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Advice needed on care for elderly rabbit...

MissMinnie

MissMinnie

Mama Doe
Poppy will be 10 years old in March and is doing really well except for her skin looking a bit dry and sore around her bottom area. (She has a vets appt to sort this out).
She lives outside with a companion and we always make sure that their accommodation is dry and clean.

Just wondering if anyone else has old rabbits and what they do to make sure they are comfortable.

Rodney lived to be 10 years old too and the same thing happened to him, where there was a 'substance', not urine, that made some of his fur wet and sore.
 
If she has some age related arthritis in her spine and/or hips she may not be able to adopt the correct position to urinate, hence the soreness.

A non steroidal anti inflammatory would help if she does have arthritis.

Getting the soreness sorted ASAP is very important as it can become infected. It will also be painful which in turn may cause her guts to slow down.

Is she maintaining a good weight ? Elderly Rabbits often struggle to keep weight on.
 
I wonder if your vet would consider Calendula ointment suitable? I know its good for bunny sore legs but not sure if suitable for bottom/genital area.
sue:wave:

If arthritis is the problem Cartrophen injections worked well for my bun(gone to the Bridge at 11 and a half)
 
Thank you for the posts.

Her weight is steady at 1.9kg. She is so much better than our previous ten year old. I will have to see what the vet recommends. She is currently on one drop of metacam per day.
 
sdf76 said:
I wonder if your vet would consider Calendula ointment suitable? I know its good for bunny sore legs but not sure if suitable for bottom/genital area.
sue:wave:

If arthritis is the problem Cartrophen injections worked well for my bun(gone to the Bridge at 11 and a half)
Click to expand...

That's a good age!:D
 
MissMinnie said:
Thank you for the posts.

Her weight is steady at 1.9kg. She is so much better than our previous ten year old. I will have to see what the vet recommends. She is currently on one drop of metacam per day.
Click to expand...

That's a tiny amount of Metacam. Flora and Parsnip are both 9 years old and are on a fairly conservative dose of 0.4ml of dog strength (1.5mg/ml) Metacam per day. They weigh 2.5 and 2.8 kg. It might be worth reviewing the doseage with a bunny-savvy vet.
 
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