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Severe weight loss

Limit

Warren Scout
So we've had Monte for a good 4 months now and he's great, he eats everything, drinks well, poos normal. He had an accident a few weeks after we first got him and hurt his back leg but with time it's healed and he's back using it like normal. He was on metacam for 6 weeks for it whilst he was healing. He has severe snuffles and from the RSPCA records he has already had antibiotics but we've tried another 10 day course that finished today (it has helped calm down how much he sneezes).

Now the real issue is that he started dropping weight when we took him in to get his leg checked out and we assumed it was because we had previously been bonding and it was just too stressful and too soon for him. However he then dropped 0.4kg and this was worrying as he does eat well, very well. Today he had another weigh in and he dropped another 0.4kg. Very concerned as it has only been 2 weeks since the last appointment and he's lost that much. He had a blood sample taken today, which the vet was very surprised how easily she got the blood, and it's being sent off to the lab for tests. His teeth were checked and she saw nothing wrong with the back ones or front ones, but said if nothing comes up it'd be a good idea to knock him out to take a better look. Should hear back on Monday. Looking for some vibes for him, I'm very worried and a bit lost... I feel like I'm not feeding enough when in reality he gets more than double what he should get.. :(
 
So we've had Monte for a good 4 months now and he's great, he eats everything, drinks well, poos normal. He had an accident a few weeks after we first got him and hurt his back leg but with time it's healed and he's back using it like normal. He was on metacam for 6 weeks for it whilst he was healing. He has severe snuffles and from the RSPCA records he has already had antibiotics but we've tried another 10 day course that finished today (it has helped calm down how much he sneezes).

Now the real issue is that he started dropping weight when we took him in to get his leg checked out and we assumed it was because we had previously been bonding and it was just too stressful and too soon for him. However he then dropped 0.4kg and this was worrying as he does eat well, very well. Today he had another weigh in and he dropped another 0.4kg. Very concerned as it has only been 2 weeks since the last appointment and he's lost that much. He had a blood sample taken today, which the vet was very surprised how easily she got the blood, and it's being sent off to the lab for tests. His teeth were checked and she saw nothing wrong with the back ones or front ones, but said if nothing comes up it'd be a good idea to knock him out to take a better look. Should hear back on Monday. Looking for some vibes for him, I'm very worried and a bit lost... I feel like I'm not feeding enough when in reality he gets more than double what he should get.. :(

I hope that the blood test results shed some light on what is going on. Sending lots of vibes for him xx
 
So we've had Monte for a good 4 months now and he's great, he eats everything, drinks well, poos normal. He had an accident a few weeks after we first got him and hurt his back leg but with time it's healed and he's back using it like normal. He was on metacam for 6 weeks for it whilst he was healing. He has severe snuffles and from the RSPCA records he has already had antibiotics but we've tried another 10 day course that finished today (it has helped calm down how much he sneezes).

Now the real issue is that he started dropping weight when we took him in to get his leg checked out and we assumed it was because we had previously been bonding and it was just too stressful and too soon for him. However he then dropped 0.4kg and this was worrying as he does eat well, very well. Today he had another weigh in and he dropped another 0.4kg. Very concerned as it has only been 2 weeks since the last appointment and he's lost that much. He had a blood sample taken today, which the vet was very surprised how easily she got the blood, and it's being sent off to the lab for tests. His teeth were checked and she saw nothing wrong with the back ones or front ones, but said if nothing comes up it'd be a good idea to knock him out to take a better look. Should hear back on Monday. Looking for some vibes for him, I'm very worried and a bit lost... I feel like I'm not feeding enough when in reality he gets more than double what he should get.. :(



Hi Limit

It sounds like your vet as all bases covered here. Blood results and teeth check, and then if necessary move onto the big gun diagnostics.

Hope it's something simple and easily remedied. I know how worrying unexplained weight loss can be!!
 
Lots and lots of vibes. I'm sorry I can't provide any helpful information x

Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk
 
Sending lots of vibes for your beautiful Monte. I hope that the blood tests will indicate what's going on with him and that it's something that's easy to sort out.
 
Thanks everyone. Praying it's something simple and could explain why Binky had been rejecting him when we tried bonding. He's still his usual self, eating drinking and pooping normally. Just keeping him comfortable and stress free for now. xx
 
Thanks everyone. Praying it's something simple and could explain why Binky had been rejecting him when we tried bonding. He's still his usual self, eating drinking and pooping normally. Just keeping him comfortable and stress free for now. xx


Thinking of you Limit, and hoping all will be well :)
 
Oh no. Hoping for good results for {{{Monty}}} !

Do you think testing his stool would be worthwhile too or does the vet think weight loss too sudden for it to be intestinal parasites?
 
Oh no. Hoping for good results for {{{Monty}}} !

Do you think testing his stool would be worthwhile too or does the vet think weight loss too sudden for it to be intestinal parasites?

