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is this just normal bunny old age?

gemmam

Alpha Buck
My giant girlie is over 4.5yrs old at the moment which is oldish for a giant. I have noticed lately that when she flops out she seems to move her back legs into position a lot more carefully - not just chucking herself down like she used to if that makes sense? She is the same when getting out of a "flop", back legs seem a little stiff or awkward. She is otherwise fine, been sprinting and doing binkies today and eating/drinking well etc. Is this just something to accept as part of her getting older? I worry that they are so good at hiding pain that maybe I wouldn't know if she was feeling pain.
 
This is something I'm already worying about for my giants, especially Hera who has a very long back.

Is she overweight? If she is it might be worth cutting her food down for a few weeks to see if carrying less weight helps.

If not then I think I'd get the vet to give her the once over just to be sure - she may just have sprained a muscle or it could be a bit of arthritis
 
I don't weigh them :oops: but I think she's fairly trim. She has a huuuge dewlap but I definitely don't think she's overweight. I've cut their pellets right back since reading this forum. Would they detect arthritis just by examining her?
 
Your vet would probably get an idea of whether jpint pain was the issue by examining her and could then suggest an appropriate course of action. I believe Metacam is usually given to guard against arthritic pain & inflammation and monitoring her movement after that can give some idea if any pain appears to have eased.

Personally I think I would get her checked over, just in case. :)
 
Thank you Sooz. I'm going to make sure I spend a longer period out in the garden with them over the week-end so I can watch her more closely and I'll definitely book an appointment if she seems the same. The painkiller then monitoring for improvement makes sense, I'll mention that if the vet doesn't suggest anything.
 
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