Well, this is interesting...

Someone I went to school with 5 years ago recently got a rabbit...

So I get a facebook message

Hey! I just got a rabbit and it just seems really upset all the time and I just wanted down advise because I thought I was doing everything OK and giving it everything it needed but its still looking upset

This follows a status I put up outlinjng all the important info, feeling mega happy someone paid attention to it! Anyway...

I went through all of the normal things, with this reply...

Don't know how old he is he is male and no injections he was in a rough way he had really long nails and was dirty I've had the nails cut and cleaned him up he just seems really unhappy
He wee's for England and sometimes his poo is runny he drinka and eats fine when he comes out he just runs round in circles plus hes just moved everything in his cage to one side
And we thinj he's deaf


So... I'm going over on Saturday armed with some hay, some treats, some pellets and a brush.

The rabbit has had his teeth and nails checked and nails cut, so I don't need to really worry about that.

I'm going to look at the living arrangements, what food and hay the rabbit is given and check out the wee and poo to look for abnormalities.

Can anyone give me some suggestions of what to look for?

I'm going to attempt to see deafness by clapping, whistling and making a noise with some tin foil to test different pitches and see if there is any ear movement, however if it is a lop I'm assuming this is more difficult.

Any advice would be great, thanks guys

I have no suggestions - just wishing you luck at the weekend.

he does sound frustrated. maybe after you've had a look, suggest a vets check up with a good rabbit vet. :wave:

tonibun said:

I have no suggestions - just wishing you luck at the weekend.

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Thanks for not reading and running

biscandmatt1 said:

he does sound frustrated. maybe after you've had a look, suggest a vets check up with a good rabbit vet. :wave:

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I'm not sure if he's been neutered or not, if he's going to let me pick him up I will try and get them to pop out or see if I can find a scar. Might try and get the owner to hold him whilst I have a look.

I think his diet will be wrong even though he's said it's not, and I also think he's lonely and probably bored.

Just hoping for some more suggestions on what other things to look for. I think his runny poo will be due to wrong diet. But if it isn't I'm not sure what it could be. Anyone?

Could him running around in circles indicate some sort of ear or balance problem? Or do you think that is just him being frustrated/ bored?

Rosie42 said:

Could him running around in circles indicate some sort of ear or balance problem? Or do you think that is just him being frustrated/ bored?

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I think it depends on a lot of things, for example...

Our rabbit runs around in circles around the coffee table and also used to circle our feet before his neuter as this is what they do when horny...

If the room is mostly empty I'm going to try to look into his ears for any sign of mites and also that's why I'm going to try and check to see if he's got any balls left lol.

Someone else might have a theory and that's what I'm banking on!

Freakinfreak said:

I think it depends on a lot of things, for example...

Our rabbit runs around in circles around the coffee table and also used to circle our feet before his neuter as this is what they do when horny...

If the room is mostly empty I'm going to try to look into his ears for any sign of mites and also that's why I'm going to try and check to see if he's got any balls left lol.

Someone else might have a theory and that's what I'm banking on!

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Oh I know that bit, I just wasn't sure if it was when he was around people or if it he does it in his run. I suppose it depends on whether the current owner means that he is running around the edges of the run, or just running in tight circles (which would make me think he was unbalanced/ unsteady). I guess you won't know until you see him.

Hope that you can help him and that the owner listens to your advice

Rosie42 said:

Oh I know that bit, I just wasn't sure if it was when he was around people or if it he does it in his run. I suppose it depends on whether the current owner means that he is running around the edges of the run, or just running in tight circles (which would make me think he was unbalanced/ unsteady). I guess you won't know until you see him.

Hope that you can help him and that the owner listens to your advice

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Oh sorry I think I misunderstood lol!

It's quite possible, but there wasn't a huge amount of info given so I might have to just gauge what's going on when I get there.
Luckily a friend of mine is a vet so with any behavior I'm not sure about I will write down and then I can relay it back to her for some info.

I feel a bit helpless going in pretty blind but I'm hoping it might be something obvious. If it's not, I will offer picking up suitable hay and pellets at his expense.

I'm a bit worried that he's being given straw and not hay as apparentky the whole cage is full of it which makes me thinj bedding.
The rabbit appears to have full run of the balcony so in thinking maybe he's slightly miserable in the cold perhaps.

I really don't know until I see but it's going to help if I go in with as much info regarding possibilities ad possible

i think you're right and his diet might be wrong. they might have given lots of new foods at once and upset his tummy, or he's poorly and the stress is affecting him. hopefully you can help. it's good they've asked you anyway.

I don't really have any advice, but wanted to say it's great that the person has asked for your help and lovely of you to go - you could make a real difference to this rabbit.

The only thing I would say is to take some nail clippers any way. The quick grows with the claw so if the nails were very long before whoever cut them will probably only have taken off a small amount. They'll need small amounts clipped off every few days to allow the quick to recede until they're at a normal length.

It's good that someone has asked you, just hope they also.listen
Let us know how he is, I have no advice as I'm not that experienced, but I'd definitely say a trip to a vet either way just for a general health check

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The circling could well be hormones

I would guess that they probably haven't quite got the right balance of food ie. too much dry food and not enough hay and that's causing excess cecotropes - ie funny poop.

The RWA hop to it leaflet is available online so you could link her to that too, it's got a lot of basics

Hi there, My malcolm was deaf and we didn't know until his partner Thumpa went to the Bridge, it is quite difficult with lops but you could try using a jingle ball as that will give you a different pitch to the normal ambient noises.

