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Barbie kept losing weight! :(

L

Little_Girl

Warren Scout
Hi everyone! My bunny Barbie weight dropped from 2.5 kg (May) to 1.5kg now. :cry:

Barbie is 17 months, spayed and lives indoor.

She is eating a lot of hay as usual, a small amount of veg(usually cauliflower leafs or carrots) and pellets daily.

Her poo and urine are both normal, losing weight is the only thing i can notice! (we can feel her back bone and ribs easily when touching her)

I took her to the vet this morning, he examined her, found some relatively small problem with her teeth, but that should not affect her eating...

i was given some panacur, he said this is the 1st step, we will go back to vet next week if no signs of improvement,

and will do blood and urine tests etc...

I am really worry, she is part of our family, anyone know what causes a bunny to lose so much weight? :(

should I give her more food or is there anything else i can do?

 
It sounds as though your Vet is dealing with things appropriately at this stage and a re-check next week is certainly necessary.

Do you actually see her eating LOTS of hay ?

How much pellet feed does she have and what brand ?

Is she drinking more than normal and is her wee very dilute (like water) ?

This may sound like an odd question, but did the Vet check her ears using an otoscope ?
 
Jack's-Jane said:
It sounds as though your Vet is dealing with things appropriately at this stage and a re-check next week is certainly necessary.

Do you actually see her eating LOTS of hay ?

How much pellet feed does she have and what brand ?

Is she drinking more than normal and is her wee very dilute (like water) ?

This may sound like an odd question, but did the Vet check her ears using an otoscope ?
Click to expand...

hello! thanks for reply! :wave:

Yes she is eating a lot of hay(Timothy & Rye Hay) everyday, I have to refill her tray many times a day.

I give her a handful of burgress adult pellets daily, and a few sticks of fibafirst as treat.

for water, she is drinking as usual, and pee colour is yellow to brown colour.

the vet did check her ears with a scope, and her teeth as well, also her heartbeat (mentioned about there's a small blood leaking in the valve, but not a big problem)

a friend suggested to feed her alfafa hay or pellets for junior rabbit? is that a good thing to do?

Many thanks!xx
 
Little_Girl said:
hello! thanks for reply! :wave:

Yes she is eating a lot of hay(Timothy & Rye Hay) everyday, I have to refill her tray many times a day.

I give her a handful of burgress adult pellets daily, and a few sticks of fibafirst as treat.

for water, she is drinking as usual, and pee colour is yellow to brown colour.

the vet did check her ears with a scope, and her teeth as well, also her heartbeat (mentioned about there's a small blood leaking in the valve, but not a big problem)

a friend suggested to feed her alfafa hay or pellets for junior rabbit? is that a good thing to do?

Many thanks!xx
Click to expand...

Is the heart murmur a new finding ?

Yes, a junior pellet feed may be useful. Burgess do one specifically for junior Rabbits. Adding some alfalfa hay is OK but I would not feed it exclusively as it has a high calcium content which can start to cause issues for some Rabbits. But fed as part of a variety of hays should be fine.
 
Jane has experience with heart problems in bunnies. So I hope she can help with that.

Has she had bloods taken? I think this would be the next step, if I were you. Although, just a word of warning. I had a bun that dropped weight rather dramatically just because of tiny, tiny spurs on her teeth. It looked as though she was eating lots of hay, but when I watched closely, I realised she was just chewing the hay up and not actually eating it. She also had underlying kidney/liver problems, though, and I think a combination of these things were why she dropped her weight so easily.

Sending vibes for your bunny. x
 
Jack's-Jane said:
Is the heart murmur a new finding ?

Yes, a junior pellet feed may be useful. Burgess do one specifically for junior Rabbits. Adding some alfalfa hay is OK but I would not feed it exclusively as it has a high calcium content which can start to cause issues for some Rabbits. But fed as part of a variety of hays should be fine.
Click to expand...

Thanks very much jane!;)

I will go and buy some junior pellets for her then! I think i will just stick to the same hay for now and see if there's any improvement! :roll:

will let you know how we get on! x
 
Vegan_Bunny said:
Jane has experience with heart problems in bunnies. So I hope she can help with that.

Has she had bloods taken? I think this would be the next step, if I were you. Although, just a word of warning. I had a bun that dropped weight rather dramatically just because of tiny, tiny spurs on her teeth. It looked as though she was eating lots of hay, but when I watched closely, I realised she was just chewing the hay up and not actually eating it. She also had underlying kidney/liver problems, though, and I think a combination of these things were why she dropped her weight so easily.

Sending vibes for your bunny. x
Click to expand...

