doodlebugger
Well-Known Member
Our bunny Chester was diagnosed with spondylosis last fall. He was a rescued bunny when he was about a year old, and we found out that likely the reason they got rid of him was because he was dropped and injured. He had a bad toe or foot and put more pressure on one side due to a mild limp, but that is likely what caused the spondylosis. I think he is going to be about 8 years old this fall. We have been coping with the issues as they come. We have made a lot of adjustments, but lately, his behavior has me perplexed. Our vet says that he does have a very mild upper respiratory infection, and because of his most recent molt, we did have to give him some metoclopromide (to keep poops moving since he was having strings of pearls). Other than that, nothing else is going on as far as she can detect, and neither of these things have ever caused him to behave out of the ordinary.
Here's our current issue - it's hot here in Kentucky. We have our air conditioning going, and have added a fan to make sure that they are getting enough air because our a/c is working as hard as it can, but the temp in the room is 71. Suddenly Chester is laying in his litter box, on the edge. Sometimes it's in the urine and poo, and sometimes not. We are trying to keep enough fresh hay there to keep him from laying in it. Now, he is pulling out newspapers and chewing on cardboard that we use for his litter box. (The litter box is a cardboard box, cut up, with sides, it has newspaper, a towel wrapped in newspaper, and then Timothy hay on top.) He wants to eat greens all day long (he is still eating pellets and hay) and freaks out every time we open the fridge. I'm not sure if this is senility or because of the pain meds, or if it's just behavioral because he is feeling spunky (maybe all the meds are making him feel better)......but I don't know how to deal with it and I don't want to give him greens all day either. We can't give him his favorite ceramic tile any longer because he can't get up and down on it, and we don't want him to further injure his spine. He hates the frozen water bottles. I don't know if he's hot, and there's something in the litter box keeping him cool? Or if he is annoyed by the fan? I just don't know how to help him. Should I not allow him to sleep in the litter box, or just let him do whatever he feels comfortable with? I know JBun has dealt with this, and I'm wondering if anyone else is dealing with or have dealt with spondylosis and if they can give some suggestions to try?
Here's our current issue - it's hot here in Kentucky. We have our air conditioning going, and have added a fan to make sure that they are getting enough air because our a/c is working as hard as it can, but the temp in the room is 71. Suddenly Chester is laying in his litter box, on the edge. Sometimes it's in the urine and poo, and sometimes not. We are trying to keep enough fresh hay there to keep him from laying in it. Now, he is pulling out newspapers and chewing on cardboard that we use for his litter box. (The litter box is a cardboard box, cut up, with sides, it has newspaper, a towel wrapped in newspaper, and then Timothy hay on top.) He wants to eat greens all day long (he is still eating pellets and hay) and freaks out every time we open the fridge. I'm not sure if this is senility or because of the pain meds, or if it's just behavioral because he is feeling spunky (maybe all the meds are making him feel better)......but I don't know how to deal with it and I don't want to give him greens all day either. We can't give him his favorite ceramic tile any longer because he can't get up and down on it, and we don't want him to further injure his spine. He hates the frozen water bottles. I don't know if he's hot, and there's something in the litter box keeping him cool? Or if he is annoyed by the fan? I just don't know how to help him. Should I not allow him to sleep in the litter box, or just let him do whatever he feels comfortable with? I know JBun has dealt with this, and I'm wondering if anyone else is dealing with or have dealt with spondylosis and if they can give some suggestions to try?
