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What health issues should I look out for in a mature bun?

S

seagreen

Warren Scout
Toby Rabbit is only a couple of months off his 7th birthday. As he is now classed as a mature rabbit is there anything I should look out for that may indicate health problems due to his age ?

Toby is a house bun, free range apart from bedtime so has plenty of excercise. He has been a 6 week GA dental bun since he was 7 months old - a dental bun due to bad breeding not bad diet.

He certainly isn't deaf as he can hear you cracking nuts when he is upstairs & you are down & he can smell if you're eating any fruit in another room - both things he loves. He seems to have the usual bunny vision.

The only thing we have noticed is he spends a bit more time sleeping & doesn't stand on the tips of his front paws as much. He still bolts up the stairs in the morning for his breakfast or to keep tabs on us & still has his mad run & binkying moments around the house.

I haven't been lucky enough to have a bun live, due to health problems, past the age of 3, so dealing with an ageing bun is new to me. I would be grateful for any advice, thanks.
 
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My old bun Daisy lived until nearly 10. She was very prone to abcesses all through her life, so I obviously checked on that. Other than that I noticed she did start to slow up very slightly when she reached 9, but would occasionally surprise me by binkying all over the place unexpectedly:D I suppose you've really just got to have your usual regular health checks as normal and you obviously have to go to vets regularly as you have a dental bun.
 
Bumping this as I value your advice.

I totally adore Toby & always try to do the best for him to make sure he is happy & healthy but now he is getting older & I want to ensure he is not in any discomfort due to the problems of old age.

I read on here about older buns with arthritis, diabetes etc but how have these health issues shown themselves to get diagnosed ?
 
My bun got arthritis at 10 yrs(she lived to nearly 12yrs).
I noticed she sometimes "walked" rather than hopped ,along. She could still run fast but seemed to not hop so much.
I took her to the vet who did tests and after diagnosing arthritis she went on a course of injections once a week for 4 weeks(every 6 months) this showed a dramatic improvement and she was back to hopping again- though you could tell when it was coming to the end of the 6month period as she started to "walk" along again.
She also seemed to rest more after the age of 9yrs but this may have been in part to her having recovered from months of nodular myxomatosis. She still had a good appetite until shortly before she died.

There have been several bunnies on here reaching 13yrs-15yrs and more:) so while its good to be aware of problems in the mature rabbit don't worry yourself too much.:)
sue :wave:

Some older rabbits lose weight so keep an eye out and increase pellets if necessary.
 
As with any age bun, just keep an eye out for unusual symptoms and behaviours that are out of character, that is all you can do really. Regular blood tests can be helpful to catch probs early in older buns but try to relax and just enjoy Toby and not worry too much about the future. :):wave:

The most prevalent things I can think of in the older bun will be age related diseases such as dental disease, cataracts, arthritis, large organ failure, and just bunny generally slowing down. The symptoms for many of these can be very similar and cross over so the best thing really is just keep him active and mobile, a good diet, and regular vet checks with a savy vet and let the vet do the worrying for you. ;)
 
With my older buns I have noticed that they spend more time snoozing, but they still have that lust for life - still keen to come out in the garden to play, still keen on their food, and still humping their partners (aka spring fever)

As mine have got older I have made life a bit easier for them by making the height of the gaps between their shelves smaller (to reduce wear and tear on their joints) given them litter trays with lower sides, and installed heating in their sheds.

I spend a lot of time observing all my rabbits, and I know all their little quirky ways, so if they alter their behaviour I pick it up pretty quickly.
 
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