Hello! not yet, vet said go back to him next week to do blood test.

yes vet said there are some spurs in her teeth too! he said if we cant identify what the problem is, we gonna have to do something with her teeth,

but the risk is, have to use anaesthesia during the operation. :(

i hope we dont have to go to that step....thanks for the vibes!!x
 
Little_Girl said:
Hello! not yet, vet said go back to him next week to do blood test.

yes vet said there are some spurs in her teeth too! he said if we cant identify what the problem is, we gonna have to do something with her teeth,

but the risk is, have to use anaesthesia during the operation. :(

i hope we dont have to go to that step....thanks for the vibes!!x
Click to expand...

Yeh, I would worry about the GA, mainly because of the heart murmur. Perhaps she has something wrong with her heart which is why she is losing weight? I don't know enough about heart problems in bunnies to say really. :(
 
Feeding her foods to help build her up will help support her whilst you identify the root cause. The junior pellets are a good idea and you can also add a spoon of rolled (porridge) oats. If you don't have them already they'll be available at the supermarket.

Might be worth you weighing her on your home scales if you have some that way you can monitor her weight easily - they might show slightly different to the vet but will go up down accurately.
 
Tamsin said:
Feeding her foods to help build her up will help support her whilst you identify the root cause. The junior pellets are a good idea and you can also add a spoon of rolled (porridge) oats. If you don't have them already they'll be available at the supermarket.

Might be worth you weighing her on your home scales if you have some that way you can monitor her weight easily - they might show slightly different to the vet but will go up down accurately.
Click to expand...

thanks for reply. :)

See for the porridge, can I use the original quaker porridge? Do i just put a table spoon of it with the pellets? or do I need to soak it?
Yes I will weight her with the kitchen scale, she is too light for the bathroom one xx
 
I'm sorry your rabbit Barbie is unwell and loosing weight. A heart murmur could be an indication of heart disease. My Bella who sadly passed away in March this year was found to have a heart murmur last October - she had lost quite a lot of weight and was weeing and pooing in unusual places. Our vet did an X-ray as well as bloods and the exray showed her heart was enlarged and diseased.

Bella was put on fortekor which is a cat and dog tablet for heart and renal failure and she did well on them that her heart shrunk back to it's original size a few months later. It was quite hard to maintain her weight and to keep it at a stable balance but we were able to.

We are currently having struggles with my Flopsy who has kidney disease and recently found to have liver issues. He's lost a load of weight and it's a reall struggle to maintain it. It's essential to try and keep their weight at a stable balance.

Best of luck with Barbie - I hope she'll be ok.
 
Little_Girl said:
See for the porridge, can I use the original quaker porridge? Do i just put a table spoon of it with the pellets? or do I need to soak it? Yes I will weight her with the kitchen scale, she is too light for the bathroom one xx
Click to expand...

Is it the stuff that looks like oats that have been flattened, rather than ready mix (looks like dust)? If so yes, as long as it's just oats they haven't pre-added sugar or anything. If you are just feeding a pinch dry is okay but I like to add a bit of water so it's not absorbing it from the gut and selling.
 
jackaroonie1997 said:
I'm sorry your rabbit Barbie is unwell and loosing weight. A heart murmur could be an indication of heart disease. My Bella who sadly passed away in March this year was found to have a heart murmur last October - she had lost quite a lot of weight and was weeing and pooing in unusual places. Our vet did an X-ray as well as bloods and the exray showed her heart was enlarged and diseased.

Bella was put on fortekor which is a cat and dog tablet for heart and renal failure and she did well on them that her heart shrunk back to it's original size a few months later. It was quite hard to maintain her weight and to keep it at a stable balance but we were able to.

We are currently having struggles with my Flopsy who has kidney disease and recently found to have liver issues. He's lost a load of weight and it's a reall struggle to maintain it. It's essential to try and keep their weight at a stable balance.

Best of luck with Barbie - I hope she'll be ok.
Click to expand...

sorry to hear about Bella. :(

it is the saddest thing to see our beloved bunnies being sick, when all of us try our best to keep them healthy! :roll:

Barbie usually pee and poo in her litter tray only, but she started to poo around the floor, mostly outside her cage from few weeks ago.
I think that is more to do with her anxiety as my mum is away to holiday few weeks ago and she is not home yet...
But She is doing much better this week.

I pray that Barbie is not having any serious health problems, I will closely monitor her weight and bring her back to vet next week

Thanks. x
 
Tamsin said:
Is it the stuff that looks like oats that have been flattened, rather than ready mix (looks like dust)? If so yes, as long as it's just oats they haven't pre-added sugar or anything. If you are just feeding a pinch dry is okay but I like to add a bit of water so it's not absorbing it from the gut and selling.
Click to expand...

is this one okay? I have a box of this!
http://img.tesco.com/Groceries/pi/152\5000108022152\IDShot_225x225.jpg

Thanks! I will feed her this from now on! Is a tablespoon daily okay? x
 
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