Weightloss

I'm getting increasingly concerned about Shelby.

She had a dental done about 2 months ago, and afterwards put on weight so I bonded her back into my group (6 including Shelby) and the weight she gained has just dropped off of her

I thought it could be stress as Tinkerbell can be a bit of a bully so i've had them in a smaller pen all week to help them bond a little better and i've been hand feeding her 10 SS pellets twice a day and then she will still have some A&P with the group and veg most evenings. She gained weight when she was on her own but now shes gotten so thin i'm really worried. I was hoping handfeeding her some SS would do the trick but obviously not.

I'm now a little concerned there may be something else going on. I thought maybe worms? But then surely if she had worms the whole group would have as they live together. She is having no problems eating so I doubt it is her teeth. I'm literally at the point of separating her and another from the group (for company) but I don't know if its the right thing to do or not. I could split her and she still might not gain any weight.

I'm going to weigh her today then give her another week on the SS and if she hasn't gained by next weekend I was going to get her booked into the vets for some bloodwork or tests or something. I don't want to leave it too long but then I also don't want to get loads of tests done if its just simply stress or something. So not quite sure what to do with her at this point

She was overweight when I got her, but she lost it quite quickly and since then has always been on the slimmer side of the scale, maybe a bit too slim. But the last few months she has been really much too thin. The fact she gained weight after her dental on her own makes me think maybe the larger group isn't helping and she would prefer a smaller, quieter group maybe.

Question is do i want to ruin the 6 and split Shelby & Tia out and see what happens? Once split bonding them back is pretty much out of the question so is it something to risk or not? i just don't know what to do for the best. Other than being thin she is okay in herself, always happy to see me and bouncing around like the rest of them. Just sad seeing her so thin bless her she is such a little sweetheart. I don't post on here much but Shelby is my Blue charlie-marked mini lop from Rickyard Stud. I did get in touch with them and ask if they could shed some light from her parents etc but they have had no problems in their lines so we are really all stumped by it.

And this is why I don't bother posting on this forum, because everybody is so damn clicky, no-one can be bothered to reply to my post. Thought I would post somewhere with a few more people who might have experienced something like this before as i'm genuinely worried and wanting more opinions but doesn't look like i'm going to get any help so don't know why I bother. :?

This is why I stopped posting on here in the first place when I got my first rabbits 3yrs ago and moved to another forum....

Is she drinking a lot? Maybe it could be diabetes? I'm no expert though so would be best to ask the vets x

Mischief and Tinker's Mum said:

Is she drinking a lot? Maybe it could be diabetes? I'm no expert though so would be best to ask the vets x

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Thanks for the reply Emma.

Nopes she is fine in herself and not drinking excessively. Vets is my next step if she doesn't gain weight this next week. Shes only been hand fed the last week so want to give a little bit longer just to be sure.

As she put weight on after her dental my gut instinct says its Tinkerbell bullying her thats doing it and stressing her out, but I posted here just for a few more ideas, but doesn't look like i'm going to get any so will just have to go with my own initiative I guess.

Fingers crossed she gains weight again in the next week. If not its off to the vets for tests and/or splitting her and Tia from the group :?

Pinkchi said:

And this is why I don't bother posting on this forum, because everybody is so damn clicky, no-one can be bothered to reply to my post. Thought I would post somewhere with a few more people who might have experienced something like this before as i'm genuinely worried and wanting more opinions but doesn't look like i'm going to get any help so don't know why I bother. :?

This is why I stopped posting on here in the first place when I got my first rabbits 3yrs ago and moved to another forum....

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And you expect people to reply to you when you're so rude? :?
Most people will click on a thread and if they don't know how to answer will often click off it. What do you want hundreds of post of "I don't know."?
The experts aren't always on every day. Be patient, or go to a vet. :wave:

She could need a dental again. It could be kidney problems. You might need to have blood tests done, but I think the first thing to do is feed her on her own, see if she's willing to eat and see what she's willing to eat. If feeding her on her own helps then that's perfect, otherwise it's probably medical and you will need a vet.

Jenova said:

And you expect people to reply to you when you're so rude? :?
Most people will click on a thread and if they don't know how to answer will often click off it. What do you want hundreds of post of "I don't know."?
The experts aren't always on every day. Be patient, or go to a vet. :wave:

She could need a dental again. It could be kidney problems. You might need to have blood tests done, but I think the first thing to do is feed her on her own, see if she's willing to eat and see what she's willing to eat. If feeding her on her own helps then that's perfect, otherwise it's probably medical and you will need a vet.

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I was deliberately rude as i'm tired, stressed, worried to name a few. Its been a very long week....
I just thought as there are more members on here there would be more people who will have experienced this sort of thing, which is why i posted in the first place.

She eats fine, very eager on fresh hay when i top up in the morning and evening, straight onto the grass in the run, goes mad for veg and stands up on her back legs when she wants her next SS pellet as i've been hand feeding her the SS as extra on top of their usual.

She put weight on after her dental when she was split from the group. Since being back with them she has lost the weight she gained, and as Tinks been a bit of a bully I thought the stress might be something to do with it so ive had them penned into a smaller section to try and strengthen the bond between them and hopefully make her feel more comfortable in the group.

Trouble is i don't want to split her and Tia from the group unless im absolutely sure as once they are split they wont be going back in