Diabetes

Does anyone have any experience with diabetes in rabbits please? :wave:

I understand it's pretty rare but Ashley seems a bit out of sorts although when she went to the vets for a dental they didn't seem to think there was anything (else) wrong.

She pees and drinks a lot although has done so for a while. Now she has had a dental she has fully regained her appetite and would have thought that she should have gained some weight back as she seems very thin to me but again the vet (who is an exotics specialist that I fully trust) wasn't concerned because she wasn't losing any more. I understand it's moulting season but her fur seems to fall out in droves. I have some doubts about her eyesight although she is obviously not totally blind I don't think she can see everything.

We were away last week and I left them with our bunny boarders who again I fully trust and she commented that Ashley seems to have deteriorated in health a little since she last saw them at Easter, and wondered about diabetes.

Does anyone know anything about diabetes before I ring the vets this week? I've read it can be hard to diagnose.

Some history/backstory about her health:
- genetic dental problems diagnosed before she turned 1 year old, incisors removed way back, has had dentals on molars 3-4 times a year since, has severe elongated tooth roots, 2 of her molar teeth have either been removed due to infection (last month), a tooth root abscess (3 years ago which as of yet has not recurred), a few have fallen out during a dental as they were loose. Sometimes gets runny eyes due to the tooth roots pressing into her eye sockets. Due to said problems and loss of molars she can't eat much hay and so her fibre intake is generally poor compared to Bailey.
- concerns about her eyesight a year or so ago and the vet did a couple of "tests" that she didn't respond to which the vet said might mean she has poor eyesight but also that they often don't respond to them at the vets clinic because it's a stressful environment. However if this is due to the teeth not sure what they can do
- Vets were concerned about her drinking/peeing a lot about 4 years ago and ran tests, she tested positive for e.cuniculi but everything else was clear, and gets treated with panacur every few months when the vet suggests it
- she had extended anorexia a year ago after a dental, full blood tests were done which revealed normal kidney function but poor liver function, the vets said she was probably in liver failure and to prepare for the worst but she seemed to have fully recovered from this and so they haven't done any blood tests since
- has recurring sore hocks which we have tried everything for and vets have now recommended acupuncture which I need to schedule now we are back from holiday. She is quite inactive but bit of a chicken/egg situation i.e. not sure if sore hocks are causing inactivity or the other way round

Generally she just seems "worn out" and looks like she is getting old but is only 5 years old :?

I think chronic pain is far more likely to be the cause of the excessive drinking/weeing and weightloss rather than diabetes. It sounds as though she has a lot of painful conditions going on at the same time- tooth root elongation, sore hocks, possibly secondary to arthritis, molar malocclusion. You dont mention whether she is on any longterm pain relief ?

The abnormal liver function test she had some time ago was probably due to the fact she had been anorexic. When a Rabbit stops eating the Liver function deteriorates rapidly, especially if the Rabbit had previously been carrying excess weight. Once re-feeding is established the Liver function can return to normal. Although this is not always the case.

I would suggest another full blood profile and also to discuss pain management.

With regard to the sore hocks, what substrate is Ashley kept on ?

Thanks for your reply Jane

She is currently on metacam but the vets have suggested acupuncture once a week for a few weeks and see how she gets on with that, although I'm not sure taking her to the vets once a week for a long period of time is feasible but I got the impression that they do acupuncture in blocks so that wouldn't be necessary.

She is in a shed with an attached run, the run is on grass. The shed interior is covered with fleecy blankets and vetbed with hay in the litter trays. She tends to be inactive and sit in one place for a period of time and the vet said that she tends to sit on the back of her foot which puts more pressure on the sore area.

Just updating, Ash went to the vets yesterday and turned out she needed another dental (her last one was only a month ago) so they did that as well as xrays to check progression of teeth issues and blood tests. The xrays showed changes, can't remember what he said exactly but there was a lot of growth in the tooth root area but no more abscesses at the moment.

He thinks that the sore hocks could be secondary to arthritis, she is going for a check up next week and will discuss acupuncture then.

admittedly I am worried about being able to afford everything, I have spent close to £800 on her within the last month and she is insured but they don't cover everything. However at the moment the vet seems happy with her quality of life and the way we are managing it.