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Unexplained weightloss UD

nessar

Warren Veteran
What can cause unexplained weightloss (longterm)? Barney is eating fine, in fact I have him on more pellets than I should, he gets 2-3 handfuls of SS junior a day, despite being an adult rabbit, and is still losing weight. He also eats his hay okay, considering the amount of pellets, and has a good appetite for everything.
 
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Chronic Infection
Dental Disease
Heart Disease
Liver/Kidney Problems
Neoplastic condition
Chronic pain
GI tract malabsorption/cecal dysbiosis
Stress

To name a few xx
 
Chronic Infection
Dental Disease
Liver/Kidney Problems
Neoplastic condition
Chronic pain
GI tract malabsorption/cecal dysbiosis
Stress

To name a few xx

I think i might just add to my signature "what Jacks-Jane said" like Angie65 has to hers with Sky-O :lol: :thumb:

Out of interest, have you tried protexin profibre?

Ginger HAS to have this or she just can't absorb all the necessities from her food and loses weight fairly drastically. They dont put weight on themselves, but can help the body to metabolise and absorb everything better :)
 
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Thank you so, so much Jane, I've seen two vets about it and neither had a clue, nor seemed that worried about it. The last one suggested worming just in case parasites/EC was a possible cause, he seemed to not have a clue what it could be, but I'm halfway through a course of panacur with both just in case.

Yes, they get the profibre pellets Graham, I sometimes forget to feed them everyday, as I cant feed them till B has finished his SS pellets, or he wont eat them all. They seem to help slow, but not stop the weightloss.

What happens is I up his pellets and profibre pellets and he is fine for a bit, then his weight goes down, and I have to up everything further and he is fine for a bit, then it goes down etc Its just a horrid cycle and I'm not sure B can physically eat more pellets than he is on currently.
 
Thank you so, so much Jane, I've seen two vets about it and neither had a clue, nor seemed that worried about it. The last one suggested worming just in case parasites/EC was a possible cause, he seemed to not have a clue what it could be, but I'm halfway through a course of panacur with both just in case.

Yes, they get the profibre pellets Graham, I sometimes forget to feed them everyday, as I cant feed them till B has finished his SS pellets, or he wont eat them all. They seem to help slow, but not stop the weightloss.

What happens is I up his pellets and profibre pellets and he is fine for a bit, then his weight goes down, and I have to up everything further and he is fine for a bit, then it goes down etc Its just a horrid cycle and I'm not sure B can physically eat more pellets than he is on currently.

Think i'd be looking for a new vet nessar! I assume they didnt want to do further investigations etc, such as bloods, xrays etc at least?
 
Think i'd be looking for a new vet nessar! I assume they didnt want to do further investigations etc, such as bloods, xrays etc at least?

That would be my advice, too.
If the vets weren't concerned enough about weight loss to carry out tests, I'd be worried that they weren't rabbit-savvy.
 
Think i'd be looking for a new vet nessar! I assume they didnt want to do further investigations etc, such as bloods, xrays etc at least?

The last one I saw did say he could do a blood test if I liked, if the panacur didnt work, but he didnt seem to know what he would be looking for, or if he did he didnt let me in on it. We're not done with the panacur yet (7 days left), but it was a longshot and doesnt seem to have made a difference yet.

I am looking for a new one, really fed up by vets that claim they are good with rabbits but dont do anything about his weightloss! Problem is I dont drive, and its a quarter-hour bus to the nearest bus station and a half hour one to the nearest train station, so my options are rather limited. I am going to check out this vets next, who seem to have an interest in small furries, but cant decide on which one of their vets to see: http://www.farthingsvet.co.uk/farthings-vets.html Their receptionist wasnt much help, saying they are all good with rabbits.
 
That would be my advice, too.
If the vets weren't concerned enough about weight loss to carry out tests, I'd be worried that they weren't rabbit-savvy.

I know :( they normally just put it down to the fact that he is a dental bun, but whilst he has spurs at the moment, they arent causing problems and he is eating fine - they dont seem to get that. His age is also unknown, but I dont think this is caused by just age.
 
The last one I saw did say he could do a blood test if I liked, if the panacur didnt work, but he didnt seem to know what he would be looking for, or if he did he didnt let me in on it. We're not done with the panacur yet (7 days left), but it was a longshot and doesnt seem to have made a difference yet.

I am looking for a new one, really fed up by vets that claim they are good with rabbits but dont do anything about his weightloss! Problem is I dont drive, and its a quarter-hour bus to the nearest bus station and a half hour one to the nearest train station, so my options are rather limited. I am going to check out this vets next, who seem to have an interest in small furries, but cant decide on which one of their vets to see: http://www.farthingsvet.co.uk/farthings-vets.html Their receptionist wasnt much help, saying they are all good with rabbits.


