Sick Rabbit Possible?

[Lucy123]

Hello to whoever is able to give advice!



- Location

My rabbit Lucy lives in my room.

- Description (Breed, color., weight)

Dwarf Mix/ and unfortunatley from the store as I did not know any better. She was sold to me at three weeks old...

- Age
2 years old.
- spayed/neutered?
Spayed
- Notes on Fecal and Urinary Output
- are the bunny's poops and pees normal? In the two years Iv'e had her she has had diarreha twice, it was a smallamount and she left it on the carpet. The second time she had it was not to long ago also.
- When did they last use their litterbox? Very recent.
- Any unusual behavior? No.

- Medical History -- has s/he been to the vet or been sick before? Lucy had GI stasis once, after couple months of having her.

- Diet - what does your bunny eat? Free feed Sweet Meadows Farm Timothy First Cut Hay/ 1/3 cup Sweet meadows Timothy Pellets daily/ fresh water/and she dislikes all veggies.
- when and what did s/he eat last? Hay/Pellets

- movement - any unusual movements? Yes, but it is hard to describe it. Every now and then, I will see her squirming her body in a wierd position.Iv'e never seen my other rabbits do that, she just willbe squirming her body and bottom like maybe her stomach or bladder is having an issue?
- are there any plants, chocolate or other substances within reach? No completely bunny proof room.

- has the rabbit been outdoors? Never.

So my concern is this.... Lucywas a single rabbit untill I adopted Trig to bond with her approximatley 4 months ago.So Trig has been livingnext to her cage in my room. They are still in the process of bonding. Previously she had my whole room to roam and run when she pleased as she is potty trained well. So for the past 4 months she been cooped up in her cage (5 1/2 ft. long by 20in wide) so she's not suffering but anyway..... Iv'e noticed that she is bonier then normal, and just recently losing hair on the tip of her ears. She is eating normally, but I do not know if she is healthy enough to continue bonding. I know bonding is stressful for rabbits, so maybe I should stop bonding? I feel like maybe this is to much for her : (



Anyway I'm going to take her to the vet tomarrow and see what they think, but if anyone has thoughts/advice from here it would be appreciated! Thank you. : )

 

[billinjax]

Hello,

Do you have records of her weight over the years? I just started weighing my rabbit regularly but my vet keeps this information for each visit and also puts it on my receipts. It would be good to understand exactly how much weight has been lost. Maybe you can call the vet today and they can read you the most recent weight. If you don't weigh Lucy regularly, I highly recommend using a kitchen-type scale with a cardboard box. (My scale will let me zero out the weight of the box so it doesn't count toward the readings)

I am also curious that Lucy is not interested in any vegetables. What kind of vegetables have you tried? I'm not suggesting to change her diet right now but I've been personally struggling with the right quantity of pellets for my rabbit Jack. Oxbox recommends 1/4 cup per day for a 4lb rabbit. He is about 1650-1700 grams. I had been over feeding (about 1/2 cup per day but not really measuring / tracking it). I have noticed that his hay consumption has gone up since I've adjusted his pellet diet.

Does Lucy ever lose clumps of hair during a molt? Sometime after the first year, I learned that my rabbit would lose hair to the point where his skin might show. This usually happens to a specific color of hair in a specific spot. For him, this is most prevalent on his head/face. I am curious if the hair loss is part of her molting process.

I don't know anything about bonding. I'm just covering some of the topics I've encountered over the years. It might be a good approach to look at Lucy's overall health and then factor in the bonding.

Bill

 

[tonyshuman]

I think it's too much pellets, but that wouldn't cause her to lose weight, but to gain it.

Where did Trig come from (shelter, store, breeder) and has he seen a vet recently? Is it possible he's carrying an intestinal parasite? Make sure you take a fresh poo sample of Lucy's so that they can test for parasites. When you have generalized poor coat condition and weight loss, an internal parasite is the most likely cause.

