Hind leg problem - spondylosis and arthritis U/D still syringe feeding

This morning we noticed that Daisy our 9 year old houserabbit was not putting her weight on her left hind leg. She didn't make much effort to escape when my OH picked her up which is most unusual and had little interest in her food. We took her to the vets who thought she may have tweaked her hip somehow or it might even be arthritis. This could be related to an ongoing problem she has that the vet is keeping an eye on. Over the last few months she has been weeing absolutely everywhere. She used to always use her litter tray and now rarely does so we knew something must be wrong. She's been on various antibiotics to try to cure whatever this problem may be but it's still the same. She also sometimes whimpers when weeing and it looks like she really strains when she goes. Now she has this odd leg problem I am wondering if it's all related.

At the vets today she had a shot of Zantac and Metacam and I am to give her Metacam daily at home. I really hope she starts to eat again tomorrow as I don't relish the thought of syringe feeding her.

As it is hard to tell whether she is eating or not would it be best to cage her so her husbun Monty can't eat all of the food? Also, perhaps caging her would be better than letting her have the run of the bedroom at the moment. Not sure whether splitting them temporarily would be a good or bad thing.

I've just checked on her before bed and her left hip appears to be protruding slightly compared to the right, like it's not sitting in the right place.

Sorry this post is all over the place but it's been a loooong day and I'm exhausted!

Anyway, if you have any advice/experience of similar issues or want to send some healing vibes I would love to hear from you!

I'm sorry to hear a bout Daisy. I would be loathe to split a bonded pair for feeding as it may cause sharing problems once re-united. Have you tried feeding them in the same room but with separate bowls? Your OH could put Monty on his lap with a food bowl and you could do the same with Daisy to make sure she is eating. She might feel off her food due to pain so you could also tempt her with a warm pellet mash to get her taste buds going. It sounds like you are doing all you can for her. I would keep in touch with the vet daily if needs be. It does sound like she is suffering from an underlying problem but I'm not sure what that could be. I'm sure one of our more experienced members could suggest things to ask your vet about.

Sending vibes for Daisy in the meantime

I also wouldn't split them as it can cause stress and then this could stop her eating.
What I would do is give them their unlimited hay and then when it come to pellet feeding time just watch for a while to see if she is eating. And if she is eating see if you think she's eating enough. If you don't think she is you could always give her another separate feed later on, in which case you could separate the two for 15 minutes or so while she eats and this shouldn't cause too much stress.

I hope you get to the bottom of why this is going on. If it's arthritis the metacam will do the world of good and will help if she's in pain going to the toilet too. I wonder if it could be nerve damage?

Thank you both for your messages. We've fed them this morning and she has eaten some apple and a few softened SS pellets so I'm feeling a little more optimistic! Monty wanted to charge in and eat all of the apple before Daisy but I whisked him off to bed with me and we had a snooze for ten minutes!! Mmm warm Monty cuddles!

Daisy takes ages to eat anything as her front teeth fell out some time ago and her molars aren't in great condition. It's surprising how she manages to eat crunchy SS pellets. Ever since we adopted her she has never eaten grass or hay despite our best attempts to get her interested. Her diet consists of grated apple, SS and now and again a bowl of oats. This combo has kept her going for over a year.

I'll keep them together but monitor them closely. It would be a shame to split them as they get on so well and Monty clearly adores her. Monty is her second husbun after Harvey passed away this year.

I definately wouldn't separate them.

It is good that she is on daily Metacam. My Inca had hip problems / arthritis and she copes with daily Metacam and Monthly acupuncture.

I would want an X-Ray if Daisy were my bunny, i would want to know what i was dealing with so i could get the best treatment.

If she likes oats then i would increase her intake from now and again to try to make sure she was eating plenty

I've booked Daisy in for an x-ray tomorrow morning. I really don't want her to have a GA though but I really need to know what's going on with her hip so we know we're managing it correctly. I'm really worried for her because of her age and because she's so picky with her food PLUS we're near to Christmas and I dread the thought of something happening when our vet isn't available.
I hate Christmas.

