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old before his time?

Mr Gus is 4 this month, but he's probably the slowest and most elderly appearing of all my bunnies although he does have his moments of madness

he has been ill a lot since we got him at 6 months and even the vet herself reckons that he was probably the product of some inbreeding

lately i've noticed he seems to be really slow. there's nothing specific - no dodgy poos, no reduced appetite and his eye where he had the retrobulbar abscess seems fine. but he just seems a little off. this morning when i got up i thought he was dead - he was on his side but he was just fast asleep. but he really does seem old today although he's scoffed his breakfast in record time

do some rabbits just age more than others? or is it worth mentioning all this to the vet? he's booked in for tomorrow anyway for a routine checkup

sarah
 
Mr Gus is 4 this month, but he's probably the slowest and most elderly appearing of all my bunnies although he does have his moments of madness

he has been ill a lot since we got him at 6 months and even the vet herself reckons that he was probably the product of some inbreeding

lately i've noticed he seems to be really slow. there's nothing specific - no dodgy poos, no reduced appetite and his eye where he had the retrobulbar abscess seems fine. but he just seems a little off. this morning when i got up i thought he was dead - he was on his side but he was just fast asleep. but he really does seem old today although he's scoffed his breakfast in record time

do some rabbits just age more than others? or is it worth mentioning all this to the vet? he's booked in for tomorrow anyway for a routine checkup

sarah

I would mention it to your Vet. Extreme lethargy is a symptom I have seen in the Buns I have had that have developed heart failure. I have had 4 Buns like this and the first symptom I noticed was lethargy but they all continued to eat VERY well. The 'cardiac Buns' all went onto treatment and they became much perkier within themselves. I still have Ned with me and he has been in heart failure for about a year. He remains happy within himself and his heart condition is well controlled by his meds at the moment :)

Janex
 
Thanks Jane for your help. It has been puzzling me, because he doesnt have anything obviously wrong with him - he's just not "quite right" :(

I'll make sure I tell the vet everything tomorrow
 
He is four and like us I guess some bunnies age quicker than others. My mum for example has always been about 20 years in front of her age - both in looks and health. Others are sprightly at 90. Hope he's ok though and there's nothing in particular wrong with him

Kathryn x
 
He is four and like us I guess some bunnies age quicker than others. My mum for example has always been about 20 years in front of her age - both in looks and health. Others are sprightly at 90. Hope he's ok though and there's nothing in particular wrong with him

Kathryn x


i suppose you are right. i always think 4 is still young for a bunny as everyone seems to have 10 year old bunnies on here :)

he has never really been the most healthy of bunnies, but im sure Rebecca will be able to tell if he does have any health problems at the moment, or if he's just an old man :)
 
I've been thinking the same as you for a few months now. One of my rabbits just seems to be a little on the low weight side, funny moults, less chirpy than the other and prone to UTIs, funny tum etc.
She was rescued from a breeder that coudln't cope and had too many. She was one of a very funny litter - all diff colours, and mixed breed.
I do sometimes worry that this could be a factor.

But I am feeding her up on oats everyday. I am also starting to grow dandelions. I am trying!
Good luck with yours and I hope everything works out :)
ETA: she's 5 now too. Maybe she is just getting older quicker! I swear she has grey hairs - she is a chocolate brown bunny with ginger patches and the underneath part of her fur is a caramel colour. But sometimes it looks grey in areas!!!
 
I've been thinking the same as you for a few months now. One of my rabbits just seems to be a little on the low weight side, funny moults, less chirpy than the other and prone to UTIs, funny tum etc.
She was rescued from a breeder that coudln't cope and had too many. She was one of a very funny litter - all diff colours, and mixed breed.
I do sometimes worry that this could be a factor.

But I am feeding her up on oats everyday. I am also starting to grow dandelions. I am trying!
Good luck with yours and I hope everything works out :)
ETA: she's 5 now too. Maybe she is just getting older quicker! I swear she has grey hairs - she is a chocolate brown bunny with ginger patches and the underneath part of her fur is a caramel colour. But sometimes it looks grey in areas!!!

yes, Gus moults constantly and he's been going grey for a couple of years but i guess they show more on black bunnies.

parts of him feel bony but he's got quite chubby legs :shock:

i have been giving him blackberry leaves as they are good for their tummies and ive been so worried about him getting gi stasis, but he doesnt seem to have any probs. for the first 18 months that we had him he had a permanently sticky bum but science selective sorted that out thankfully

i do feel that his inbreeding has something to do with it - we've had him 3 and a half years now and in that time he's had several UTIs, the bouts of sticky bum, mites more than 6 times but none of my others have ever had mites, a retrobulbar abscess, sore hocks (even though we provide plenty of vet bed in his bedroom), a nasty bacterial infection round his tail from a bite wound that has taken ages to shift despite continued treatment and a bout of gi stasis a long time ago thankfully. and a dental but he hasnt needed another one due to his current expensive hay habit.

i suppose its inevitable that he should be a bit slower than the others but i really hope that he's not going to be ill again poor thing. he always plods on and fights whatever he's got and never gets put off life. in fact im just ordering him a new cardboard house as a treat as he's managed to destroy the 2nd level on his this week :D
 
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