospital on Thursday afternoon - I'll let you know what happens...

mummybunny

 

[JimD]

ray:

 

[JimD]

Hi mummybunny!

Just a thought....
Some bunnies have a problem retaining weight as they mature. I've heard that adding alfalfa to their diets can help. Alfalfa hay and alfalfa-based pellets are generally given to up to 6 months and then switched over to timothy. Adding the alfalfa back into the mature bunnie's diet can sometimes help them put on healthy weight and keep it.

 

[m.e.]

Poor Miffy! And poor you

Jim made a great point about older rabbits and keeping weight on.

Please keep up posted ray:

 

[mummybunny]

Is 4 and a half classed as an older rabbit? I thought it was 7 year olds and over?

Thank you for your info, I had not heard that before.

mummybunny

 

[JimD]

mummybunny wrote:

Is 4 and a half classed as an older rabbit? I thought it was 7 year olds and over?

Thank you for your info, I had not heard that before.

mummybunny

Miffy's not old....just mature

The truth is...... I would also be worried about an underlying issue that would be causing the weight loss, too.

My hopes are that she just needs a dietary adjustment.

 

[mummybunny]

Update - took her to the vet hospital today and THEY KEPT HER IN!!! She's going to get an anaesthetic so they can xray her teeth and jaws, blood tests and a stomach scan (she'll have to get her tummy shaved).

My poor baby

Munchkin keeps wondering where she is

They'll keep her in tomorrow night too, as they like to keep them for 24hrs after an anaesthetic to ensure they're guts are working okay etc.

Horrible part was consent form and her asking if 'she dies under anaesthetic, would I consent to a post mortem?'

Please pray that she makes it through all her tests okay and they don't find anything too sinister, ie, something we can treat okay.

thank you, missing miffy

mummybunny

 

[cheryl]

Aww poor little Miffy,having to spend time away from home,i'm sending her lots of "come on Miffy" vibes,i'm sure she will be ok,and she will be there waiting for her mummy tocome and bring her home



big hugs for a worrying bunnymummy:hug1



cheryl