That would worry me as normally a practice would only have one exotics specialist. They may be 'good' with rabbits, but do they have the necessary knowledge.

I can, however, see you are a bit stuck as far as transport is concerned
 
I know :( they normally just put it down to the fact that he is a dental bun, but whilst he has spurs at the moment, they arent causing problems and he is eating fine - they dont seem to get that. His age is also unknown, but I dont think this is caused by just age.

Has he had a blood work-up ?

Has he ever had 'Snuffles' ?

Also, even though his spurs may look insignificant they might be playing a part in his weightloss

Does he drink a lot ?
 
Has he had a blood work-up ?

Has he ever had 'Snuffles' ?

Also, even though his spurs may look insignificant they might be playing a part in his weightloss

Does he drink a lot ?

He had his kidney function tested last summer, came back fine, but the test also revealed that he was mildly anemic.

Yes, he is a snuffles bun, it is mild but chronic. Not sure what bacteria though, as had a C&S test done but nothing grew.

He has always drunk loads, when I first got him he drank about a litre a day, this went down over time (vet dismissed it as behavioural, a stereotypy from likely being bored in a hutch all day, as we didnt know anything about his past) and then peaked last summer in the heat wave, went up to nearly 2 litres a day between the two buns, it was mostly Barney though. That was when I had his kidney function tested, as that really worried me. Since then it has dropped again, currently it is maybe 600-800ml between them, depending on the weather.
 
He had his kidney function tested last summer, came back fine, but the test also revealed that he was mildly anemic.

Yes, he is a snuffles bun, it is mild but chronic. Not sure what bacteria though, as had a C&S test done but nothing grew.

He has always drunk loads, when I first got him he drank about a litre a day, this went down over time (vet dismissed it as behavioural, a stereotypy from likely being bored in a hutch all day, as we didnt know anything about his past) and then peaked last summer in the heat wave, went up to nearly 2 litres a day between the two buns, it was mostly Barney though. That was when I had his kidney function tested, as that really worried me. Since then it has dropped again, currently it is maybe 600-800ml between them, depending on the weather.

It may be worth getting bloods done again, looking at Liver function in particular

His chronic problems may be the cause of his inability to maintain weight. Any chronic disease process will use up calorific energy.

To be honest I am not a fan of using Fenbendazole unless absolutely necessary. It is not without side effects itself. But that is just my unqualified opinion.
 
He had his kidney function tested last summer, came back fine, but the test also revealed that he was mildly anemic.

Yes, he is a snuffles bun, it is mild but chronic. Not sure what bacteria though, as had a C&S test done but nothing grew.

He has always drunk loads, when I first got him he drank about a litre a day, this went down over time (vet dismissed it as behavioural, a stereotypy from likely being bored in a hutch all day, as we didnt know anything about his past) and then peaked last summer in the heat wave, went up to nearly 2 litres a day between the two buns, it was mostly Barney though. That was when I had his kidney function tested, as that really worried me. Since then it has dropped again, currently it is maybe 600-800ml between them, depending on the weather.

I did not, of course, know anything of this when I replied to your earlier posts.
 
It may be worth getting bloods done again, looking at Liver function in particular

His chronic problems may be the cause of his inability to maintain weight. Any chronic disease process will use up calorific energy.

To be honest I am not a fan of using Fenbendazole unless absolutely necessary. It is not without side effects itself. But that is just my unqualified opinion.


Thank you, yes I think I will ask for bloods, would you reccommend getting full bloods done, so they can screen for everything, or just specific ones?
 
Update

We went to a new vet on Wednesday, who is suitably concerned about the weightloss unlike some others I have seen. She isnt an exotic or rabbit specialist, but she has many years of experience treating rabbits. I think it might be her practice, or at least she runs it, as she is clinical director there. She said that as so few people take their rabbits to the vets often enough, they endeavour to ensure that the people that do are given a good experience and are not put off, so they keep themselves up to date with rabbit medicine. There is also another vet there who is currently training in zoological veterinary medicine, so she will be qualified. I am hoping this vets are a keeper, even though it costs me a bomb to get there and back! She did, however, trance him, but then that was to have a good feel of his gut - she seemed a little concerned by the fact that she couldnt feel much poo in there.

So anyway, she doesnt want to rule anything out just yet, so he is in for blood tests and an ultrasound of his gut on Monday. They are also going to do a tearduct flush that day to try and help his snuffles, as she said pretty much what Jane said about the snuffles using up energy, so we are going to possibly look at more antibiotics as well, depending on the results of all of these tests. All of this is being done under sedation - I'm a bit worried this will be too stressful for Barney though.

Then, depending on the results, he will be in for a dental sometime in the next couple of weeks, and they may do xrays at the same time.
 
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