Poor Barney. Molly has issues U/D been to vets

[MimzMum]

(((((((Sending you hugs))))))))
I realize this is very draining, but I hope something can be worked out. If you hadn't brought Molly home you wouldn't have found Barney, I remember when you first posted about him, you were so happy. Whatever Molly issues are, there must be a way to heal them.

Is there a scented cleaner, a scent coming from the litter or a sound that she may be hearing/picking up on that could be setting her off? I also wonder if something may have been left behind during her spay, this seems like such hormonal behaviour.

I don't want to suggest a possible tumor somewhere, but if it's on a sensitive organ it could contribute. When did she last have a health check?
Or, could Barney be harbouring an illness and she is picking up on that? If he is not well, even if it's something slight, she could sense it and this might be making her upset...her actions may be trying to alert you.

Sorry...don't mean to load more things on...just trying to come up with possibilities. All is not lost, they were doing well and they can do well again. xxxx

 

[ripminnie]

What makes you think she/ they are unhappy?

It's Barney's eyes, he looks sad he doesn't run round like he used to when he arrived. He's not as inquisitive. I think he has a digestion problem, after eating anything he's alright for half an hour, then looks uncomfortable and lies down. But it seems to pass after an hour or so :?

 

[ripminnie]

Could Molly's ears be hurting her again ?

Could the infection have recurred ? Very common unfortunately.

I did think of that Jane, but she doesn't seem bothered by them at all - before she was scratching a lot and shaking her head. I am starting to think she is picking up on something wrong with barney

 

[Vegan_Bunny]

Rabbits are not like people. Quite often rabbits are not as active when bonded as they were when single. Fiver definitely "calmed" down once I got him a friend, could it just be that?

It sounds as though Molly is frustrated/in pain or something. Can you get her to a vet for a full check over? Fiver gets aggressive when he is in pain, and will lunge at me and attack anybody near him with no warning for no apparent reason. It's just the way he reacts to pain/discomfort.

Molly is obviously not hurting Barney if he just sits there and lets her nip him. Xena does this to Fiver and he just lowers his head for grooms from her, this makes her angry and she ends up hopping off in a strop. If there is no excessive fur pulling or actual injury to Barney, I really wouldn't worry so much.

If it isn't a health problem, then it must be behavioural. It could be that she is "claiming" the litter tray as hers. Could you get an even bigger litter tray and see if that helps? I found that a square litter tray was much easier. What substrate do you use? Could it be that she is trying to get to the substrate?

 

[SJH]

It's Barney's eyes, he looks sad he doesn't run round like he used to when he arrived. He's not as inquisitive. I think he has a digestion problem, after eating anything he's alright for half an hour, then looks uncomfortable and lies down. But it seems to pass after an hour or so :?

Sounds familiar. Poor boy.

The two events aren't necessarily linked though.

Are you going to have to try to separate them?




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[Gemmapookie]

I did think of that Jane, but she doesn't seem bothered by them at all - before she was scratching a lot and shaking her head. I am starting to think she is picking up on something wrong with barney

I would be suspecting this too, or that she has something brewing

Perhaps take them both to a vet for a thorough check over after Christmas, and tell them about your concerns about Barneys digestion xxxxxxxxxx

 

[klw]

She was spayed in April. I thought they always had uterus and ovaries removed when spayed :? Do they not?

Not always. Some vets remove just the uterus, others remove uterus and ovaries.

It does sound a tad hormonal to me so I would roll her over and check her girlie bits when she goes through these spells. The clue is that she seems fine in-between and there's an apparent cyclical pattern (even though rabbits don't come into 'season'). If she appears fertile while going through her digging spells then this could be the answer. I've seen it previously in spayed does.

 

[susie bun]

Sorry this is so distressing for you. Sending vibes and hugs. xx

 

[ripminnie]

I am going to stop feeding Barney pellets. He is very uncomfortable after eating them, even if he only has a few. I am booking him into the vets on Friday morning to be checked out, as I think he has something going on. He has been iffy after his pellets ever since he arrived, but he's got much worse recently. He does eat plenty of hay which is great, I will give him tons of that and herbs and see how he is over the next few days. The more I think about it, the more I think Molly is telling us he isn't right...

 

[ripminnie]

Quick update. I put another litter tray in a different room, it still has newspaper and hay in at the moment as i don't have an alternative yet. But Molly has stopped trashing their normal litter tray and is annihilating the new one instead. She has become very territorial over it and growls/lunges if you put your hand in! :shock: i am at work but my OH apparently got bitten earlier. When she's not in the tray she's absolutely fine :? Very strange.
Barney was better this morning after only having 3 pellets and a handful of dried plantain for breakfast - he still got a bit of a gassy tummy but not as bad and not for as long. I can't afford to feed tons of plantain though, it's really expensive to buy and i don't have time to forage. Don't know what to do about that. I have been giving him metacam and metoclop to help him, which seems to be working. I will be getting them both checked out thoroughly on Friday.
I hope we can get to the bottom of this.

