Sparky

Hi everyone,

Me again - some you know that the last year has been very tough for us. Lots of bereavements of family members as well as two of our bunnies.

Sparky is coming up to his 13th birthday, he is a netherland dwarf/rex cross and we have had him since he was 10 weeks old.

In recent years, he's had two bouts of head tilt - both were due to an ear inflection as the blood test was negative for EC both times; though the first bout we treated him for both an ear infection and EC as he was in really bad way. The second bout he had in October last year - nowhere near as bad as the first time and both times he made a full recovery.

He has arthritis in his left leg and he is on 0.5mi of loxicom twice a day which has helped him an awful lot and he does also have cataracts in both eyes. He is able to get around, though he is a bit unsteady and because of his eyesight he's not wholly comfortable outside of his area which we have padded with rolled up towels so if he loses his balance due to his leg he get himself back up. He knows where his food and water bowel is and still eats and drinks like a trooper.

Late last night we noticed he was stumbling around a bit more than usual which we thought might be because he had too much hay under him making the ground unsteady.

We got him out this morning to see how he was, he was moving about ok but one of his eyes looks "shiny" and under one of his eyes it feels a bit "gummy" but we can't see any discharge actually coming out.

He is still happy in himself, eating, drinking, pooping, no signs of pain, moving about as much as he can /his leg allows and the exotics vet isn't in until tomorrow so he has an appointment at 930am, however, my husband is of the view that Sparky now may be completely blind in one of his eyes and the arthritis in his leg might have gotten substantially worse and we may need to consider PTS.

I know we don't know anything for definite and he has had a long and happy life and we don't want to be selfish and prolong his life but equally I'm not sure if I'm prepared to make the decision /let him go.

My hope is that perhaps he does have a slight infection in his eye which the loxicom has been helping with but because it's working on his eye, it might not be being as effective on his leg so maybe he will need a higher dosage of loxicom and maybe some eyedrops/anti-biotics.

I just really needed to get this off my chest and ask for some vibes for him.

Hope it all goes well for you and Sparky. x

Sending lots of vibes for him, I’m sure you will do whatever is best for him, as always.

I can relate to your situation. While my more recent losses involve younger bunnies, at one point I had a few bunnies in their teens. It is incredibly difficult to let go of a bunny with a failing body who still has a bright spirit.
However, when we see a bunny daily, slow changes are hard to recognize. Plus the bunny may not be as content when we are not with them.
That being said, I would prefer to wait for evaluation by the regular vet and discuss quality of life, unless the bunny was suffering and immediate action to pts was required. IMO get vet care to give bunny relief from new developments and schedule a review with your trusted vet.

Sending you and Sparkey lots of vibes.

It could be that Glaucoma has developed secondary to the cataracts. If so then eye drops to reduce intraocular pressure could help.

The Loxicom would not just reduce any eye pain and not arthritic pain, it should address both simultaneously. There are additional analgesics that can be given alongside Loxicom if the Vet felt they may be needed.

I am sure that you will do whatever is in Sparky’s best interests.

Hi everyone,

Just an update on Sparky following his vet visit this morning.

He does have arthritis in both hips and an infection in his eye. The vet flushed his eye and said it flushed really well and his weight is stable.

OH was the one in the consulting room with the vet and at the moment as he is keeping himself clean, eating, drinking, pooping, having his cectropes without issue, moving around as much as he can as well as being bright in himself, PTS doesn't seem right. Obviously if things change such as him not being able to keep himself clean then PTS may have to happen.

For now the vet is keeping him on 0.5ml of loxicom twice a day, 0.14ml of Tremodol - i think once a day but will have to double check the label and marcobyl (sp?) for the eye infection with a review of how he's getting on in two weeks time.

As soon as we got him home he was trying to climb out of his carry case!

I’m glad the appointment went well and that he is feeling well in himself. It sounds like he’s got good quality of life at the moment and that is the main thing.

He seems to be doing good considering, well done Sparky

Glad to hear that Sparky is coping, long May it continue

This is lovely to hear. Well done. Sending vibes he remains well.

Back to the vets tomorrow as Cleo now has discharge coming from her eye - she had some earlier in the year that seemed to clear up.

Cleo and Sparky don't live together and we wash our hands between touching each of them / their cages etc.

Really wish we could catch a break and stop camping at the vets!

Sending get well soon vibes for Cleo