• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

  • Please Note - Medical Advice

    Please keep in mind that posts on this forum are from members of the public sharing personal opinions. It is not a replacement for qualified medical advice from a veterinarian. Many illnesses share similar symptoms but require different treatments. A medical exam is necessary for an accurate diagnosis, without which appropriate treatment cannot be given.

    You should always consult your vet before following any suggestions for medication or treatment you have read about. The wrong treatment could make your rabbit worse or mean your vet is unable to give the correct treatment because of drug interactions. Even non prescription drugs can do harm if given inappropriately.

    We are very grateful to members who take time to answer other members questions, but please do be clear in your replies that you are sharing personal experience and not giving instructions on what must be done.

    Urgent Medical Advice: If you need, or think you might need, urgent medical advice you should contact a vet. If it is out of working hours phone your vet's normal number and there should be an answer phone message with instructions on what to do.

UPDATE He's gone. New rabbit drinking lots and losing weight

M

MichelleBee

Alpha Buck
Hi

Wondered if anyone could help. We've had our new rabbit almost two weeks and he has lost weight in this time. He was quite thin to start with, but now is even thinner. We've started weighing him in the last four days and he is definitely losing weight.

He also drinks quite a bit and his poo's are not round. They're more flat and usually have strands of hay quite visible in them, which is very unlike our other rabbit. The previous owners said that they'd had him at the vets for drinking a lot, but their vet said that it wasn't anything to be concerned about. Their vet is rabbit savvy and the owners were responsible.

He is eating well and still got bags of energy.

I will be taking him to the vet tomorrow, but just wondered if anyone had any ideas in the mean time?

Thanks
 
Last edited:
MichelleBee said:
Hi

Wondered if anyone could help. We've had our new rabbit almost two weeks and he has lost weight in this time. He was quite thin to start with, but now is even thinner. We've started weighing him in the last four days and he is definitely losing weight.

He also drinks quite a bit and his poo's are not round. They're more flat and usually have strands of hay quite visible in them, which is very unlike our other rabbit. The previous owners said that they'd had him at the vets for drinking a lot, but their vet said that it wasn't anything to be concerned about. Their vet is rabbit savvy and the owners were responsible.

He is eating well and still got bags of energy.

I will be taking him to the vet tomorrow, but just wondered if anyone had any ideas in the mean time?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Have you got a complete history from the previous owners? And how old is he?

Strands of hay in the poo is unusual - more likely is hair. A string of pearls, or is that not what you mean?

Of course it could be kidney issues, but only a blood test would confirm that. I don't know whether the vet did that to rule it out or not?

The other consideration would be E.C. If he's not had a course of Panacur, it may be worth talking with your vet about it. It can cause the symptoms you mention.

Was he an only rabbit before? Sorry for all the questions - trying to build up a complete picture to be of more help :D
 
Thanks for the reply.

He is approx 3 years old. He was originally living in a small hutch which was very dirty, before his previous owners rescued him.

He has an ongoing eye issue, which is caused by his eyelid being turned in towards the eye. Don't know the official term for it, so hope I've explained it ok. I don't think he had been to the vets before his rescuers took him. That was the only health issue as far as I know.

I'm not sure if he was originally a single bun, but he definitely was when he was with the rescuers. He hasn't been Panacured yet, either with me nor his rescuers.

As far as his poo's go, he does produce strings of pearls, but also single poo's with visible strands of hay sticking out. They're always very dark, but I'd put that down to him drinking so much and only really eating Readigrass.

I suspected that it was kidney related or EC, but I guess the vet will take bloods etc tomorrow.

Thanks for your help MightyMax.
 
MichelleBee said:
Thanks for the reply.

He is approx 3 years old. He was originally living in a small hutch which was very dirty, before his previous owners rescued him.

He has an ongoing eye issue, which is caused by his eyelid being turned in towards the eye. Don't know the official term for it, so hope I've explained it ok. I don't think he had been to the vets before his rescuers took him. That was the only health issue as far as I know.

I'm not sure if he was originally a single bun, but he definitely was when he was with the rescuers. He hasn't been Panacured yet, either with me nor his rescuers.

As far as his poo's go, he does produce strings of pearls, but also single poo's with visible strands of hay sticking out. They're always very dark, but I'd put that down to him drinking so much and only really eating Readigrass.

I suspected that it was kidney related or EC, but I guess the vet will take bloods etc tomorrow.

Thanks for your help MightyMax.
Click to expand...

You're welcome :)

It sounds like he had a lucky escape then. The eye thing sounds like entropion. You explained it perfectly!

I wonder - given his circumstances were dire before he was rescued - whether he had a water bottle and it wasn't replenished? He could be drinking to save his life, poor mite.

Good to exclude kidney issues. It's always a great relief when the test comes back OK. I guess the vet could also do a quick test of the urine whilst there, just to be thorough. They should be able to express his bladder without you taking a sample. Particularly as he's a good drinker :)

Readigrass is good, and as good as hay, but I wonder if he got any in his first home? A look at the teeth would probably be in order too, though that may have been done already. He's only young .. Sorry to go overboard with the suggestions :D

And finally, well done you for taking him on xx
 
His poos actually seem a lot better this morning. Much more normal in shape and colour.
He's still eating really well and still energetic.

I will take him to vets this morning and see what they say. As he hasn't had bloods done, I'm guessing they will do that. Fingers crossed it's easily solved.
 
