• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.
  • Please Note - Medical Advice

    Please keep in mind that posts on this forum are from members of the public sharing personal opinions. It is not a replacement for qualified medical advice from a veterinarian. Many illnesses share similar symptoms but require different treatments. A medical exam is necessary for an accurate diagnosis, without which appropriate treatment cannot be given.

    You should always consult your vet before following any suggestions for medication or treatment you have read about. The wrong treatment could make your rabbit worse or mean your vet is unable to give the correct treatment because of drug interactions. Even non prescription drugs can do harm if given inappropriately.

    We are very grateful to members who take time to answer other members questions, but please do be clear in your replies that you are sharing personal experience and not giving instructions on what must be done.

    Urgent Medical Advice: If you need, or think you might need, urgent medical advice you should contact a vet. If it is out of working hours phone your vet's normal number and there should be an answer phone message with instructions on what to do.

400g weight loss - advice on gaining weight

SamTheBunny

Young Bun
I previously posted on here about my rabbit Bear's weepy eye. After a few weeks the vet eventually concluded that he had a blocked tear duct due to sharp spurs on his back teeth. They filed them off and his eye improved but I was still having to drain it almost daily with some gentle pressure below the eye, as instructed. This has persisted since it began back in March, however they said it would probably be an ongoing thing that we just have to manage.
Recently though, my mum and I noticed that he had become very skinny and you could feel all of his bones rather easily. We decided to take him to the vets to have it checked as a precaution just incase. She wasn't able to conclude what was wrong as he was acting perfectly normally and seemed fine but he did have some sharp spurs again. However, she wanted to rule out any other causes of the weight loss as he was still eating first, so we dropped him in today for a blood test. They came back normal so they went ahead with the dental and he came around fine afterwards so that was good.
I spoke to the senior vet afterwards about it and he explained to me that the reason for his persistent dental problem is that he was fed an unsuitable diet when he was with his previous owners (we got him and his brother back at the start of november), meaning he was fed a muesli diet and became calcium deficient as a result because he was able to be selective. This caused his bones to soften and his teeth to grow strangely and misalign, so they aren't wearing down. I was so upset to find out about this because it is so easily avoided and now he has to deal with this every day. We have decided (with the vets) that the best course of action from now on is to take him in a weigh him every two weeks to monitor him before it gets bad (which luckily it never has as we've always caught it before any soft tissue damage has occured in his mouth).

Now I need to get his weight back up but i'm not entirely sure how to go about this effectively. Has anyone else been in this situation or have any advice as to what I should do? I thought about feeding him critical care with baby food (as he really likes it) but I'm not sure if that would work or if it is safe. He has lost the 400g within about 2 months so it was quite a rapid loss, almost 1/6 of his weight.

Thank you in advance, Poppy and Bear :)


Edit: I forgot to mention that the vet said that this will be permanent and there is probably no way of reversing the effects of his previous calcium deficiency. However, if anyone has any suggestions as to how i may be able to at least improve it then I would love to know.
 
Last edited:
Hello. My rabbit Sam has a similar problem. He also needs dentals, because his teeth gets loose and needs removal. He gets spurs sometimes, due to his loose teeth. He's just almost 2 years old. Our vet thinks it's dietary, because he's not eating any pellets and maybe not getting enough vitamins and minerals as he should. Although X-rays don't show any bone density problems and seems to be normal.
Sam also lost quite some weight. But he gained it back recently. I was giving him pea flakes, some dried apple and carrots to get his weight up and it helped. But if your rabbit likes recovery food you can definetely try that, it should help too. Also maybe some oats, pumpkin or sunflower seeds could help to gained some weight. Hope your rabbit gets well soon.

Išsiųsta naudojantis C6903 Tapatalk 4 Lt
 
Thank you so much for your reply. I think i'll try the critical care and baby food as he does seem to like it, and i'll try the others you suggested as well :)
 
Hi

I posted a similar thread yesterday, my bunny has lost a similar amount of weight but for different reasons and was given some good advice.

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/s...ips-on-helping-an-underweight-bun-gain-weight

Hope you can get it sorted, it's such a battle sometimes!

Thank you for the link, I’ll definitely try the oats as that seems to work quite well. I’m assuming I should soak them in water so that they do not swell in his stomach? Or are they ok dry?
 
The oats are ok dry, he will probably drink a little bit more. Does he eat Kale as this is quite high in Calcium, and you could try him with Alfalfa Hay which is higher in Calcium. I would think he didn't eat enough hay with his previous owner as I have fed Muesli for years with no problems. I hope he puts his weight back on.
 
Thank you for your reply. Regardless as to whether you have had any problems yet or not, muesli mix is not good for rabbits at all and It isn’t worth the risk of something bad happening. Please spare yourself and your rabbits the potential effects of muesli by swapping to complete pellets like burgess or science selective. I know you mean well and I am not trying to be rude in any way, just trying to look out for yourself and your bunnies :)
 
Thank you for your reply. Regardless as to whether you have had any problems yet or not, muesli mix is not good for rabbits at all and It isn’t worth the risk of something bad happening. Please spare yourself and your rabbits the potential effects of muesli by swapping to complete pellets like burgess or science selective. I know you mean well and I am not trying to be rude in any way, just trying to look out for yourself and your bunnies :)

I realise how you feel but I have brought up many rabbits on Muesli and most have lived till 9 or 10. A recent study on rabbits, some eating Muesli and some on pellets, over a year, showed there was no difference in the rabbits' health, teeth etc.
 
That is a very good point but I doubt that a year would be long enough to see obvious differences. Bear would have been fed on a muesli diet for at least 2 years of his life before we got him. However, I can appreciate why you may not be concerned as his brother would probably have been fed on them longer and has had no obvious effect on him. I personally don’t think it’s worth the risk but I do understand why you have decided not to :)
 
Thank you for the link, I’ll definitely try the oats as that seems to work quite well. I’m assuming I should soak them in water so that they do not swell in his stomach? Or are they ok dry?


I feed only a pinch of oats twice a day and never soak them. They will be fine dry :D

To help with weight gain I give junior pellets instead of adult ones (more calories) and also add in some Fibafirst sticks, which go down well! If munching them up is an issue, I crumble them and mix with a small amount of grated carrot or apple :)
 
Back
Top