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some concerns :S

Ryo_the_rat

Warren Scout
sorry if this turns out to be a babbling load of nonsense but im feeling a bit down and worried.

i have had Gabriel now for around 4/5 months. in that time he has had quite a few things wrong with him. he has been treated for mites/lice, fungal infection and pasturella(although this it seems to have turned out to be just a blocked tear duct-i say just but you know what i mean!)

he was a very small bunny when he came to us and to be honest for his age he is still rather small and despite him eating well and pooping well he still seems to be having trouble putting weight on. i read the other day on here that if a bun is underweight you can tell by running your hand over its back and if you can feel its bones then he is-well i can feel Gabriels :( apart from the past 6 weeks or so from the day we got him he was up at the vets every 2 weeks.

i love Gabriel to absolute bits-he really is my baby and i couldnt imagine my life without him now. but i feel like im doing everything wrong. he seems to be a happy bun but, oh i just dont know.

im planning/hoping to get him a girlfriend over the next month or so and was also thinking about getting an already bonded pair of buns but im terrified.

what if im not good enough to look after them? when i first got my rats i didnt know anything about them(going back 3 years) and i went through 3 different veterinary surgerys before finding the one im with now. i went through alot of heartache and learnt about ratties health the hard way :( i wouldnt say im an expert, but im pretty damn close now!

im just terrified of ending up the same way with the buns. i mean i dont know much about all the different health issues etc. my animals are my life which is why i want to do best by them.

i knew this would end up a babbling load of nonsense! :oops: :lol: i guess im just wondering how i can learn all about a rabbits health? i just cant go through what i went through with my rats. can anyone help?
 
Sounds like you're doing all the right things. Some bunnies are just prone to health problems.
What do you feed him? People have said that feeding dried porridge oats helps to put weight on.
If you're not happy with your vet, you can always ask on here who people in your area use, or the RWA keep a list of bunny-savvy vets.
There's loads of information on here in the reference section, about health, feeding, housing etc. I've learnt so much from this site.
Give Gabriel a big cuddle from me!
 
Hiya,

You can to a certain extent feel the bones even in a healthy bun - it's hard to explain. If you can't feel any bones then they are probably too plump.

If your orried about weight ask your vet what they think and then write down the weight. You can weigh your bun weekly or fortnightly and monitor changes :)

How about volunteering at a rescue? That's a good way to learn :)

Just hanging out on the forum and reading up on other peoples problems helps to :D

Tam
 
he is on science selective and hay, over the past few weeks ive also been slowly introducing different veg's to him.

i shall have to try porridge oats with him. i was told that avipro could help and was planning on ringing up to order some next week.

i do really like my vet-she is very good with my rats and apperently a rabbit expert and keeps her own. i do think she knows her stuff its just that im the biggest worry wort you will ever meet!

i think i know all about housing/feeding/behaviour issues its just the health issues that i want to know more about. its hard to learn about health problems on a forum though unless you are the one asking the questions(if that makes sense!)
 
sorry tamsin-cross posted! hehe

i think i may express my concerns over his weight to the vet. i just thought it a bit odd that he eats like a horse(cant get enough of the wagg hay!) and loves his SS yet he still seems fairly skinny.

i may actually look around to see if there are any local rescue centres looking for volunteer work-although id be scared id come home with a new animal every week! :lol: il have to be very strong willed! hehe
 
I can feel the spine of Panzy and Bernard ... yet I know they are healthy and happy ... the vet says they are very helthy buns ... now nBinky lives with the other two and I can't feel his spine .. but he is podgey ... he is not as active as the other two ... :roll: idle bunny comes to mind plus he is very greddy we have to watch he doesnt eat the other buns food.

I have also just had the three boys treated for fur mites. sadly its just one of those things ... just like people I guess some are more sickly than others.
 
My Nethie eats like a pig but has always been on the skinny side of things. However the vet says he's at an ideal weight, which is good because he does suffer molar problems. I can tell when something's not right though as he goes off his food, means something serious is up!
I always think it is better for animals to be slightly less than 'average' (though not underweight, if you get what I mean) rather than overweight as at least they'll be hungry enough to want to eat lots of hay, and will not have problems reaching to clean everywhere and eat their caecal poos, whereas an overweight bun has those problems plus the extra weight on their feet/bones.
Don't feel bad about being at the vet all the time - I feel like I'm permanently there in the last year or so, serves me right for having 30-ish pets :roll: But at least you're responsible enough to go there and get treatment for him, others wouldn't bother
And my first bun has cost me about £400-500 and he's only 3! The other 4 have been a doddle after him, even the two other ones that had malloclusion!
 
thankyou for the replies.

Karly-i have 31 pets at the moment-Gabriel isnt the only reasan im always at the vets! LOL i keep saying we should find somewhere to live closer to the vets cause at the mo its a good 20/30 minute train journey!

im just the biggest sucker for sick animals, its my own fault really! i knew Gabriel was of ill health when i got him-it was one of the main reasons that i did get him!(that and falling head over heels inlove with him hehe)

im sure i am just worrying too much-i always do. but id prefer to worry too much then not at all :D

i tell you what, if we didnt have any animals the amount of holidays and pretty things i could have gotten now :shock: :lol: nah, i wouldnt change it for the world!! :D
 
Hiya,

I knew absolutely nothing about keeping rabbits when I saw Miles in the pet shop (yeah, I know, but all my other three are rescues!). I reserved Miles and went away, determined to learn everything I could about keeping rabbits in a week(!) which of course didn't happen. But I learned the important things, which you seem to have learned as well. It sounds to me like you know what matters and the rest will fall into place. The other thing you're missing is that you love your bunny very much, and will therefore always do the best you can for him. You can do things practically as much as you like but loving your rabbit will be the driving force behind your care for him.

I'd say yes, get him a girlfriend - he'll be far happier. Also, as others have suggested, perhaps give a small quantity of porridge oats or Weetabix to put some weight on him.

Good luck, and don't worry!!

AMETHYST
 
I thinkl the key is knowing your bunny really well (which you obviously do) as then it's easy to spot when they're 'off-colour' and you can pop them to the vet quickly, or have an ask on here.
 
hi

I agree with Karly about the weight thing - they are healthier on the skinny side rather than plump - as are people in fact :)

Gabriel had a lot of health problems when you got him too - don't you dare blame yourself when you've done so much for him! :D

I knew nothing about rabbits a year ago - I learnt everything from a few great sites on the internet, which I have in a folder on animal care, in 'my favourites' so it's just a click away:
http://www.hrschicago.org/articleslay.html
http://www.mybunny.org/info/lit_1.htm
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/rabbithealth.html
http://www.aquavet.i12.com/Rabbit.htm
http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/rabrefs.html
 
thankyou for the replies.

and thankyou elve for those links-i shall be looking through them and saving them to my favourites! i already have quite a few links saved in my bunny folder :wink:

im just so stressed out and down at the moment and when i get like this i just tend to worry more about everything.

but thankyou again guys, your advice and kind words have helped some :)
 
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