I don't know what this unusual squirming thing is. Could you describe it a bit more clearly? Is she grinding her teeth in pain (sounds different from a happy purr)? Is she straining to pee?

Is the diarrhea you're talking about actual messy wet feces, or is it smooshed cecal pellets?

 

[Lucy123]

Hello

Thanks for your responses! I have had her wieghed a few times at the vet, so I am going to have them weigh her again, and compare. As for her diet, ever since she was a little I tried introducing her to veggies and she wouldn't even try them. Sniffed them and then ran in the opposite direction as if it was posion lol. Some of the items I tried were cilantro, parsley, dark red and green lettuce, and dandelion greens. My other rabbits love red and green and parsley, so maybe there is something else I should try? As for the pellet, i use 1/3 or 1/4 measuring cups, maybe I should go with the 1/4 always.

Well as we speak, she is going through a shedding cycle, but this is the first time Iv'e seen it on the tips of her ears, it just didn't seem natural and I thought maybe it is ear mites. Or I suppose it could simply be just part of her regular shedding.

As for Trig he came from a rabbit rescue, so I suppose it is possible he may have something. The vet has seen him once for a check, and a few times for nail trims, no major tests have been done though. He seems perfectly healthy though, healthy appetite, no weight loss, or hair loss.

I wish I had her squirming movement on video because it's difficult to describe. I just had her at one of the volunteers house's to help me with bonding them, and she happened to have seen it and had no idea why she was doing that. She suggested I might want to get her checked for a bladder problem. Lucy's body seems to stretch out and then her bottom goes in the opposite direction of the rest of her body, sort of like twisted, and her bottom wiggles around and seems uncomfortable like maybe she has to go to the bathroom, or can't go. She just get's "squirmy" it's the best I can describe it. I tried explainging it to the vet but they had no idea what I was tlaking about. But my mom and I both have seen her do this very strange body movement, so maybe I'll never know.

Lastly the diarrhea was wet and messy. It was not much,and it only happened twice since Iv'e had her. Is diarrhea something that should never happen in rabbits?

 

[tonyshuman]

It could be from fur mites or ear mites. They could come from another rabbit or the environment (even carried in on your shoes). A vet can check for those easily. Diarrhea only happens when there's a GI flora imbalance. Some bunnies get it from certain foods, like sweets or veggies, and it can also be an overgrowth of bacteria in the GI tract. It's not something that needs vet care, but it's always an important thing that needs to be taken care of immediately. A rabbit with diarrhea can die in under 24 hours.

I can't imagine what's the cause of this squirming. It's very strange. It's possible that she's trying to get comfortable but can't due to a bladder issue, like a stone.

Sorry, but it looks like I can't give you much more help. Good luck with the vet!

 

[billinjax]

I wouldn't adjust her diet until you talk to a vet with rabbit experience. Plus, you want to figure out her weight before you determine how much is enough. Is the bowl empty when you refill each day? Does that bowl last just about the entire day or is it gone after a few hours?

Do you have a sense for her hay consumption? Is she eating it all throughout the day?

 

[Pipp]

billinjax wrote:

I wouldn't adjust her diet until you talk to a vet with rabbit experience. Plus, you want to figure out her weight before you determine how much is enough. Is the bowl empty when you refill each day? Does that bowl last just about the entire day or is it gone after a few hours?

Do you have a sense for her hay consumption? Is she eating it all throughout the day?

I would have posted exactly the same thing, Bill, thanks. I'll be watching for the answers.

A bunny who doesn't eat veggies needs more pellets that those who do. Unless a rabbit is overweight, doesn't finish all the pellets in a timely fashion or isn't eating a lot of hay, I wouldn't cut back on pellets if that's the main diet. You just don't want to give them so many pellets that they reduce hay consumption.

Will she eat grass?


sas :?

 

[tonyshuman]

Yeah, I wouldn't cut back on pellets yet, make sure she doesn't have some other health thing going on before you do that.