Update - Urgent! My rabbit has lost a lot of weight?

Hi RU i'm so worried about my Rabbit Roger and was wondering if anyone has any ideas what could be wrong?

He is 1 1/2yrs old now and at the weekend we noticed he was a little thinner than usual but he was eating, drinking pooing so just decided to keep our eye on him.
On Monday he was still losing weight so removed him from his girlfriend (as shes a greedy girl) so we could monitor him more closely. Still eating as normal, moving around as normal, pooing normal. He just looking a lot thinner!! Well Tuesday was pretty much the same and still getting thinner but by now we know he's defiantly eating all his pellets, veg, hay etc as we really thought his girlfriend was maybe not letting him eat?!

Today he is still showing 'normal behavior' but i bought a new battery for my scales as was getting thinner again and much to my shock he has lost half his weight So of course i take him straight to emergency vet but she wasn't really any help?!!

He got a pain killer injected (not showing any signs of pain) and sent home with baytril and I've to take him back in a week?! He's lost 1/2 stone in such a short space of time and really don't understnad whats wrong with him? The way he's going i don't think he will last that long!! But i have no idea what is wrong and neither does vet?!

He is now a little more quite than usual but he often is after the vets he sulks!! Please can anyone help?

Is he eating his hay, pellets and veg all up, especially the hay, as much as usual? Is he eating as fast as normal or does he seem to be having difficulty or eating slower?

I think you mean kg instead of stone, what weight was he, and what is he now?

Do you have an exotic vet, or one that is rabbit savvy? Most vets dont know much about rabbits as they are classed as exotics. Get a vets appointment tomorrow morning with an exotic, rabbit specialist or one that has an interest in rabbits, stress that it is urgent and get him seen that day. (edit: or go to your normal vets and have them refer you to a specialist if they cant find the cause) Have him weighed on their scales, have them look at his teeth, particularly his back ones with an otoscope. Some teeth cant be seen without going under General Anesthetic, if he goes under I would also request them to take xrays if they cant find the reason by looking at his teeth. I would also get some liquid recovery food from the vet and feed this alongside what you are at the moment.

Losing weight this quickly is a sign that something is wrong, very wrong.

The vet was right to give him pain medication, as rabbits hide pain extremely well, as a prey species they have to hide illness and weakness so they are not targetted.

My first thought is his teeth, this is probably the most common cause for rabbits losing weight. Another reason may perhaps be something like worms. The vet gave you an antibiotic, does he/she suspect an infection of some kind?

I hope you can get some answers tomorrow. Oh and remember that as you have separated him from his friend you will have broken their bond, and when he is better you will have to go through the bonding process again, do not let them spend time together now, as they are unbonded.

Thanks for replying

Yes he is eating normal Small amount of pellets (although now adding more) he's eating all his veg and plenty hay although he never finishes but that only because i won't let it run out. Also the past few days he's been having half cup porridge oats made with water and eating all that too. He's never been a really fast eater, but he seems to be eating at his normal pace and certainly isn't struggling to eat.

It's not quite 1/2 stone he's lost but it's close He weighed 66kg last vet check and now weighs only 38kg.

I can't find an exotic vet or even a rabbit savvy i have checked on internet, phoned SSPCA? and asked other locals too. It's so hard to find one.
Yeah i'm glad for the pain relief! I made it sound like a complaint and it wasn't just saying he isn't grinding teeth She had a good check of teeth and checked back with magnifier thingy? if this is what you mean :O too! Didn't mention anything about a GA but not sure he would survive one right now His brother died with a GA getting neutered

I'm not sure about taking him in tomorrow? Not sure what they could do different tomorrow than what they did today? Shouldn't i wait and see if there is any change first....good or bad?

Sorry he was weighed on vet scales too and i will be sure to phone first thing about the liquid recovery food as well. Thanks

Ah so theyve checked his teeth hmm....

I think you mean 6.6kg to 3.8kg, 66kg is more than a large dog! At over 6kg I'm guessing he is a giant rabbit. He has lost such a lot of weight, very worrying.

The risk of death from GA for a healthy rabbit is 0.05%, but of course if your rabbit is ill or elderly this figure rises. But it is still very low risk so I hope that puts your mind at ease. I know how hard it is to let them go under when you have lost a previous rabbit to GA.

Are you in the UK? If so I would put a thread in rabbit chat: URGENT: Rabbit Savvy Vet Needed near (place name here) keep bumping it every few hours tomorrow till you get a reply. You could also get a referral from your vet.

The problem is with him losing weight so fast you dont want to leave it too long, but whilst waiting weigh him every day so you notice any sudden drops in weight.

I'm sorry I cant be more help. We have some very experienced members on the forum and hopefully they will see this, I would edit your title to put 'URGENT' at the front of it.

Agh! Yes of course you are correct with the weight, i dont have a rabbit bigger than my children lol I've been so upset and of course lack of sleep doesnt help

Yes teeth have been checked but how well i am unsure! I will ask about a savvy vet tomorrow and yes i'm in the uk - ayrshire
In the mean time he is still eating and i'm sleeping on the sofa with him in beside me. Hopefully more people may have an idea what could be wrong with him, he is such a special rabbit xx

Sorry but my knowledge of scotland is negligible - is ayrshire anywhere near edinburgh? There is an EXCELLENT rabbit vet in edinburgh called, erm, The Royal D!ck Veterinary School (i've replaced I for ! as the spam filter removes it lol) -- they are an EXCELLENT vet.

