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Weight loss

Edward Hawkins

Warren Scout
A friend's rabbit is losing weight. Anyone any ideas. Here is what she has told me:
"She hasn't stopped eating but isn't showing as much interest in food as usual. Weight has gone down to 1.9 - her sister is 2.7! A small amount of brown discharge around her anus but normal poo. She has some wet fur down there too which is unusual for her. Not as lively as normal. Vet has checked her teeth and says she seems a tiny bit bloated"
 
Sounds as though Bunny is very poorly :cry:

A disturbance of the balance of bacteria in the cecum/an impacted cecum are possibilities. But it's impossible to give a definitive answer without examining the Rabbit.

Is the Rabbit drinking a normal amount ?

I assume the Rabbit is receiving treatment ?
 
Did the vet check her teeth while the bunny was conscious? Any bun that shows a change in eating habits would make me suspect a dental problem.

A while ago, my Santa went in for a dental and the vet found a spike sticking out sideways from one of her teeth that was completely embedded in her cheek. There is no way she would have seen that while having a look in the mouth of a conscious bunny, so if everything else comes back normal I wouldn't rule out a dental problem unless a good look has been had with the bunny sedated.

Good luck, I hope you get to the bottom of the weight loss x
 
The vet checked out her teeth and found no problems. She hasn't given any analgesia, as far as I know. I hope that there will be an update tomorrow.
 
The vet checked out her teeth and found no problems.

Yes but what I'm asking specifically is has the vet checked her teeth while the animal is anaesthatised. I know from experience (as I outlined above) that it is not possible to accurately see everything that is going on with the teeth unless the animal is anaesthetised. So if the vet has just looked in the mouth using an otoscope while the animal is awake, that won't necessarily exclude a dental problem in my opinion, and should still be considered if bloods, faecal samples etc come back normal.
 
She is improving. She's being syringe fed every hour at the vets; the owner will take over the job tomorrow. The lab results should be back last week. She wasn't sedated to have her teeth checked (due to the risks of anaesethesia) but this will kept in mind.
 
She's back home with her owner. Still losing weight. The vets didn't even check her teeth. She is going to her food but not eating. There are gurgling sounds from her stomach. Anyone know of a rabbit-savvy vet in the Grimsby/North Lincolnshire area?
 
She's back home with her owner. Still losing weight. The vets didn't even check her teeth. She is going to her food but not eating. There are gurgling sounds from her stomach. Anyone know of a rabbit-savvy vet in the Grimsby/North Lincolnshire area?

:roll:

If you put a new thread up in 'Rabbit Chat' asking for Vet recommendations in the specific area required more people are likely to see it over there.
 
I read today that if you can't find a bunny savvy vet then the next best thing is to find a mixed vet practice with a farm vet as farm animals are closer in requirements to rabbits and guineas than cats and dogs.

What do others think of this idea?
 
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