~Genos~

Genos my 6year old mini dwarf lop hasnt been well for some time. In Feb. I had her at the vet because she had stopped eating and it seemed almost overnight she had lost weight. This had happened once before when I had her in the same hutch as her sister, and the vet at that time thought that perhaps the other rabbit wasnt allowing her to get to the food so I separated them. In Feb. the vet told me There was nothing wrong with her teeth just to take her home and keep her inside and keep her warm and try to tempt her with anything she would eat and he gave me protien powders to put in her food, but I think he thought she wouldnt survive for long he said she was old and very poorly. When the weather got warmer I put her back outside in her hutch ,(she wasnt very happy inside the house), and during the day I put her in a large run in the garden and then back to her hutch at night but she was getting so stressed out with this that I decided to leave her in the back garden all the time and fixed up a sleeping place for her there. She has slowly began to eat and has put on a bit weight. I noticed that someone mentioned giving bromelain tablets when the rabbit was moulting do you think it would be ok for me to give these to my rabbit considering what she has been through?
Is there any other products available that I could give her to try to try to give her a boost?
Be grateful for any advice
Emmy

:wave: hi and welcome. Is her sister still alive? If so I'd consider rebonding them, she could be pining for her sibling

The bromelian tablets are to help with a moult but if she's not having any problems with that I wouldn't bother.

How's her general health?

Her sister died in April this year. Genos is much better than she was but she's not back to 'normal' yet it seems its going to be a slow process abut she's going in the right direction. When she was really bad she kept falling over I thought she had taken a 'stroke' but it must have been because she was so weak because she's hopping about again. I just wished there was something I could give her to help her put on some more weight quickly before the winter. I noticed that it was said porridge oats is good for that but I'm wary about changing her diet in case her poos become very soft again.
At the moment she's eating the dried rabbit food, half an apple every day, some dandelion leaves, 2/3 leaves of greens (cabbage), she has stopped eating carrots and she really enjoys a piece of dry bread anything else I try to tempt her with she just wont touch it.
Emmy

It sounds very much like it could be e-cuniculi - here's a link so see if you agree http://www.houserabbit.co.uk/rwf/articles/ecuniculi.htm

Your vet should have tested for this, but in any case treatment is simple - a month's course of panacur wormer. This won't put right any damage, but it will stop it getting worse. Hope she'll be OK

Thank you for the link I've read the article but I'm not sure its that because she's not falling over on her back legs now that she's put on a bit weight. Would it do her any harm to give her the panacur even if she didnt have that ailment? Can you buy panacur at a pet store or would I need to got to the vet for this?
Emmy

I think it would be best to consult your vet although it appears to be available online. It can cause gastric problems although usually only in young rabbits. The dose varies and other refs to it here mention a 6 week course for E-c - See what Jack's Jane says on this thread: http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=97905&highlight=worming

I had a talk with the vet on Saturday and he's positive that Genos doesn't have e-cuniculi.
He gave me 5 Bio-Lapis 2g sachets Protexin to mix in her drinking water, (cost just over £1 per sachet) she's had this before and it did give her a boost he said I may need another 5 pkts. I also read here on a post that porrige oats were good for helping bunnies to put on weight, so the past 2 days I've give her saucerful of p.oats, soaked them first, and she's cleaned the saucer both times!!
Is it too much to give her a saucerful every day?
Emmy