Nino: Bit poorly again today U/D another bloat session:(

Well I don't know what he has done and when but this evening whilst they were hopping in the garden I suddenly noticed he was hopping a bit with a limp on his rear left leg, and is holding it off the floor. :?

I'm down in Somerset at the mo taking refuge at my dad's whilst building work back home so don't have my usual vet on the doorstep, although there is a vet's in the nearest town 10 miles away and Bristol is just up the road too should the need arise.

Both my dad and I checked both his back legs and feet and toes and foot pads and there is nothing visible. It could of course be a sudden flare up of his arthritis in one hip. Perhaps he sat funny on it today? He did also jump off my lap in the garden yesterday from quite a height (not great for his hips that) he really does object to being brushed in the morning whilst on holiday.
Thing is, when his hips hurt he lifts them up in a certain way and he's not doing that, he's just avoiding weight bearing on his foot instead. We're thinking he's either stepped on a prickle that came back out, or there is a prickle in his foot we can't see. Anyway, he got very upset being checked (and no doubt making his hips sore in the process) and he is still eating and pooping fine for now so am just monitoring him tonight and will see how he is in the morning. I've given him his full dose of metacam (he usually just has his maintenance arthritic dose) and his glucosamine so that should settle any inflammation hopefully.

To top it all off.... I then spied something embedded in Poppy's whiskers 20mins ago and thought uh-oh tick! As had just picked them some weeds from the field. Went and picked her up and rushed her through to my dad who got out his tweezers ready only to find it was an oat hay seed! :roll: Phew! I can't cope with all this anxiety... baby is going to come 4 months early at this rate! :lol:

Please can little Nino have some leg mending vibes

Oh no, poor Nino.

Sending loads of leg mending vibes xx

Poor Nino, I hope his sore leg is better by tomorrow xx

Sending lots of vibes for Nino, hoping his leg is better soon and its nothing to worry about. He is such a handsome man

Aww poor Nino Hopefully it was just a prickle that has come out and will heal up quickly.
Sending loads of vibes that his leg is much better tommorrow and he can carry on enjoying his holiday
Hope you're feeling good PL :wave:

Thank you guys, the vibes are very much appreciated x

Gemmapookie said:

Aww poor Nino Hopefully it was just a prickle that has come out and will heal up quickly.
Sending loads of vibes that his leg is much better tommorrow and he can carry on enjoying his holiday
Hope you're feeling good PL :wave:

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Thanks Gemma, yes i'm good, getting used to being kicked from the inside! Just anxious about Nino and hoping his arthritis isn't deteriorating quickly and it's something else and something simple that clears up over night. :wave:

Poor Nino. i hope it's just a twinge and nothing serious xx

oh no...poor little man!!

Knowing he has his hip probs makes it worse as youre panicking about him deteriorating etc....yes that baby will arrive bloomin early if you have any more stress!!!:lol:

bristol uni is where the rabbit clinic is based isnt it? or has it expanded and moved?

try and keep calm...the change in weather doesnt help..the damp chill in the air really gets arthritic pets...and people!!

lots of vibes for nino xxx

and calm down vibes for you hun xxx

Thank you Debbie and thanks Lilbun too

Yes I suspected the cold may be playing a part too if it is his arthritis, my dad said the same. There is a real chill in the air isn't there. They are bedded down on interlocking foam mats here at the house so they should be quite insulating and i've put down extra vet beds and padding tonight to help him.

I really must get to bed now and stop staying up so late! Me and bump need sleep! I will set my alarm and check on him in the night, but so far he is looking a lot less stiff/sore and came bounding up for his fenugreek crunchie half He also weight beared on his back legs to get his treat which I think is a good sign.... so fingers crossed for the morning. x

Well looks like it's his arthritis after all playing up Am thinking he must have pulled it or inflammed it somehow unbeknown to me for it to flare up so suddenly especially as he is already on daily NSAID's and glucosamine and it's just the one side.

He's much better this morning and not limping as such, but you can see that back left hip is a bit stiff, he's not flexing it properly but is weight bearing normally on it. He's just not hopping about madly like he usually does, so obviously it is a bit sore. Might put his little electric blanket in the pen tonight.

