Harvey's got so thin

My 7 year old nethie Harvey has become really thin. He is still running around ok and interested in food but I can feel his bones through his coat which ive never been able to do before. I've started giving him some oats and extra pellets to try to feed him up. He is an outdoor bunny and it is so cold at the moment, I'm so worried about him. Should I bring them in for the winter? Is there anything else I can do to feed him up?

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He needs to be seen by a rabbit savvy vet to see if the cause of his weight loss can be determined. Is he part of a pair/group? Is he getting bullied for food? Has he had his teeth checked? Does he eat plenty of good quality hay? You could feed him on junior pellets instead, and feed Readigrass too.

He is in a pair with a female mini lop of the same age who can be a bit of a bully. He eats pellets really well and i hand feed them so I know he is getting his share of those and he is really keen for them. He is usually a really good hay eater too but over the summer he eats a lot of grass and now he doesn't have access to the lawn he doesn't like his hay as much though he definitely does eat it. It could be a dental problem as maybe the grass over the summer didn't wear his teeth as well.

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I'll try and get a vet appointment for him tomorrow.

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bizziel said:

He is in a pair with a female mini lop of the same age who can be a bit of a bully. He eats pellets really well and i hand feed them so I know he is getting his share of those and he is really keen for them. He is usually a really good hay eater too but over the summer he eats a lot of grass and now he doesn't have access to the lawn he doesn't like his hay as much though he definitely does eat it. It could be a dental problem as maybe the grass over the summer didn't wear his teeth as well.

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Grass is good for dental health

Unexplained weight loss always merits a Vet check up, as well as Dental problems there are other health conditions that can initially present with unexplained weight loss such as renal problems.

I would definitely bring them indoors as he can’t afford to be burning off calories trying to keep warm

I agree with Zoobec that he should be seen by a vet. There are many medical issues that can cause rabbits to lose weight, and it's important to find out the cause. The vet can then also tell you what you can give him to get him to gain some weight again.

Thank you for all your responses. Ive brought them in and set up a pen for them in the spare room. They are both munching hay [emoji846] I've ordered some readigrass and I'll make an appointment with the vet tomorrow.

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bizziel said:

Thank you for all your responses. Ive brought them in and set up a pen for them in the spare room. They are both munching hay [emoji846] I've ordered some readigrass and I'll make an appointment with the vet tomorrow.

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aww, all cosy inside. I hope the vets goes well

Fingers crossed that the vets appointment goes well

Good luck at the vets! I hope you can get some answers.

Thanks both, fingers crossed!

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Sending vibes vet goes well.

Sending vibes for bun. Hope you find out what's wrong xxx

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Sending vibes for your bunny and hope the vet can determine the cause. Xx

Sending vibes hopefully the vet can find a cause and get them on the road to recovery.

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Hi everyone, firstly I want to say thanks for your help and positive vibes. I thought I'd give you a much over due update on Harvey and the short answer is he's doing really well [emoji3526]

I found out there was a new rabbit savvy vet at the portishead branch of my local vet who used to work in exotic referral so I got him to her and she was really good but we couldn't find anything wrong. Nothing from examinination or in blood or urine sample. She said his teeth were remarkably good for a rabbit of his age (I'm really lucky both my buns have always been good hay eaters). Only thing she could say was maybe his back teeth had spurs but to check she would need to put him under GA. With his age and weight (under a kilo) I just didn't want to risk it so we agreed to feed him up with intensive care food and see how he got on with regular food as he was still eating pellets just not hay.

Started off on 4 meals syringe feeds a day, meanwhile I tried him on lots of different hay. For years they have been on ING hay but I found he prefers a combo of Timothy hay and readigrass so that's now their staple food. As he started eating more I've cut the syringe feeding down gradually and he's now back to eating normally and up to 1.4kg, yay!!

Whilst he is eating normally I don't think it's worth the risk of getting the dental under GA but I'm keeping a close eye on him and monitoring his weight to make sure he's stays healthy. They are still indoors which makes that easier but I'll look to put them back ot in the shed in April when it's more reliably warm.

I don't really know what was wrong, maybe it was just a bad bale of hay combined with a horrible cold snap. Im really angry with myself for not noticing sooner that he was losing weight but I think it happened very quickly. I need to make sure I keep a closer eye in them both, especially as they are now getting to be older buns [emoji17] but at least he is ok again now thankfully and ive learned a lesson.

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That's really great news! Thank you for giving us an update. I'm so glad Harvey is doing really well now, and that you've found a rabbit savvy vet, and hay that he likes. If he is eating normally now I wouldn't risk a dental, either.

Thanks Reader, I'm just so happy that he is back to his old self again [emoji846]

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Glad to hear he is doing a lot better now

Hi!

Glad for the update. Just to ask. How old is Harvey? If he is in general good condition and not really oldie I would get teeth burred down under the ansthetic.