Diabetes in Rabbits?

I have been told by my vet that my Holly might have diabetes. She has been excessively drinking, eating and urinating. I've been feeding her a huge bowl of water and a much larger ammount of pellets than usual and she's finishing the water over night and always looking for more food. She's also losing weight on top of the huge amount that she is eating. Her litter tray has also needed emptying very frequently as she is producing so much urine.

The vet took blood from her this evening (He's checking for kidney function too but said the excessive eating alongside weight loss is more typical of diabetes) and I will hopefully know by friday, however I was wondering what it will mean if she does have diabetes. The vet said it's very rare in rabbits and I'm having trouble finding much information on the internet.

Thanks

Diabetes in Rabbits is very rare and cannot be diagnosed acurately by just one blood test. Several are needed at various times of the day

http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00dis/Miscellaneous/Diabetes_mellitus_Rabbit.htm

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/Metabolic_diseases/Diabetes_en.htm

A far more likely diagnosis would be a kidney or liver function problem. EC may be involved.

Thanks a lot for the reply Jacks Jane

I have treated her for EC when I first got her in april so hopefully it's not that. I will mention to the vet that multiple blood tests are needed. I'm guessing this is because the glucose levels in the blood fluctuate???

Do you by any chance know whether liver/kidney problems would cause excessive eating as well?

Bellatrix18 said:

Thanks a lot for the reply Jacks Jane

I have treated her for EC when I first got her in april so hopefully it's not that. I will mention to the vet that multiple blood tests are needed. I'm guessing this is because the glucose levels in the blood fluctuate???

Do you by any chance know whether liver/kidney problems would cause excessive eating as well?

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Just because you have given a course of Panacur it does not mean EC is not the primary issue. Panacur (or Lapizole) does not 'cure' or totally prevent EC. So I would certainly not rule it out as a differential diagnosis.

Yes, both Liver and Kidney problems can cause excessive drinking.

Blood glucose can increase significantly in response to stress amongst other things, so the process of taking the blood sample may itself induce a higher than normal reading. Other factors such as the phase of the digestive process and if the Rabbit has had sedation also need to be taken into account.

Thanks again JacksJane
I will pass this information on to my vet.

I do know about excessive drinking with kidney/liver issues but was asking if they would cause excessive eating as she is getting through a large amount of food and never seems to stop wanting to eat. Its not like a normal rabbit eating through out the day, she would eat pellets 24/7 if I let her but she's still losing weight

I might pop her on another course of panacure just in case. I had a rabbit with EC a few years ago and would rather play it safe.

Bellatrix18 said:

Thanks again JacksJane
I will pass this information on to my vet.

I do know about excessive drinking with kidney/liver issues but was asking if they would cause excessive eating as she is getting through a large amount of food and never seems to stop wanting to eat. Its not like a normal rabbit eating through out the day, she would eat pellets 24/7 if I let her but she's still losing weight

I might pop her on another course of panacure just in case. I had a rabbit with EC a few years ago and would rather play it safe.

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Is she eating hay ?

Yeas she eats a lot of hay which is good, but then she also eats any thing else she can get her paws on. I think she'd honestly eat pellets all day if I let her.

When she first started losing weight I fed her extra pellets and vegetables such as carrots to get her weight up, but it seems to have had the opposite affect and she has dramatically lost wight in the last couple of weeks.

The blood results have come in and there are no signs of liver or kidney problems which is such a relief. He said glucose was on the high end of normal and will now find the average of her glucose levels by doing a special blood test that can work out the average over a couple of weeks. He is also recommending another 28 day course of panacure.

Since the vet mentioned diabetes I have stopped feeding her sugary vegetables and cut down on her pellets dramatically (only feeding her 5 or 6 pellets a day). I have seen improvements already. She hasn't been as frantic about eating and she drank less than half as much as usual last night! Whether she is diabetic or not I am happy that she seems a bit better...

She has her blood test on Friday and I'll let you know how it goes.
Thanks again Jane for replying and for your advice!!

Id be interested to know the outcome of this, as it sounds an awful lot like parsley, I haven't notices him losing weight but I'll be weighing him and monitering it, and taking him to the vet for a check up.
What would the treatment be if it is diabetes? If your vet said?
Hope your bun will be ok xxx

natsusakura said:

Id be interested to know the outcome of this, as it sounds an awful lot like parsley, I haven't notices him losing weight but I'll be weighing him and monitering it, and taking him to the vet for a check up.
What would the treatment be if it is diabetes? If your vet said?
Hope your bun will be ok xxx

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http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00dis/Miscellaneous/Diabetes_mellitus_Rabbit.htm

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/Metabolic_diseases/Diabetes_en.htm

Thanks Jane