Rang vets to ask what dose meloxidyl to give him tonight and next few days but my reg vet is on holiday.... how dare he! :lol: and Mackie is back in SA, and the only other vet I trust isn't in til Monday so I think I will give him another high dose tonight and see how he is tomorrow, and then maybe bring him back down to his maintenance dose over a few days depending how his hip is.

I think the problem is here he is getting less exercise than he gets at home and there's not much I can do about that until I get home on Wed. I try and get them in the garden as often as possible (atleast twice a day) but it's not the same as being a free-range bunny with a whole house to move around and stairs to go up and down. :?

Just seen this, but sending belated vibes. :wave: Glad Poppy's was a false alarm!

Hope it gets better for him, poor little man xx

Poor Nino. AS Purplebumble said, I'm sure this cold, damp weather won't be helping. It's not meant to get so cold tonight though.
Will he let you give him a bit of gentle massage? It is meant to help with the discomfort xx

lilbun said:

Poor Nino. AS Purplebumble said, I'm sure this cold, damp weather won't be helping. It's not meant to get so cold tonight though.
Will he let you give him a bit of gentle massage? It is meant to help with the discomfort xx

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It's quite dry in the house though and warm enough too, my dad has an aga! I've also been careful not letting them out in the sunny front garden until it has warmed up, which they don't like as they are too tired by 11am!

No sadly he HATES being picked up and having his legs/hips touched - a massage would just probably hurt him sadly, plus he is proper little crocodile and it's bad enough brushing him and being bitten to pieces every day for the last 4 years! :roll::lol: As soon as you pick him up he instinctively bites, always has done. I could try massaging him on the floor but he won't sit still I know it and will hop away. He's a lovely friendly bun as long as he's not being handled.
What I am going to do tonight is plug in their special electric blanket I brought it with me just incase and it is fab... use it all the time in the past when he has been bloated and poorly, can't believe I didn't think of it last night actually! :roll:

Thanks lilbun x

Aww, it's a shame when they don't appreciate your efforts to help them. His electric blanket does sound cozy though- I'm slightly envious xx

This is it:

http://www.petnap.co.uk/acatalog/pet_heat_pads.html#a30

We didn't get it from here but this is it! It's fab :wave:

Lilbun he let me give him a gentle massage this morning! :shock: He was sat on his electric blanket at the time - clearly quite comfy and seemed to enjoy it so much he flattened himself to the blanket and shut his eyes Again, much better today, seems normal... phew! Now, will see how he does going back to his reg metacam dose... fingers crossed!

prettylupin said:

Lilbun he let me give him a gentle massage this morning! :shock: He was sat on his electric blanket at the time - clearly quite comfy and seemed to enjoy it so much he flattened himself to the blanket and shut his eyes Again, much better today, seems normal... phew! Now, will see how he does going back to his reg metacam dose... fingers crossed!

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Aww, I bet he was in a state of bliss All my bunnies that like to be stroked love their back rubs. Those that aren't so keen can be bribed into staying still for a minute with a few protexin Pro fibre pellets

Those electric pads are great- I've got one for emergencies. I was thinking of getting the armoured cable ones for winter use but they do seem to get a bit hotter than the other sort so I'm not sure :? I would need to sort out an outdoor socket thingy first anyway.

lilbun said:

Aww, I bet he was in a state of bliss All my bunnies that like to be stroked love their back rubs. Those that aren't so keen can be bribed into staying still for a minute with a few protexin Pro fibre pellets

Those electric pads are great- I've got one for emergencies. I was thinking of getting the armoured cable ones for winter use but they do seem to get a bit hotter than the other sort so I'm not sure :? I would need to sort out an outdoor socket thingy first anyway.

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The one we have is the pink viny one with an armoured cable for the first 1/3 of the cable, it only seems to get warm when weight is put on top of it, and even then it never seems to get actually hot, just nice and cosy warm. We put it under a blanket/pillow case and feed the armoured cable through a special hole in the side of the hutch to plug it in, but of course our hutch is indoors. Think you need an outdoor armoured cable too otherwise little teeth might find it and nibble it during playtime! :wave: