Worried about a Bunny

masked_firefly · Sep 9, 2004

hi!
With one of my male bunnies i am becoming a bit concerned as the same thing happened with his brother, and although what caused his im pretty sure it can not be the same for eeyore...

Eeyore seems to be grooming just his side flanks and no where else....his flanks are nice and smooth, groomed etc.etc but the rest of his body seems to be alot longer in length, although it does still look very clean.

I remember the vet telling me it was down to teeth problems (what his brother had), which eeyore doesnt have what else could be causing this???

bunnyhuggger · Sep 9, 2004

how old is Eeyore?

masked_firefly · Sep 9, 2004

eeyore

oooppps i should have mentioned he is 11 months old....

AmberUK · Sep 9, 2004

Have you manged to check his teeth yourself? The back ones are hard to check but the front ones not too bad. There is a good picture of some rabbit teeth at http://www.rabbit.org/chapters/san-diego/health/dental_disease.html

Silly question but hes not too fat is he? The sides are much easier to reach if your a bit tubby the other bits mean lots of bending about.

masked_firefly · Sep 9, 2004

eeyore

i have checked and regular check eeyores front teeth, as for his back teeth i havent....

i wouldnt know how too..

as for weight wise, he is definitly not tubby, he seems a healthy size to me

Thumps · Sep 10, 2004

Hi there, there is a big possiblility Im reading it wrong but to me it sounds like Eeyore is moulting along his sides only which is why he has shorter fur there. He will be grooming it as he knows the fur is loose. The only problem with that is, if he's ingesting so much fur he could end up with a blockage. Try and encourage him to eat as much hay as possible while he is moulting. Some people also use Kittymalt once a day while a bunny is moulting. Adele is the expert on how much to give, you could PM her and ask about it. Others use pineapple juice as the enzymes as supposed to break down the fur and probably wets it making it easier to pass through the system. Pineapple juice should be the pure fresh stuff and can be diluted with a bit of water.
You can also help by gently plucking the loose fur out, if it's loose it will come out without any problems.
If he's not moulting then um.... nope sorry no idea. You could try taking a piccie of him and posting it here so we can see what his sides look like and maybe someone else will know whats wrong.
Angela

AmberUK · Sep 10, 2004

Ohhh moulting is a good call! Tamsin has an extra moulty bunnie too doesn't she? Won't brushing him help get rid of some of it?

Tamsin · Sep 10, 2004

Well done Angela, we were all trying to work out why he wasn't grooming properly but it could well just be him looking funny because of a moult. Here is Alfie's pictures - http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=418 some rabbit moults in lines which can make them look very odd/scruffy. Usually it starts from the top and works its way down the sides.

If you pluck gently at the fur does it fall out?

A flea comb or similar fine tooth comb is best for grooming and if he has a lot of lose fur they gently plucking it with your fingers can help to.

Tam

Thumps · Sep 10, 2004

Fur plucking is brilliant, it's very addictive :lol: . You soon get the hang of how to do it and can do it with some speed. To start with place fur between thumb and fore finger and pull, if its loose it will come out with the rabbit feeling anything. You may end up with a bunny with bald patches for a few days but I think it's better than a bunny with hair ball/blockage.

Angela

Lynn · Sep 10, 2004

Thumps said:
Fur plucking is brilliant, it's very addictive :lol: . You soon get the hang of how to do it and can do it with some speed. To start with place fur between thumb and fore finger and pull, if its loose it will come out with the rabbit feeling anything.

Haha, that is the plan anyway. Rob hates being 'plucked' - I know it doesn't hurt him, however, I usually try to sneak up behind him (as that's where he generally needs plucked), and the minute I touch his fur, well I get a full 180 degree turn around, grunting, infuriated rabbit - and I actually have plucked nothing :roll: :lol:

I think he is just a bunny who likes to groom himself, as his other pet hate is his 'arch enemy' The Brush :wink:

The only way I used to be able to brush him was to sprinkle a few pieces of dried fruit on the floor - he was so busy hoovering them up that he didn't notice I was plucking / brushing. However, now that I am a much more educated bunny mum, and the dried fruit is off the menu, I have to accept a 'hairy bottomed bunster'.

Tamsin · Sep 10, 2004

I thought dry fruit was ok as a treat? :?

