Arthritis...has anybody tried?

Hi all,

Jasper had some xrays taken today and finally we may have figured out what has been wrong with him since before Xmas.

They said it looks like he has arthritis in his elbow joint. He won't even put his little front leg down now so my heart is breaking for the little fella.

I've had an older bun before who started to have mobility issues a year or so before she died at the age of 8 so I used to feed her on the Mature Excel pellets (with cranberry and glucosamine) and that used to be seem like enough to ease things for her to get around.

Suspecting it could be a joint problem the other week I went to pick some of the Excel Mature up to start mixing in with his current pellets. I realised that he is only 3 and the bag says from 5+years. I've just checked on the internet and there's a food called 'VetPet Rabbit with Glucosamine', has anybody else tried it?

I've had a look at a few other posts and I'm going to mention the Synoquin cat capsules to the vet when I go and see them.

Jasper has all the right food, fresh grass, fresh food, hay, dried herbs + leaves, pellets, and a bit of dried fruit as a treat every so often. He has a two floor hutch within a shed he has access to when the weather is bad, otherwise he has a whole garden all to himself (since Marmite the madam died a few months ago), so I'm rather grrrr about how he's got arthritis so early.

:wave: We have given our late bun Molly this and it works wonders. She had arthritis in her back legs and the difference after giving this was amazing. Would definitely recommend it.
We gave her this,http://www.phytopet.co.uk/productdetails.aspx?id=11.
one capsule a day sprinkled on her pellets i think its much cheaper than the vets version (and we also tried the one the vets gave us, she woudnt have any of it)

Thanks for the info. It's really appreciated.

I've just got back from picking hin up and it all started off well, the vet showed me the xrays, then he gave me one option...increase the Metacam from 4kg twice daily to 5kg twice a day. I asked if there were any other options and he said only one which we give cats in a tablet form. No other options available apparently...good job I have you guys! I'm going back to the vets in a few days and will be making sure the appointment will be with the exotics vet who I know is open to suggestions!

marmitesmum said:

Thanks for the info. It's really appreciated.

I've just got back from picking hin up and it all started off well, the vet showed me the xrays, then he gave me one option...increase the Metacam from 4kg twice daily to 5kg twice a day. I asked if there were any other options and he said only one which we give cats in a tablet form. No other options available apparently...good job I have you guys! I'm going back to the vets in a few days and will be making sure the appointment will be with the exotics vet who I know is open to suggestions!

Click to expand...

No problem, good luck with your little one (they are such a worry). I actually called phytopet before we bought it, just to confirm it was ok for bunnies, they were fab and did know their stuff. Let me know how you get on:wave:. x

I'll get some ordered tomorrow and will update you when things change...hopefully for the better.

my vet gave my 9 yr old bun Cartrophen injections. It was a course of one a week for 4 weeks and worked really well. The course was repeated every 6 months, though the length of time between courses depends on how soon the benefits start to wear off so it can be a longer or shorter time between courses. Each course cost about 45 pounds.
sue:wave:

(she lived to almost 12yrs)

We use vegetarian glucosamine (shell fish free) crushed up from 'health span' Lil has it in cranberry juice mixed with water 50/50.

I posted in another thread the other day but acupuncture can be used to treat arthritis. Look on www.abva.co.uk for vets who do acupuncture. (You dont have to change vets, the acupuncture can be done by someone separately. Just make sure you keep your normal vet informed.)

I was wondering about the VetPet Food with glucosamine, I think the SS one is for mature buns, as is the Burgess and he's only 3. Has anyone tried it?

I've managed to get an appointment with the small animal specialist in the practice. He's a great vet who's open to suggestions, so I'm going to leave ordering anything until I've spoken him.

marmitesmum said:

I was wondering about the VetPet Food with glucosamine, I think the SS one is for mature buns, as is the Burgess and he's only 3. Has anyone tried it?

Click to expand...

I use to use mature SS which they loved but swapped them on to Oxbow Bunny Basics T after reading on R.U about BBT wearing their teeth down better.
But i think if they had the choice to go buy it them selves they would choose SS mature.:lol:

Throwing it out there..

Have you thought of accupunture for your arthritic bun?

Lil & Ron's Mum said:

I use to use mature SS which they loved but swapped them on to Oxbow Bunny Basics T after reading on R.U about BBT wearing their teeth down better.
But i think if they had the choice to go buy it them selves they would choose SS mature.:lol:

Click to expand...