If he doesn't react to the sounds try stamping on the floor and see if he notices the vibrations, Malcolm would would always look up if I thumped on the floor, I guess that deaf buns, like humans, develop their other senses to compensate.

Good luck at the weekend, hope things go well.

Biscandmatt1:
I'm thinking he's maybe given him some lettuce or too much carrot and if the 'hay' is actually straw, then he isn't going to be getting any benefits from that and could be a cause to runny poo?! There's got to he something going on otherwise he wouldn't be having problems with poo...

Battlekat:
I forgot about that, he did tell me they were really long, so I will take them along with me too I'm not going to hold out any hope in being able to cut them as I even struggled with Neo, however this rabbit might be different and perhaps the owner can hold him.

Tashp90:
I've not got a clue either, my rabbit keeping totals Neo, so... 2 months? Lol!
However, I've read up on a lot of things and I've managed to remember it, so even if I remind him of food and exercise, etc, it may help

Tamsin:
That's what I thought, as Neo was doing it before he was neutered.
I'm struggling with overdoing the advice as he says he's kept a rabbit before and knows what he's doing, so I'm lucky enough he's letting me go over.
I will point out things when I'm there and offer to go to the shop for him to get what he needs.
I night get there and he's done everything right so I don't want to patronize him at all!

Riggs:
Thanks for the suggestion of the bell, I've been doing noises to see if Neo reacts, but it's going to be harder for me to tell if he's a lop, I'm pretty sure he is so going to have to be quite strict in making sure I'm watching closely!

Hey
Your diet and housing advice all seems really good!
I know that seeing if the bun is deaf might be difficult, I was just thinking that a whistle noise might do the trick of seeing if he can hear.
My bun sits up really straight and stops whatever he's doing as soon as someone whistles (he hates the noise) so maybe that's worth a go?
Hope everything goes well!

hope everything goes well for you, it's very kind of you to help

when my vet tested elmo for possible deafness we put him down in the room and she crouched at the opposite end and clapped to see if he reacted. he was much slower to respond than fern but we think its just due to his loppy ears as he's not deaf it turns out and no ear infections. we always stamp the ground before going into their shed so he can feel the vibrations to help him 'hear' us coming but he was a lot more skittish before he was bonded with fern - so this bun could just be similar where he's not 100% at hearing and has no other bun to give him a heads up!

also, i would definitely look up a rabbit savvy vet in their area and suggest a vet visit soon for vaccinations as he's at real risk now, especially with the weather warming up

Holhol said:

Hey
Your diet and housing advice all seems really good!
I know that seeing if the bun is deaf might be difficult, I was just thinking that a whistle noise might do the trick of seeing if he can hear.
My bun sits up really straight and stops whatever he's doing as soon as someone whistles (he hates the noise) so maybe that's worth a go?
Hope everything goes well!

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Thanks, I'm pretty sure of myself with the diet, housing and behavioral side of things, however I'm a bit worried about anything else.

Whistling seems to be the first noise that Neo really reacted to, he heard things thumping around so often that clapping hands of stamping doesn't phase him

elmoandfern said:

hope everything goes well for you, it's very kind of you to help

when my vet tested elmo for possible deafness we put him down in the room and she crouched at the opposite end and clapped to see if he reacted. he was much slower to respond than fern but we think its just due to his loppy ears as he's not deaf it turns out and no ear infections. we always stamp the ground before going into their shed so he can feel the vibrations to help him 'hear' us coming but he was a lot more skittish before he was bonded with fern - so this bun could just be similar where he's not 100% at hearing and has no other bun to give him a heads up!

also, i would definitely look up a rabbit savvy vet in their area and suggest a vet visit soon for vaccinations as he's at real risk now, especially with the weather warming up

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He has a toddler, so I'm wondering if this is causing fear, causing stomach problems and then causing runny poo but j don't know if this is even viable.

Unfortunately, I'm in the same area and there doesn't really seem to be anyone reasonably local, I'm in the Slough area, so is the person I'm seeing tomorrow, and I haven't found a rabbit savvy vet! I've found two places I don't mind but that doesn't mean they're the best with rabbits...

I think I will note down behavior or any physical issues and relay them back to one of the vets I personally know to get a bit of a verdict.
If I asked her to check the bunny over for free he may be more inclined to agree to take the rabbit to her, or let me.

As it stands, he doesn't see the point as the rabbit has already been to a vets for a check over - however clearly he didn't mention anything about behaviour etc or he wouldn't be needing me to come over!

When I get there, I'm first going to warn him that I will be completely honest, if he's doing something wrong I'm going to tell him straight.
From the way he reacts I will know if he actually cares although if he dkesnt I will not be happy!

Just wanted to wish you lots of luck for tomorrow - I really hope that your help and advice will be accepted. It does sound like the buns owner is interested in getting it right so that is hopeful.:thumb:

Fellie said:

Just wanted to wish you lots of luck for tomorrow - I really hope that your help and advice will be accepted. It does sound like the buns owner is interested in getting it right so that is hopeful.:thumb:

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Thanks!

I thought so too, until he said "Well, it is (sons name) and dont want him dying lol"

So... We will see.
I think if I leave by saying if he ever needs a home for him, to let me know and then at least I can try and sort something out rather than them giving up and neglecting bunny!

COUNTDOWN!!!
Not long until I'm over tomorrow any more suggestions would be really appreciated!

Any last minute suggestions?