MichelleBee said:
His poos actually seem a lot better this morning. Much more normal in shape and colour.
He's still eating really well and still energetic.

I will take him to vets this morning and see what they say. As he hasn't had bloods done, I'm guessing they will do that. Fingers crossed it's easily solved.
Click to expand...

Keeping fingers crossed for you! x
 
As predicted the vet took some bloods which won't be back til Wednesday. However, his heart, lungs and abdomen are ok. the vet was also pleased with his poo's and said they weren't a concern.
It's just a waiting game now...
 
Ok bloods are back. It's his liver not his kidneys. Being referred to specialist so hopefully will know more then. The vet also mentioned pasturella. I'm trying to be optimistic... He's fine in himself- eating well, drinking, pooing, weeing etc. very lively. I guess time will tell...
 
Anyone any experience with liver disease? Vet said he couldn't give a prognosis til he'd had further tests and I'm trying hard not to panic and let my mind run riot with horrendous scenarios...
 
MichelleBee said:
Anyone any experience with liver disease? Vet said he couldn't give a prognosis til he'd had further tests and I'm trying hard not to panic and let my mind run riot with horrendous scenarios...
Click to expand...

Well, apart from reassuring you not to worry too much until you have the specialists report - the liver *can* regenerate itself. Milk thistle and lactulose are great for doing that. I've used milk thistle extensively for myself, other humans and rabbits.

Liver disease is often inked to renal failure, so you'll have to discuss that one with the vet and the results ...

There's a bit more info here:

http://rabbit.org/category/health/liver-disease/
 
MichelleBee said:
Anyone any experience with liver disease? Vet said he couldn't give a prognosis til he'd had further tests and I'm trying hard not to panic and let my mind run riot with horrendous scenarios...
Click to expand...

I would try not to second guess what the problem may be as doing so just makes things more stressful. I speak from experience !! The Liver is one organ that is capable of regenerating. But establishing a precise diagnosis is certainly the very best option. Then an appropriate treatment plan can be given.

I had a Rabbit who had abnormal Liver enzymes and after further diagnostic, including an U/S of the liver, it was found to be a reaction to a medication he had been given to treat another problem. His Liver enzymes returned to normal and he had no further problems.

I have also heard of some Rabbits who have developed an enlarged liver/abnormal liver enzymes during treatment with Fenbendazole (Panacur) Their Liver function/size returned to normal once the Fenbendazole was stopped.

I hope the appointment with the Specialist goes well xx
 
MichelleBee said:
Ok bloods are back. It's his liver not his kidneys. Being referred to specialist so hopefully will know more then. The vet also mentioned pasturella. I'm trying to be optimistic... He's fine in himself- eating well, drinking, pooing, weeing etc. very lively. I guess time will tell...
Click to expand...

When are you seeing the specialist?

Are you managing to keep calm?
 
Thanks for the replies. The specialist can't fit us in til Wednesday!! We said we think that's going to be too late, but they wouldn't budge. We've phoned our vet back and explained the situation, so we are just waiting for him to get back to us. Hopefully he can refer us elsewhere...
 
MichelleBee said:
Thanks for the replies. The specialist can't fit us in til Wednesday!! We said we think that's going to be too late, but they wouldn't budge. We've phoned our vet back and explained the situation, so we are just waiting for him to get back to us. Hopefully he can refer us elsewhere...
Click to expand...

Oh that's almost a week away!

I hope your vet can find somewhere to refer you to - preferably this side of the weekend.

Fingers crossed for you all x
 
So I've spoken to our vet, who thinks that Wednesday is fine. I don't know what else we can do, if two vets think that's ok...
 
MichelleBee said:
So I've spoken to our vet, who thinks that Wednesday is fine. I don't know what else we can do, if two vets think that's ok...
Click to expand...

I really would not get too stressed. It sounds as though your Vet has been thorough so far and I think that if he/she thought that your Rabbit needed to see the Specialist more urgently it would be arranged, elsewhere if necessary. If it would help then you could ask your Vet to explain to you in more detail exactly what Liver Enzymes are abnormal and what the *possible* implications could be. For some people having as much information as possible explained clearly by the Vet can be better than just being told 'abnormalities with the Liver function'. Then of course off we go to consult Dr Google and scare ourselves even more ! Been there done that and have about 100 of the T-Shirts !

Sending lots of vibes for the appointment on Wednesday x
 
So we've seen the specialist today. She has given him some antibiotics and told us to have more bloods done in 10 days and take it from there.

She didn't think his weight was a major concern for his age, but that he is probably older than 3 (between 5 and 7). He has now put some weight back on, so it t a real issue at the minute.

He has also stopped drinking as much in the last week, so that's ok too.

She mentioned that it might be an infection that he has managed to get over, or could be cancer or coccidiosis. However, she said that without doing an X ray (which will be the next thing if the bloods are still showing abnormalities), it's just guess work.

I suppose we just have to wait and see again...

Thanks for everyone's support and advice. I appreciate it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

L
**UPDATE***Cleo's fluctuating weight :(
Replies
10
Views
256
InspectorMorse
InspectorMorse
bunny momma
Raven very ill- update He is Gone
2
Replies
37
Views
837
kattymieoww
kattymieoww
H
Rabbit with erratic heart rate
Replies
3
Views
226
MimzMum
MimzMum
Back
Top