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Is my bunny a runt or something else?

Hi everyone, sorry if this is in the wrong place but I've literally joined to ask a question about one of my bunnies.

Last year our rabbits had babies. We noticed one of them was super small. Like, not runt of the litter small (we already had one of them), but like, seriously small. And skinny. We managed to keep her alive by taking the other babies away periodically for half an hour 2-3 times a day, so she could get some of mum's milk, because she was too small to get any with the other four around. Anyway, she pulled through, but we noticed a few odd things. She was growing at a ridiculously slow pace and was a 1/4 the size of the others, miles behind even the runt. She also had an oddly-shaped spine. She was only growing hair in odd patches, with bald ears. She was also the worst of the lot for having her eyes crusted together, we had to dab them with water for many, many weeks.

All in all she was a very unusual rabbit, as you can see here with her sister who was born on the same day as her:

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This is her and her sister today, just over a year later (her sister is the last one):

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As you can see now, she's a beauty, and she looks kind of normal tbh. She's still half the size of her sister (although her sister is huge lol). She's still is skinnier, more fragile with oddly shaped spine and hips. I can't find any decent pictures to show you that unfortunately.

Basically my question is, is she just a really odd runt? Or could someone tell me if they know what she might be? Or am I just being stupid?

Please no patronising answers. I'm a rabbit lover and owned many but I'm not all-knowledgeable about rabbits and don't breed them etc (these babies weren't planned). So if I sound stupid, sorry.:(

Thanks in advance :D
 
Aww, she is beautiful. I guess (I certainly don't know) a runt is just the smaller & weakest of a litter so I'd say she is technically a "runt". Does she get on ok with her disability (spine deformity)?

A warm welcome to RU too
 
I don't know if she'd be classed as a peanut baby?

Though it is extremely rare for them to live past two weeks, maybe someone more experienced like MightyMax can help?
 
I thought of peanuts too, but since they almost never survive it's probably not that.

Maybe another form of dwarfism though?
 
Hi :wave: Welcome to the forum :)

I have no idea, sorry, but she's gorgeous and you did amazingly well in making sure she survived x
 
Sorry to bump my thread, was meaning to check up on this but sadly life has got in the way this summer!

Thanks everyone for your replies. I definitely don't believe she's just a runt, you could tell which one was the runt of the litter, he was undersized and a bit skinny but Mushu wasn't the same. I ended up taking her to the PDSA whilst I was taking my cat, and the vet wasn't too sure either, she did mention peanuts but as you guys have all said, it's incredibly rare for a peanut to live so long (she's 18 months old now!) so she felt it not likely. She did however mention something that is also extremely rare in rabbits called pituitary dwarfism which she felt more confident in being the case. I googled it without much results aside from this article: http://metro.co.uk/2013/07/30/meet-...-any-hair-needs-factor-50-in-the-sun-3904473/

All the symptoms seem to match my little Mushu aside from the oversized ears, even the crusty eyes! :lol: So it seems more likely that this is what she has, either way she seems to be a very special rabbit!!

Again thanks everyone for your help. I'll finish with a few recent pictures of Mushu and her brother Rolo chilling on the couch. :D

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Sadly your pics are not showing,photo bucket doesn't seem to work anymore ,and Aww at Delta Mouse in the article.
 
Sorry to bump my thread, was meaning to check up on this but sadly life has got in the way this summer!

Thanks everyone for your replies. I definitely don't believe she's just a runt, you could tell which one was the runt of the litter, he was undersized and a bit skinny but Mushu wasn't the same. I ended up taking her to the PDSA whilst I was taking my cat, and the vet wasn't too sure either, she did mention peanuts but as you guys have all said, it's incredibly rare for a peanut to live so long (she's 18 months old now!) so she felt it not likely. She did however mention something that is also extremely rare in rabbits called pituitary dwarfism which she felt more confident in being the case. I googled it without much results aside from this article: http://metro.co.uk/2013/07/30/meet-...-any-hair-needs-factor-50-in-the-sun-3904473/

All the symptoms seem to match my little Mushu aside from the oversized ears, even the crusty eyes! :lol: So it seems more likely that this is what she has, either way she seems to be a very special rabbit!!

Again thanks everyone for your help. I'll finish with a few recent pictures of Mushu and her brother Rolo chilling on the couch. :D

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What an incredible story, and what an incredible vet to know so much about rabbits and rare diseases! :)
 
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I reuploaded the pics, it's weird as they are showing up here on my laptop but not my phone!

And @MightyMax, I know, I wasn't really expecting her to know much but she is apparently a rabbit lover herself and was very taken with Mushu as well! :') She looks so fluffy and lovely now it's hard to believe she used to look as she did! Thanks everyone! :D
 
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I reuploaded the pics, it's weird as they are showing up here on my laptop but not my phone!

And @MightyMax, I know, I wasn't really expecting her to know much but she is apparently a rabbit lover herself and was very taken with Mushu as well! :') She looks so fluffy and lovely now it's hard to believe she used to look as she did! Thanks everyone! :D


Those photos are absolutely stunning - she is a beauty :love:

Wonderful to find such a treasure of a vet :D
 
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