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arthritis

E

emmaclaire

Warren Scout
Alan my 9yr old nethie has been diagnosed with arthritis he has been put on metacam twice daily this will be long term. Is anyone else caring for a arthritic bunny and is there anything else I can do for him to make him more comfortable thanks x
 
Hi! I also have an arthritic bunny aged 10. I currently have him on 0.5ml Loxicom 1.5mg/ml once a day and Gabapentin 25mg 0.25 tablet 3x daily. I also have buprenorphine at home if I feel he needs it.

I found a low sided litter tray was a big help as he'd started toileting elsewhere. He also has vet bed and cushions to relax on and a heat pad too.
 
Is he an indoor or outdoor bunny? My old girl had an electric plug in heatpad which she adored and was more often than not sat on it permanently. I also used a low sided garden potting tray as a litter tray. But the heat pad was her favourite thing.
 
Oh my goodness a lot of meds I will give Alan a week or so see if he looks more comfortable. He has a low litter tray but he is peeing everywhere he has carpet as he's a house bunny and doesn't like laminate flooring.does your bunny fall over ...he struggles to get up after falling x
 
My bunny love meds time as he thinks it a treat. He takes the Loxicom straight from the syringe and the tablets in banana - no restraint required at all! The buprenorphine is a new addition and again just takes from the syringe.

He can be a bit unsteady with his back end but generally okay once he gets going
 
HMacU2 said:
Hi! I also have an arthritic bunny aged 10. I currently have him on 0.5ml Loxicom 1.5mg/ml once a day and Gabapentin 25mg 0.25 tablet 3x daily. I also have buprenorphine at home if I feel he needs it.

I found a low sided litter tray was a big help as he'd started toileting elsewhere. He also has vet bed and cushions to relax on and a heat pad too.
Click to expand...

Does he have any side effects from the Gabapentin?
 
No problem - it's good for neuropathic pain so won't suit every arthritic bunny. He had a dose of injectable buprenorphine a couple months ago but he was just so sleepy that we switched to Gabapentin. I took him to work yesterday to see the vet and we're trying low dose, trans-mucosal buprenorphine as a top up for bad days and so far no side affects that I saw with the injectable dose!
 
I've given Alan 1m of metacam this morning I'm giving him that twice daily am/pm he is still sitting very awkward his front paws are that far back vertically touching his hicks he doesn't look comfortable just wondered what dosage do u give your bunnies when in pain (bearing in mind he is a very tiny nethie) thanks x
 
HMacU2 said:
No problem - it's good for neuropathic pain so won't suit every arthritic bunny. He had a dose of injectable buprenorphine a couple months ago but he was just so sleepy that we switched to Gabapentin. I took him to work yesterday to see the vet and we're trying low dose, trans-mucosal buprenorphine as a top up for bad days and so far no side affects that I saw with the injectable dose!
Click to expand...

Thank you. Now please can you explain the trans-mucosal bit for me? I know about buprenorphine and am wary as it makes them sleepy and not want to eat.

Do you work at a vets? :)
 
I do work at a vets!

Basically buprenorphine can be given trans-mucosal which means it can enter the bloodstream through a mucous membrane, in this case via the gums or under the tongue. Basically I just squirt a tiny amount (0.13ml) in his mouth.

A number of studies suggest support of this in cats, although less so in dogs. This method in rabbits isn't as common but anecdotally has seen good results. There's another bunny I know doing extremely well on it and it's given him a new lease of life so I though it would be worth trying!
 
HMacU2 said:
I do work at a vets!

Basically buprenorphine can be given trans-mucosal which means it can enter the bloodstream through a mucous membrane, in this case via the gums or under the tongue. Basically I just squirt a tiny amount (0.13ml) in his mouth.

A number of studies suggest support of this in cats, although less so in dogs. This method in rabbits isn't as common but anecdotally has seen good results. There's another bunny I know doing extremely well on it and it's given him a new lease of life so I though it would be worth trying!
Click to expand...

Thank you again :D

And does the trans-mucosal method mean less drowsiness or is it the same effect however it's administered?

Sorry for the questions, but it's very valuable info and you're so knowledgable :D
 
I can only go on personal experience from this but my bunny was totally flattened by injectable buprenorphine and has been relatively unaffected from this method although he's on the minimal possible dose at about 0.03mg/kg. Anything less than this dose is said to have very little analgesic effect.
 
emmaclaire said:
I've given Alan 1m of metacam this morning I'm giving him that twice daily am/pm he is still sitting very awkward his front paws are that far back vertically touching his hicks he doesn't look comfortable just wondered what dosage do u give your bunnies when in pain (bearing in mind he is a very tiny nethie) thanks x
Click to expand...

It would depend on if Alan is on the cat or dog version as they are different strengths. My bun is on a dog version
 
HMacU2 said:
I can only go on personal experience from this but my bunny was totally flattened by injectable buprenorphine and has been relatively unaffected from this method although he's on the minimal possible dose at about 0.03mg/kg. Anything less than this dose is said to have very little analgesic effect.
Click to expand...

Thank you once again :)

I have seen the effect of buprenorphine on several rabbits and would hesitate to use it unless absolutely necessary. I can discuss this with my vet now.
 
Rabbits metabolise it much faster that dogs hence why they appear to be on such a high dose. You can always confirm your dose with the vet if you're worried.

While I'm here I saw your other thread with regards to supplements - oxbow do joint support tablets and burgess mature pellets contain glucosamine
 
Thought I'd update. Trans-mucosal buprenorphine is working wonderfully and no side effects!
 
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