I'll suggest it but she thought it was too sudden to be this, worth a go as she said she'll try all the smaller things first before knocking him out. Should find out today what his results are, very worried!
 
I'll suggest it but she thought it was too sudden to be this, worth a go as she said she'll try all the smaller things first before knocking him out. Should find out today what his results are, very worried!


Vibes coming from over here to you xx
 
I'll suggest it but she thought it was too sudden to be this, worth a go as she said she'll try all the smaller things first before knocking him out. Should find out today what his results are, very worried!

I hope the news is not as bad as you fear xx
 
Good news (sort of)! Kidneys and liver came back normal. We suspected some sort of failure at first. His white blood cells were at 7 instead of 4 and she said it was a sign of infection. So we're doing another course of antibiotics and if that does nothing he'll be knocked out so they can take a look at his teeth. :)
 
Good news (sort of)! Kidneys and liver came back normal. We suspected some sort of failure at first. His white blood cells were at 7 instead of 4 and she said it was a sign of infection. So we're doing another course of antibiotics and if that does nothing he'll be knocked out so they can take a look at his teeth. :)


I'm finding it quite bizarre the number of rabbits who are having elevated white blood cells with no clear reason for it :?

Anyway, good news for him - what antibiotics has the vet given?
 
I'm finding it quite bizarre the number of rabbits who are having elevated white blood cells with no clear reason for it :?

Anyway, good news for him - what antibiotics has the vet given?

Yes, I was thinking that too, but then it may be that there is normally quite a number of rabbits who are fighting low grade infections. I know sometimes with my rabbits, one of them at times might be less "bouncy", but it's not been severe enough to give definite symptoms. Perhaps vets are routinely performing more blood tests now and so we are more aware of it :?

Limit - I'm so pleased that the blood tests haven't shown anything too dramatic. I hope he responds to the abx.
 
Good news (sort of)! Kidneys and liver came back normal. We suspected some sort of failure at first. His white blood cells were at 7 instead of 4 and she said it was a sign of infection. So we're doing another course of antibiotics and if that does nothing he'll be knocked out so they can take a look at his teeth. :)

I am glad that the blood results were generally OK. Is the Vet planning to recheck them at some stage, prior to a GA/Dental ? In Rabbits the WBC count can vary with age and also with the time of day the blood test was taken, amongst other things

http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00Man/LagomorphOverviews/Clinical Pathology_Rabbits.htm
 
Yes, I was thinking that too, but then it may be that there is normally quite a number of rabbits who are fighting low grade infections. I know sometimes with my rabbits, one of them at times might be less "bouncy", but it's not been severe enough to give definite symptoms. Perhaps vets are routinely performing more blood tests now and so we are more aware of it :?

Limit - I'm so pleased that the blood tests haven't shown anything too dramatic. I hope he responds to the abx.


I agree with you. I had this conversation with my vet a week ago, as one of my rabbits is currently very poorly. He also came back with elevated white blood cells, but we can't at the moment trace the infection.

Certainly we feel that the elevated blood cell count, even though we can't determine what's causing it right now, is probably connected with his illness.
 
I agree with you. I had this conversation with my vet a week ago, as one of my rabbits is currently very poorly. He also came back with elevated white blood cells, but we can't at the moment trace the infection.

Certainly we feel that the elevated blood cell count, even though we can't determine what's causing it right now, is probably connected with his illness.

He has snuffles, we thought this is the most likely cause? Generally he's fine in himself, we don't think it's his teeth because of the amount he eats but you never know and it's worth looking at after the small things are done. We were going to worm him too. Problem is we haven't had him all that long from the RSPCA, they've noted down that everything was checked beforehand but he's been gradually losing weight ever since we had him before dropping 1kg in a month. We were hoping it was just from the move and him settling in.

Trying to see if I can have him indoors because at the moment Binky is in too small a space as we got him to be bonded with her and for them to have the whole space together. It's been a nightmare!
 
He has snuffles, we thought this is the most likely cause? Generally he's fine in himself, we don't think it's his teeth because of the amount he eats but you never know and it's worth looking at after the small things are done. We were going to worm him too. Problem is we haven't had him all that long from the RSPCA, they've noted down that everything was checked beforehand but he's been gradually losing weight ever since we had him before dropping 1kg in a month. We were hoping it was just from the move and him settling in.

Trying to see if I can have him indoors because at the moment Binky is in too small a space as we got him to be bonded with her and for them to have the whole space together. It's been a nightmare!


Hi Limit

Yes, absolutely I would think the snuffles is the cause. For that I would suggest echinacea as being great for boosting the immune system.

Trying to keep/put weight on a rabbit where there's no diagnosed cause is tricky I agree. I know it's not a solution, but can you give a pinch of oats twice daily? Can you switch to higher calorie pellets for baby rabbits? Sorry if you know this, or I've suggested it already ...

Again, sorry if you've covered this, but if I'm suspecting teeth then he wouldn't eating so much hay? How is he at eating that?
 
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