Thanks GrahamL that would be too far for Roger to travel or i would! It's at least 1.5 - 2hrs away though. Thanks for trying

He seems much quieter today, just looking for cuddles or wanting to lie in bed Been trying to give him his meds for past hours and he's having none of it! However i disguise, it however he did eat a very large bowl of his favorites veg's last night? So maybe just not hungry?

Wish i knew what was wrong with him!!

Is the emergency vet you saw the one you would normally see at your vet practice? If not, then I would consider taking Roger into your usual vet today if you can't get recommendations for another vet from people on here..... assuming you've been happy with the veterinary care you've received there in the past?

Sending lots of vibes for Roger. xx

Rogers Mum said:

Thanks GrahamL that would be too far for Roger to travel or i would! It's at least 1.5 - 2hrs away though. Thanks for trying

He seems much quieter today, just looking for cuddles or wanting to lie in bed Been trying to give him his meds for past hours and he's having none of it! However i disguise, it however he did eat a very large bowl of his favorites veg's last night? So maybe just not hungry?

Wish i knew what was wrong with him!!

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Has he eaten at all today?
Has he pooped at all in the past few hours? If so, what do they look like?

Bunnies are never 'not hungry' in my opinion - they'll always take feed.

What meds are you trying to get into him?

Hi KarenM - It was our usual practice and although we made an emergency appointment it was with usual surgery times so usual vets. Although saying that it is the first time i've met this lady vet. In all honestly i really don't know if it's a good vet or not? :?

If he stops eating he can go into stasis (where the gut stops moving) which is VERY dangerous, and needs immediate veterianary attention, so keep a close eye on him, how much he is eating and if he is pooing, how much and the size and shape of the poos.

Baytril tastes disgusting, you have two choices, either wrap him in a towel so he cant struggle and syringe it into his mouth, or disguise it in something. I have success with banana or apple juice, others I believe have had sucess with a small piece of bread, just try what you know he loves, and something with a strong enough taste to overpower the horrid taste.

Sorry GrahamL i missed your post

He has been eating lots of Hay! but he has only eaten a small amount of pellets and finally ate his porridge oats
His poops are very slightly darker and smaller but only slightly different from usual ( Roger has the best Golden poo usually)

I think he was only turning up his nose because he could smell the baytril as i tried with spinach, bread and porridge and he refused all.
but he finally took his meds and then i rewarded him with more oats and is now eating Kale. Think i will need to try wrap him up tonight to give as then i knew 100% he has took every last drop.

He is on 0.8 Baytril twice a day - Yes vet says i've to take him straight in if he stops eating or pooing but he's deffo still doing both i stayed up all last night watching over him to make sure.

Update Rogers Poo is getting large and sticky? I'm sure his poo changed when he was Baytril last time can someone please confirm this?
He's still eating plenty hay (infact he barely stops eating it)

Also how do i check he's peeing enough?

Rogers Mum said:

Update Rogers Poo is getting large and sticky? I'm sure his poo changed when he was Baytril last time can someone please confirm this?
He's still eating plenty hay (infact he barely stops eating it)

Also how do i check he's peeing enough?

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Thats not good but it could be worse... Baytril as an antibiotic can cause stomach upsets but they are not normally major, more like smaller poops. It could also be from the larger amount of pellets, fresh food etc you have been giving him, as changes in diet can upset their gut, especiallly sugary food. You'll know if hes peeing his normal amount from checking his water intake is normal and how wet his litter tray is.

The hay eating is good, very good, keep offering him fresh.

I phoned the vet just to check, now just waiting on the return phone call. It's all his usual fresh veg nothing changed with that and he's had not had any sugary foods, so i better check the change in poo out as it's very smelly too

He's usually in with another rabbit so it's hard to say how much water he's had but it's not much.

bisc lost alot of weight at one stage which turned out to be spurs on the back teeth which were out of sight. they were along the cheek teeth hidden away. before that he had urine tests and xrays and became anaemic aswell. he was then checked over under ga and the spurs were found. after that he started to get better and build back up but it took a while for him to get back to his normal weight and body strength. so it could be teeth related.

weight loss can also be urinary/bladder/kidney related aswell. when i took bisc to the exotic vet he said any big weight loss and he thinks teeth or kidney area related, maybe sludge or stones for example.

he also said with teeth they usually stop eating, or stop eating either hay or pellets. it can just be one thing.

of course there may be something else going on aswell.

do you think there is anyway he would be ok to travel to a good rabbit vet? if he could it would be worth it to get a specialist vet. maybe someone on here could recommend a vet closer to you. i don't know where you are though.

x

Thanks biscandmatt1 I'm desperately trying to find a rabbit specialist and I've phoning everywhere!! It shouldn't be this hard I will travel to the end of the earth for him but it's what traveling roger can do that's worrying!

Of course i'm no expert but i'm beginning to think it is actually urinary/bladder/kidney related as he is eating fine! Which would be strange if he was in pain due to his teeth? I suggested this to my vet but she says stick to the baytril for now and monitor him.
I have removed his litter tray as it's too hard to see if it's wet. I have put newspaper down for the time being.

Apologies - I haven't read the whole thread in detail but just picked up that he is usually in with another bun? If this is the case then keeping them together will minimise any stress i.e. take them both to the vets

I had to separate them fluffers I really thought Roger was only losing weight because his friend was being greedy and not letting him eat. It was also easier to see exactly what he was eating, drinking and pooing too.
Also where they both live they could go indoors and outdoors as they pleased but i was worried Roger is so thin and frail to deal with that cold weather. The are still side by side! And can see/smell/touch/ just Roger is indoors only