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Depressed rabbit

L

LionheadLuver

Warren Veteran
Hi

My rabbits are 6 years old and have always been year round outdoor rabbits. In past winters, they have coped fine however this winter, Milly seems depressed. Molly seems fine, is eating, hopping around. But although Milly is eating, she just sits and doesn't hop around too much. She sits in a crunched position and seems cold. Could it just be she's feeling the cold more or is it worth a vet visit?

Their hutch is covered with fleece and foil backed cover and they have heatpads 24/7 and warm water to drink. They have a covered litter tray in the hutch and lots of hay. Milly has dental issues however I don't believe it's dental or a gut problem as she's eating normally.

I do have space to move them inside however they won't get as much space as they have outside but at least they would be warm. Is this worth thinking about doing? How would I go about it?
 
I would get her checked over at the vet. She's telling you that there is something wrong. It could be early signs of needing a dental, or it could be something else entirely. Definitely worth sorting out whatever it is early, then you don't need to move their living spaces around. If she seems cold, do you have a snugglesafe heat pad that you could put in their bed area? She would have the option of a warm spot if she needed it.
 
I agree. Mine just had their vacs and the first thing my vet asked was how much my 6 year old is moving this winter as she was worried about age related arthritic pain.
 
She's physically healthy in terms of her heart and guts. She wouldn't hop around in the vets so couldn't judge her gait. But she's on metacam for a week to see if it is joint pain. If there is no change, then she'll be back at vets for more tests.
 
I hope that the Metacam will help her. I'd keep a close eye on her hocks as immobility could lead to more sore hock problems.
 
Milly's been on metacam for 5 days and I've seen little improvement. She's hopping around ok, running up and down the runaround tube and hopping onto and off boxes, but she still seems to have a deflated, sad expression. I don't know if it's some form of depression, maybe not enough sunlight (their hutch and run doesn't get direct sunlight in winter although its not in complete darkness either), or she's just miserable because it's cold. They are rexes so don't develop the thick coats of other breeds however they have been outdoors in winter for 6 years of their lives and I haven't seen this before.

I don't know if I'm imagining things about Milly, there is just something about her that just seems different and its difficult to pinpoint what it is. It's seems not to be pain as metacam hasn't improved her mood. It's not infection as the vet checked her temperature which was normal. What could it be?
 
Could you bring them indoors for winter ? Now they are older they may not do so well outdoors when it's cold and damp much of the time. In the wild Rabbits would take refuge underground in their dry warm burrows. Also Wildies would probably never reached 6 years of age in the first place.

Is Milly eating and pooing as normal ?
 
Jack's-Jane said:
Could you bring them indoors for winter ? Now they are older they may not do so well outdoors when it's cold and damp much of the time. In the wild Rabbits would take refuge underground in their dry warm burrows. Also Wildies would probably never reached 6 years of age in the first place.

Is Milly eating and pooing as normal ?
Click to expand...

I can bring them indoors but it will probably be in a cage with only supervised run time (outdoors they have 6ft x 2ft hutch attached to 7ft x 5ft run). Would this be ok?

Milly is eating normally and pooing normally. The only time she's excited is when food arrives and the rest of the time, she's sad.
 
I would think that a happy rabbit in a smaller space would be better than a depressed rabbit in a larger enclosure.

Maybe bring them in for the day and see if it helps her to perk up at all. If it does, maybe indoors would be the best thing.
 
Jbun said:
I would think that a happy rabbit in a smaller space would be better than a depressed rabbit in a larger enclosure.

Maybe bring them in for the day and see if it helps her to perk up at all. If it does, maybe indoors would be the best thing.
Click to expand...

I agree.

As long as they both get some free range time. Could you partition off part of a room to create an enclosure ? Something like Janey has here

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?359750-Pixie-the-failed-trio-s-set-up

I realise most people would not want to do as I have and turn their entire house into a hay filled Rabbit warren !! But Janey's set up provides space and also looks Human House-like rather than Barn like :D
 
One other thought, I'd get the Vet to have a good listen to Milly's heart. Congestive Heart failure can initially present with the vague symptoms you describe. Rexes appear to be prone to heart problems. Hopefully it is not that, but the possibility needs to be investigated.
 
I'm sorry to hear this but I do think bringing them indoors is a good idea. One of my buns, Sparky who is a rex, when he got to three and half / four he got really grumpy/depressed being outdoors. He didn't move about too much, especially when it was winter or when the weather was bad, such as rain or snow. He would munch his food but he wasn't too fussed about it and sometimes didn't show any interest. We took him to the vets who checked him over completely and found nothing physically wrong.

As we were concerned, we brought him indoors to monitor him but because it was very cold outdoors we didn't want to risk putting him back outside until the spring, as we were worried about changing the temperature too much. Over the winter months, Sparky became a completely different rabbit - he does binkies when it's feeding time, does laps of his pen, stands up on his hind legs every time we walk past his pen. rips the hay out of our hands and is just much happier. I'm not sure whether it's the indoor warmth or whether it's all the activity that's going on around him all day but bringing him indoors was the best thing we did and he's going to be 6 next year!
 
I'm wondering whether to take her back to the vet. She's finished the bottle of metacam and although she does seem to be more comfortable moving around, she still seems different. Sometimes she's her normal happy self, wanting food and hopping around. But sometimes she will just sit there, like she's withdrawn into herself and doesn't want fuss, and just nibbles at food. But a little while later, she'll be eating food again and be happy. I don't think she's cold or bored (she's got heatpads and new toys).

I think the metacam may have helped with some joint pain, however I feel there's still something niggling away and I can't put my finger on it. Should I take her back to the vet even though there isn't a clear symptom?

Bringing them indoors is a last resort as I'm not entirely sure it is the cold, but if she needs to come in, then she will.
 
Did you read my last post

Jack's-Jane said:
One other thought, I'd get the Vet to have a good listen to Milly's heart. Congestive Heart failure can initially present with the vague symptoms you describe. Rexes appear to be prone to heart problems. Hopefully it is not that, but the possibility needs to be investigated.
Click to expand...

I would definitely take her back to the Vet
 
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