 

[tulsi]

I do hope it all gets sorted on friday, its been quite eventful ever since you have had Molly hasnt it?

 

[susie bun]

Continuing vibes. It does sound as if the situation is a bit better, but still difficult for you.

 

[tonibun]

The digging with wild eyes is fairly normal for some does especially when they are in the garden and are able to dig a proper nesthole. They seem to be taken over while they dig, maybe concentrating very hard? Crystal did this in the summer shortly after she came to live here. She had had a lot of babies, so maybe it is connected with that. Maybe Molly is expecting to have babies with Barney, they don't know they can't get pregnant.

 

[Santa]

How old is Molly? A sudden recurrence of territorial behaviour in neutered bunnies can be a sign of an adrenal gland problem. I'd say it's definitely worth a vet check x x

 

[Vegan_Bunny]

Quick update. I put another litter tray in a different room, it still has newspaper and hay in at the moment as i don't have an alternative yet. But Molly has stopped trashing their normal litter tray and is annihilating the new one instead. She has become very territorial over it and growls/lunges if you put your hand in! :shock: i am at work but my OH apparently got bitten earlier. When she's not in the tray she's absolutely fine :? Very strange.
Barney was better this morning after only having 3 pellets and a handful of dried plantain for breakfast - he still got a bit of a gassy tummy but not as bad and not for as long. I can't afford to feed tons of plantain though, it's really expensive to buy and i don't have time to forage. Don't know what to do about that. I have been giving him metacam and metoclop to help him, which seems to be working. I will be getting them both checked out thoroughly on Friday.
I hope we can get to the bottom of this.

I would take the newspaper out. My bunnies would OBSESS over getting to newspaper if I used that as a substrate. I use megazorb and still get somebody digging, but not obsessively.

I can't offer much advice re Barney, it does sound as though something is going on and I hope that the vets can help with it. x

 

[tonibun]

Just wondering, could it be connected to you decorating the room. I am not quite sure what you could do about it but if so it will take some time for the room to smell familiar. Just a thought.

 

[ripminnie]

We have been to the vets today. I am happy to say that Barney appears to be the picture of health; the vet said he couldn't find a single thing wrong with him tummy felt completely normal, teeth good, ears spotless all the way down... He said his problem after eating could have been down to what he was fed when he was very young, but he would probably be fine on a hay only diet. I knew he would say that. I would like to give him other stuff still though, he loves his food so much I will have to just give him tiny bits of things.

Molly, on the other hand - Jane was spot on as usual :lol: her ears look red and sore again, and very waxy. Apart from her ears everything else seemed ok. So she is on canaural ear drops again, 10 days this time. If it doesn't clear it, he will take a swab and do a culture/sensitivity test to see what would work best. So at least we have something to work with now.

 

[tonibun]

I wonder what causes this problem with her ears? Anyway this is probably what makes her irritable. Hope the canaural gets working quickly.

 

[Jack's-Jane]

We have been to the vets today. I am happy to say that Barney appears to be the picture of health; the vet said he couldn't find a single thing wrong with him tummy felt completely normal, teeth good, ears spotless all the way down... He said his problem after eating could have been down to what he was fed when he was very young, but he would probably be fine on a hay only diet. I knew he would say that. I would like to give him other stuff still though, he loves his food so much I will have to just give him tiny bits of things.

Molly, on the other hand - Jane was spot on as usual :lol: her ears look red and sore again, and very waxy. Apart from her ears everything else seemed ok. So she is on canaural ear drops again, 10 days this time. If it doesn't clear it, he will take a swab and do a culture/sensitivity test to see what would work best. So at least we have something to work with now.

Poor Molly. I would invest in a basic otoscope so you can check down her ears at least once a week. I do this with all mine now, but I think it is especially important to do so for Lops.

 

[MimzMum]

Aw poor Molly glad to hear there's a diagnosis though and hopefully she'll be feeling better soon.

I deal with constant trouble with Mimzy's ears right now and not quite sure if it's just his lop ears or a number of factors contributing on top of that. I agree that having an otoscope would be a good idea. (It takes a bit of practice to get a bun to sit still for a peek, I recommend having an extra pair of hands!) I used to keep one for my kids when the were little because they always had earaches. Need to get one for the buns and probably one for Jenna since she has issues as well.
Because all my furbabies seem to have ear trouble of one sort or other I put it down to environment. We have a very moist house and yet our outdoors air is always very dry, so the contradiction of the two seems to wreak havoc on the bunnies in the form of tatty pelts and itchy, yeasty ears.

Hoping things settle down between Molly and Barney soon. Glad to hear he is healthy! xxxx