Tam

Adele · Sep 10, 2004

Tamsin Dried fruit is okay as a rare treat in some bunnies, but we have found it really upsets the rabbits guts, I expect it is the high sugar content that results in friendly gut bacteria getting out of balance.
I have just had a Client boarding her bunnies here, and the bunnies were bloated and lacked vitality, and smelt!!.. I went through all their diet and although on hay! hay! and more hay, it was the daily dose of dried fruit that was causing the problems.
:?

Tamsin · Sep 10, 2004

Does drying fruit make it higher sugar content then fresh or is it the added sugar/preservatives thats the problem? I thought the freeze dried, nothing added stuff was ok for treats?

Alfie gets some now and then in his treat ball, but he does eat mostly hay and fresh food though and has never (touch wood) had poop problems.

Tam

Adele · Sep 10, 2004

Hi Tamsin, I think dried fruit actually has higher sugar content than fresh...so we would always opt for fresh fruit ourselves.
It sounds like you have a good balance with Alfie though as he does eat lots of hay, and only has the dried fruit as a treat.

The problem in these bunnies was compounded by 1) The fact they hardly ate any hay so the fruit was a fair part of their diet :?

2) It was fed daily and in a fair sized quantity.
:?
One little piece of dried fruit here and there should not cause a problem, but it can soon get out of hand if you are not really strict about things.
It is all about getting a balance of diet at the end of the day, and watching the bunnies droppings are your biggest clue. As Alfie is fine in that department, you can be assured all is fine to continue as you are.

Any rabbit who has a history of gut problems though or does not eat much hay needs to avoid this type of food, as it just creates additional problems that can be avoided.

Tamsin · Sep 10, 2004

Thanks for clearing that up Adele. Yes, I agree no extras like that for buns with poop problem history.

Alfie is such a good lad, he gets very miffed if his hay isn't provided in a prompt fashion, not tht he doesn't have it always available but the bits he's pulled out and thrown on the floor are apparently no good :roll:

Tam

Lynn · Sep 10, 2004

I agree - I thought the dried fruit was an OK treat, but since the start of this year Rob seems to have been bothered with gut mobility issues, so I am removing any potential problem foods - now he only gets fresh vegetable, fresh fruit, hay and a small amount of pelleted food.

I think it was the shaking of the dried fruit box he associated with a treat, and since he got out of hospital I have managed to fool him by shaking the box - he comes over, and what does he get - Science Selective (took your advice Tamsin about it being a good pelleted food) - he laps it up like it is the dried fruit. :lol: :wink:

Thumps · Sep 11, 2004

Lynn said:
Thumps said:

Fur plucking is brilliant, it's very addictive :lol: . You soon get the hang of how to do it and can do it with some speed. To start with place fur between thumb and fore finger and pull, if its loose it will come out with the rabbit feeling anything.

Click to expand...

Haha, that is the plan anyway. Rob hates being 'plucked' - I know it doesn't hurt him, however, I usually try to sneak up behind him (as that's where he generally needs plucked), and the minute I touch his fur, well I get a full 180 degree turn around, grunting, infuriated rabbit - and I actually have plucked nothing :roll: :lol:

Lynn, thats what Sophie does to me just now :lol: Boo passed through his moult fine, didn't need to pluck although he did look he a badly treated bunny. Sophies moult seems to be taking forever. I normally sit bunny on my lap with a towel over my legs and pluck away. The towel just seems to shout nibble me to bunny so bunny obliges and leaves you in peace to pluck. Sneaking up and plucking only ends up with a paranoid bunny who will eye you up for a while until they forget :lol:
Zoom grooms are great for taking out the guard hairs rather than the fluff from underneath but does make a difference and is easier to use than a comb. Oh what fun Im going grooming mad this afternoon!!
Angela

masked_firefly · Sep 13, 2004

re

hey thanks everyone for all of your help, i have just checked back after an extremely busy weekend!!!...
i shall definitly try grooming eeyore, which type of brush is best.....there are so many avaiable at work sometimes i dont know where to begin. Are the soft bristle ones any good?, eeyores fur is not matted at all just looking rather odd now....

thanks once again for all of your help...i shall keep people updated with eeyores progress!

Tamsin · Sep 13, 2004

The soft bristled ones are useless, they only get the top of the fur. Look for a comb rather than a brush, a cat flea comb or there is one company that do a rabbit comb but I can't remember the name

Tam

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