But can you give a 3year old 'mature' food, this is what I'm wondering about. The ironic thing is that he only has a small bit of dried food to ensure he's getting all of his vitamins and nutrients and to substitute for the lack of grass in winter.

I think, in time, if more of his body/joints start to become arthritic I'll try acupunture, but I'm thinking of trying to prevent it getting any worse any quicker at the mo.

He's standing up on his hind legs being curious and going outside, it's just that front leg he doesn't want to put weight on.

We moved our buns onto SS 'Mature' food this year - Barty is 3 (almost 4) so I jsut emailed them and checked it would be ok, they said it would be no problem :wave:

Heather&Bart-MyLittleBuns said:

We moved our buns onto SS 'Mature' food this year - Barty is 3 (almost 4) so I jsut emailed them and checked it would be ok, they said it would be no problem :wave:

Click to expand...

:wave:
Cheers, I'll get some of that ordered then. He turned 3 in Dec just gone.

I favour the use of glucosamine because in humans it improves the lubrication of the joints & is said to even repair some cartilage damage. These 2 actions help to slow down a deteriorating process.

A RU member has also tried ground wild rose (rosa canina) hips for her bun. I don't know how they work or what the outcome was, but it may be something else to ask your vet.

I see acupuncture as straight pain relief. Useful if high doses of NSAI's are needed or contra indicated, to help to lower the dose.

Good luck & please let us know how you get on.

thumps_ said:

I favour the use of glucosamine because in humans it improves the lubrication of the joints & is said to even repair some cartilage damage. These 2 actions help to slow down a deteriorating process.

A RU member has also tried ground wild rose (rosa canina) hips for her bun. I don't know how they work or what the outcome was, but it may be something else to ask your vet.

I see acupuncture as straight pain relief. Useful if high doses of NSAI's are needed or contra indicated, to help to lower the dose.

Good luck & please let us know how you get on.

Click to expand...

He's a very nervous bunny though, he always has been so I think taking him for acupuncture at this stage could just send him into one of his quiet moods when he doesn't eat.

Rosehips sound interesting I know I ordered some of those dried once for Marmite so will check that out.

My appointment at the vets tomorrow is to have a discussion about glucosamine with the small animal vet who I know is open to suggestions. He's just so difficult to get an appointment with outside of the hours I work.

I'll keep everyone up to date. I hope anything I can learn is help for everyone else with arthritic buns.

marmitesmum said:

But can you give a 3year old 'mature' food, this is what I'm wondering about. The ironic thing is that he only has a small bit of dried food to ensure he's getting all of his vitamins and nutrients and to substitute for the lack of grass in winter.

I think, in time, if more of his body/joints start to become arthritic I'll try acupunture, but I'm thinking of trying to prevent it getting any worse any quicker at the mo.

He's standing up on his hind legs being curious and going outside, it's just that front leg he doesn't want to put weight on.

Click to expand...

Sorry Marmites mum, Ron was 3 when he was on it, i also checked up with them as i didn't want to be buying 2 types of food (which they both would end up eating each others any way) But they only got a spoon full a day.

What a difference a vet makes!

I had the appointment with the small animal vet and he seemed rather shocked that I'd been told by one of his colleagues not to bother rushing out to buy glucosamine. He even told the nurse 'no charge' for the consultation.

He's going to look into the options for me, injections etc.

My vets don't stock Synoquin but they do stock Seraquin (for cats and dogs) which is made by the same company who make Metacam. It cost £17 for a box of 60 (not bad on the price front). It not only contains Glucosamine and Chondroitin but also Tumeric which I've also seen mentioned when scouting around previous posts on arthritis.

I'm going to order him some dried rosehips too so the only other thing I've seen mentioned is pomegranate. Can you tell I'm determined about this?? :lol:

I'm currently giving him the 'less than 5kg' loading dose of Seraquin, and the vet is going to call with what normal dose he thinks we should give my bun after a bit of research on his part. The Seraquin is in tablet form, but because they're chewable they seem easy to crush.

Here's hoping!

marmitesmum said:

I was wondering about the VetPet Food with glucosamine, I think the SS one is for mature buns, as is the Burgess and he's only 3. Has anyone tried it?

Click to expand...

I looked after an elderly rabbit who was eating this food, the owners felt it gave him a new lease of life. It is v expensive but he seemed to enjoy it- also it made his pee purple!