TheCallyBear
Warren Scout
Ok so firstly I'm sorry if I'm confusing. I'm going to try keep this as short as possible without missing anything out.
Some of you may remember this thread;;
http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?398546-In-bits-don-t-know-what-to-do-with-myself
If you don't I'll try summarize. There also may be slight differences in what I said there to here, you have to bare with me I struggle to process information and commonly get mixed up. I've written all of the correct information down in a file on my laptop after getting it from my vets.
My rabbit Eric had dropped weight drastically over the course of about 4 weeks, so I took him to Ashleigh Vets which is highly recommended on here. Eric had dropped from 3kg to 1.9kg. They told me he was fine and I "just needed to feed him more." I was already feeding him more and he continued to lose weight. Since they're so highly regarded, I stuck with what they said for a further 2-3 weeks until enough was enough. By this time Eric had dropped to 1.5kg even though I was feeding him astronomical amounts.
I then took Eric to Heywood Vets who I still use. They said that Eric was emaciated [so not fine like Ashleigh Vets said] and that he needed a dental asap. He did have a spur on his tooth but nothing that would suggest such drastic weight loss, and especially since he hadn't stopped eating. This is a very important point. Eric also stopped breathing whilst under anesthetic and it was really touch and go whether or not he'd make it. After a very anxious wait he finally came around from the anesthetic. I did ask for a blood test since everyone here was suggesting it, and since they said that the tooth spur was not enough to cause the weight loss but I was told that it wasn't recommended.
I eventually managed to get Erics weight back up to 2.9kg but only if I was feeding him way too much. The only way I managed to keep his weight up and maintain it was to feed 3 full bowl fulls of pellets a day, oats which are recommended to feed to older rabbits to maintain weight along with veg and hay provided. Not that he'd eat the hay, but that's no surprise with feeding him 3 bowl fulls of pellets a day really. :/ I did manage to get him to nibble on hay for a while but I'd had to slowly stop the pellets in order for that to happen and surprise surprise his weight dropped. Eventually I slowly managed to drop the pellets to one bowl a day, but i still had to feed an unusual amount of veg [4 large spring green leaves a day, generally along with either a handful or spinach or kale or some broccoli or a small bit of carrot] along with the oats. Otherwise he'd drop weight.
About a week ago now Erics weight started dropping drastically, and in a week his weight has dropped from 2.9kg to 1.8kg. I am having to feed again the astronomical amount to keep him stabilized per recommendation of the vets. As soon as I noticed the weight dropping I booked him in at the vets where I demanded blood tests, and much to my relief the vet agreed. [This lady was much more thorough than the others] We are still waiting on the E Cunniculi [sp?] results but his wellness blood test results have showed that his liver has slightly high levels compared to normal levels. Heywood Vets have been 100% honest with me and said that they haven't dealt with this before so what they have done is send his results off to multiple rabbit experts so that they can share their opinions on the whole ordeal. We will hear back from them within a week, hopefully. She suspects an infection or a possible inability to work?
My vet has also recommended checking his teeth under anesthetic but using gas to put him under rather than an injection, so his liver won't have to cope with the strain of an injection. I should also mention that Erics poos throughout this whole ordeal have been small, dark, and hard. His partners are big golden and crumbly, and there are lots of them. Eric passes very few compared, it certainly seems as though there is less output than input. He expresses no signs of being in pain and there have been no changes in behavior. He has gone from being a pristine clean rabbit to being urine stained all over his legs despite me cleaning them out every day. He is litter trained.
I wondered if any of you had been through similar and could offer any advise? My vets seem to be doing everything within their power to make sure we get this under control as soon as possible. Thank you in advance. Please feel free to ask any questions if I've missed anything out.
[EDIT;; just to say that Eric also drinks a hell of a lot more than he used to, also.]
Some of you may remember this thread;;
http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?398546-In-bits-don-t-know-what-to-do-with-myself
If you don't I'll try summarize. There also may be slight differences in what I said there to here, you have to bare with me I struggle to process information and commonly get mixed up. I've written all of the correct information down in a file on my laptop after getting it from my vets.
My rabbit Eric had dropped weight drastically over the course of about 4 weeks, so I took him to Ashleigh Vets which is highly recommended on here. Eric had dropped from 3kg to 1.9kg. They told me he was fine and I "just needed to feed him more." I was already feeding him more and he continued to lose weight. Since they're so highly regarded, I stuck with what they said for a further 2-3 weeks until enough was enough. By this time Eric had dropped to 1.5kg even though I was feeding him astronomical amounts.
I then took Eric to Heywood Vets who I still use. They said that Eric was emaciated [so not fine like Ashleigh Vets said] and that he needed a dental asap. He did have a spur on his tooth but nothing that would suggest such drastic weight loss, and especially since he hadn't stopped eating. This is a very important point. Eric also stopped breathing whilst under anesthetic and it was really touch and go whether or not he'd make it. After a very anxious wait he finally came around from the anesthetic. I did ask for a blood test since everyone here was suggesting it, and since they said that the tooth spur was not enough to cause the weight loss but I was told that it wasn't recommended.
I eventually managed to get Erics weight back up to 2.9kg but only if I was feeding him way too much. The only way I managed to keep his weight up and maintain it was to feed 3 full bowl fulls of pellets a day, oats which are recommended to feed to older rabbits to maintain weight along with veg and hay provided. Not that he'd eat the hay, but that's no surprise with feeding him 3 bowl fulls of pellets a day really. :/ I did manage to get him to nibble on hay for a while but I'd had to slowly stop the pellets in order for that to happen and surprise surprise his weight dropped. Eventually I slowly managed to drop the pellets to one bowl a day, but i still had to feed an unusual amount of veg [4 large spring green leaves a day, generally along with either a handful or spinach or kale or some broccoli or a small bit of carrot] along with the oats. Otherwise he'd drop weight.
About a week ago now Erics weight started dropping drastically, and in a week his weight has dropped from 2.9kg to 1.8kg. I am having to feed again the astronomical amount to keep him stabilized per recommendation of the vets. As soon as I noticed the weight dropping I booked him in at the vets where I demanded blood tests, and much to my relief the vet agreed. [This lady was much more thorough than the others] We are still waiting on the E Cunniculi [sp?] results but his wellness blood test results have showed that his liver has slightly high levels compared to normal levels. Heywood Vets have been 100% honest with me and said that they haven't dealt with this before so what they have done is send his results off to multiple rabbit experts so that they can share their opinions on the whole ordeal. We will hear back from them within a week, hopefully. She suspects an infection or a possible inability to work?
My vet has also recommended checking his teeth under anesthetic but using gas to put him under rather than an injection, so his liver won't have to cope with the strain of an injection. I should also mention that Erics poos throughout this whole ordeal have been small, dark, and hard. His partners are big golden and crumbly, and there are lots of them. Eric passes very few compared, it certainly seems as though there is less output than input. He expresses no signs of being in pain and there have been no changes in behavior. He has gone from being a pristine clean rabbit to being urine stained all over his legs despite me cleaning them out every day. He is litter trained.
I wondered if any of you had been through similar and could offer any advise? My vets seem to be doing everything within their power to make sure we get this under control as soon as possible. Thank you in advance. Please feel free to ask any questions if I've missed anything out.
[EDIT;; just to say that Eric also drinks a hell of a lot more than he used to, also.]
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