yaretzi
Wise Old Thumper
I adopted Winston about 4 months ago as a boyfriend for Tapla, after losing Nena to a long term battle with a dental abscess.
I noticed after about 3 weeks of having him that he is a bit wobbly - sometimes struggles to jump very high, or land where he wants, and the same when jumping down. He got stasis a few weeks ago where he stayed in overnight, and then came home and I got him eating well again after about 4 days on metacam and syringe feeds but he did not get to 100%.
I took him back to the vets yesterday and he's had X-rays and bloods done today. The bloods I am still waiting on the results from but the X-rays showed that he has arthritis of around 3-4 vertebrae in the back
I've got no experience of arthritis in animals (or myself!). They live in a shed attached to a run via a runaround tube which he struggles to manage. I would never have homed a rabbit with arthritis outside but I cannot bring them indoors - I live with my parents and it is absolutely not possible under any circumstances.
He's only 4 and he's looking at a fairly limited lifespan - he's already been unable to get into his litter tray in the last few days and has not been able to clean his back end either.
He's been on 0.8ml metacam twice a day since the stasis and we're now upping that to 1.2ml twice a day for about 7-10 days where I'll check in with the vet, and we'll find the right dose. There are other painkillers as well but it's all about managing his symptoms really. Keeping him warm is important which is upsetting as he's in a shed but I do have snugglesafes that I use and I'll look into getting a cosy bed that they won't wee on.
I'd be really interested to know how others have managed symptoms of spinal arthritis in terms of medication/treatments and also changes to their setup.
I noticed after about 3 weeks of having him that he is a bit wobbly - sometimes struggles to jump very high, or land where he wants, and the same when jumping down. He got stasis a few weeks ago where he stayed in overnight, and then came home and I got him eating well again after about 4 days on metacam and syringe feeds but he did not get to 100%.
I took him back to the vets yesterday and he's had X-rays and bloods done today. The bloods I am still waiting on the results from but the X-rays showed that he has arthritis of around 3-4 vertebrae in the back
I've got no experience of arthritis in animals (or myself!). They live in a shed attached to a run via a runaround tube which he struggles to manage. I would never have homed a rabbit with arthritis outside but I cannot bring them indoors - I live with my parents and it is absolutely not possible under any circumstances.
He's only 4 and he's looking at a fairly limited lifespan - he's already been unable to get into his litter tray in the last few days and has not been able to clean his back end either.
He's been on 0.8ml metacam twice a day since the stasis and we're now upping that to 1.2ml twice a day for about 7-10 days where I'll check in with the vet, and we'll find the right dose. There are other painkillers as well but it's all about managing his symptoms really. Keeping him warm is important which is upsetting as he's in a shed but I do have snugglesafes that I use and I'll look into getting a cosy bed that they won't wee on.
I'd be really interested to know how others have managed symptoms of spinal arthritis in terms of medication/treatments and also changes to their setup.