What kind of bunny is Daisy, as in is she mild mannered & placid? My Herbie managed to have an X-Ray without any anaesthetic.

Even if not, then my Inca is a poorly bun. I was worried about her under GA, but she came through fine.

I will be sending some positive vibes for you tomorrow and hoping that the x-ray finds a treatable issue xx

In her youth (!) she was a feisty little madam but has mellowed slightly in her old age. She still tries her best to evade us when we need to pick her up but now her hip is hurting she struggles a lot less. The vet mentioned before this happened that if she needed an x-ray to check for stones that she would hold her rather than having an anaesthetic. I don't know if the situation would be different if having to x-ray her hip but I hope the same applies and she won't need a GA.

If she does have to go under it's getting her to eat again that worries me. She's so fussy and her teeth are in a terrible condition but there's nothing the vet can do as there are hardly any teeth left. I've given her soaked pellets, oats and grated apple but she is just nibbling now and again. Her poos are small but at least she is pooing. If we end up having to syringe feed her this worries me too as every pet we've had that has got to that point where we've had to syringe feed them has died.

Thank you so much for your advice and support. I'm going to try and be positive.
I'll keep you posted and update tomorrow x

Daisy had her x-rays today, under a little anaesthetic, not enough to completely knock her out. The films showed spondylosis (growths on the spine) and arthritis, particularly in the hind knee joints. She is going to need pain relief for the rest of her life. There were no fractures and the hip is definitely not dislocated.

On top of all that pus was found in her mouth meaning she probably has an abscess so she will need penicillin injections to tackle that issue too.

She has come round from the anaesthetic but is not eating by herself at the moment and was syringe fed whilst at the vets. I've been advised to try and get 100-150ml into her daily which I imagine is going to be incredibly difficult. :shock:

Daisy is due to go back again on Wednesday to see how she is getting on. The vet thinks it's worth trying the medication and pain relief and see if it improves her quality of life. After losing two pets already this year I am sure I will know when the time is right though

Our vet is just wonderful, she's friendly and incredibly knowledgeable regarding rabbits. I'm so relieved to have found a great vet relatively close to home. I just wish Christmas wasn't around the corner as I have a feeling we're going to need her when it's closed!

Has anyone else cared for an elderly rabbit with spondylosis or arthritis?

Painkillers sound like the best option. Your vet does sound very good.

My old girl Biscuit had similar problems, she went from being a fiesty girl that tolarated being picked up to this summer she became an old lady. one day she was up and boinging slowly then next she was dragging herself along, we rushed to the vets who gave her a painkiller and 24hours to improve, the difference was amazing, she then went onto metacam she had 0.8 per day she was a 4k bunny and loved it cos its tastes nice to rabbits. She was a very old bunny with a chequered past and was at least 9 but quite possibly alot older, we kept her going till the metacam wasnt enough for her and then made the big descision. I know the last bit isnt what you want to hear but the metacam was brilliant for her.

vick said:

Has anyone else cared for an elderly rabbit with spondylosis or arthritis?

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You may want to PM BinkyBun with regards to this as her bun Darcy has spondylosis and osteo-arthritis. AFAIK the treatment is pain relief but I believe that Darcy also had accupuncutre which has made a great difference to a few buns on the forum. I think Hugo's There has a fair bit of experience with that. Glucosamine has also come up a few times as an arthritis treatment and helps some buns. Don't want to overload you with info but I'd suggest a wee search for the above as there is a lot of info hiding on here!

Lots of vibes for Daisy

Thank you, I will definitely have a search.

I syringe fed Daisy last night, this morning and have started again this evening. She hasn't eaten anything by herself all day and it doesn't look like she's done any poos either. She's on Zantac twice a day and Metacam once. Should the Zantac be working by now? Does it always work?

vick said:

Thank you, I will definitely have a search.

I syringe fed Daisy last night, this morning and have started again this evening. She hasn't eaten anything by herself all day and it doesn't look like she's done any poos either. She's on Zantac twice a day and Metacam once. Should the Zantac be working by now? Does it always work?

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I would recommend phoning your vet if she has no output. Is she drinking at all? Some buns do take longer to get started than others, so really it depends on what your vet thinks is a good idea to do next. My experience with stasis buns is limited so hopefully someone more knowledgable will come along shortly. I know in my bun Oidhche we fed her recovery food as she LOVED it - was the only thing she would eat so we just fed large quantities of that (on vet advice).

Hi :wave: I'm so sorry your old bun Daisy has spondylosis and osteo-arth. My Darcy has this too and its horrible to see them in pain and so heartbreaking when they can't binky anymore because of it. Darcy is now on 2mls of metacam a day. This keeps him out of pain and he moves around okay. His hips are the wrong shape now so he does hop\walk a bit funny but he doesn't let it stop him.

Is Daisy eating and pooing okay now? I really hope she is. If not please get her to your vet asap.

Darcy is on metacam once a day and Glucosamine, Chrondition in a product called Arthri-Aid. I had to replace the litter tray as he couldn't hop in and out so I got a massive potting tray which has a flat front and high back so perfect for use as rabbit litter tray. If you google "potting tray" you should get a selection. I bought mine from an online garden store but I just checked my old link and they've gone out of business.

If you need or want to know anymore or just someone to chat to about it, I'm here. Just pm me xxx

Thank you Binkybun, I will pm you soon. I'm sorry to hear about Darcy, how old is he?

Daisy is at least moving around a bit better now, she seems to in less pain and can put some pressure on her leg. The big problem now is the fact that she is still not eating by herself.

Daisy had another check-up at the vets tonight and whilst the vet is pleased at how her leg has improved and how bright she is she is concerned about the lack of eating. We are getting 100mls of Oxbow Critical Care into her daily which is still going well as she is fine taking it so far. I've surrounded her with bowls of all her favourite foods including some new things to tempt her (some mushy, some dry) but she won't touch a thing. She is still drinking by herself though. We have another appointment pencilled in for Saturday morning, just in case things start to go downhill.

Her poo output has been minimal which is to be expected but I did notice some a clump of strong smelling dark sticky poos with jelly tonight which must have come from her. It's not great, but it's a start and it shows that things are moving.

I feel that we are doing all we can for her but how long is it fair to keep syringe feeding a rabbit for?

My Inca is the same, she had back end / hip problems / arthritis. She gets daily Metacam, Glucosamine and monthly acupuncture.

It's as if my Inca's foot turns in under her body, so when she runs it often slips right out to the other side and she falls over. Her back / spine is looking rather curved now

The problem that i am having just now is that Inca pees on her foot when she is in her litter tray as it sits under her

Daisy is on the correct meds so she should do well, fingers crossed x

I hope she starts eating soon. Sending lots of vibes for Daisy xx

I'm so sorry poorly Daisy still isn't eating right. Try out these herbs - my lot go totally bonkers for it. If you explain to Lisa (the owner) your bun is really poorly hopefully she would put in an urgent order for you if she can. Worth a shot...

https://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/Natural+Treats+%2526+Herbs.7/Herbs+Plus.200.html


When one of my buns has had statis I find syringing water is the most important (obv with everything else as well) but I see an improvement more once they start taking in more water. Beatrix especially. I get the Oxbow fine blend of the emergency feed so its easier to syringe and flow down. I always keep a sachet in the cupboard for emergencies. Its good that Daisy is outputting something but I hope they become more solid soon. Good that you have the vet appointment set up for saturday.

My Darcy is a french lop and is 7.5 years now. He is still very mobile he doesn't let anything stop him - especially when he sniffs a treat!! Obviously he can't jump up anymore and his hopping/walking does look a bit wonky but he still wanders around the flat. I have adapted everything to be easy for him. Metacam is a life saver for keeping him pain free and so far no nasty side effects (fingers and paws crossed).

The worst thing was he started having fits but my vet insisted it was pain spasms so we kept upping hte metacam - luckily my vet has finally agreed they are fits and took blood samples to reveal he has EC which has been causing the fits. So my poor boysie is on lots of different meds right now.

How is Daisy doing??