millerash25
New Kit
I have a small lop-eared rabbit named Eve. In March I went out of the country on a medical mission trip and left her and my other bunny (affectionately known as the "other bunny" since nobody is decisive enough for a name) in the care of my boyfriend. I have a relatively small traveling cage that I use for the rabbits when I can't have them at home (I'm a college student and I have a long distance relationship with my boyfriend) that the rabbits were in while I was gone.
When I came home, I put the bunnies back in their large cage and after a little bit I noticed that Eve seemed to be losing weight fairly rapidly. She seemed to be lethargic and unwilling to move. Once she ventured out of the cage to hop around, I noticed that she was limping pretty badly. I picked her up and examined her feet and noticed that she had sore hocks.
I researched everywhere I could and all the sources said that when the negative situation was removed that the sore hocks would heal on their own and that, short of applying neosporin every so often, that all I could do was wait for the wounds to heal on their own.
Now it is April and her sore hocks have gotten much worse. She's having difficulty eating her cecotropes and constantly urinates on herself and furthers the problem. Her feet are misshapen and she can't seem to regain her weight back.
I'm feeling awful for not taking her to the vet immediately, but she seemed to keep getting better and each day she showed improvement. Recently she's just gotten much worse and it seems every calorie is such a fight.
I'm calling the vet first thing in the morning but I won't be able to take her in until Tuesday or Thursday. I guess I'm just asking if any of you have any pointers as to how I can keep her comfortable until then. She's never been in a cage with wires, she currently is in a large cage that has stick on tiles as the bottom. No matter how often I try to keep up with her she continuously urinates on herself and I can't seem to prevent her from doing so. How can I alleviate the stress on her feet? Are there any foods I can feed her that are high in calories so that she won't keep losing this weight? As far as treatment goes will she need surgery to remove the "bumps" on her heels that deform her feet? How good is the prognosis?
If nothing else, thank you for reading this far. I just feel awful right now.
When I came home, I put the bunnies back in their large cage and after a little bit I noticed that Eve seemed to be losing weight fairly rapidly. She seemed to be lethargic and unwilling to move. Once she ventured out of the cage to hop around, I noticed that she was limping pretty badly. I picked her up and examined her feet and noticed that she had sore hocks.
I researched everywhere I could and all the sources said that when the negative situation was removed that the sore hocks would heal on their own and that, short of applying neosporin every so often, that all I could do was wait for the wounds to heal on their own.
Now it is April and her sore hocks have gotten much worse. She's having difficulty eating her cecotropes and constantly urinates on herself and furthers the problem. Her feet are misshapen and she can't seem to regain her weight back.
I'm feeling awful for not taking her to the vet immediately, but she seemed to keep getting better and each day she showed improvement. Recently she's just gotten much worse and it seems every calorie is such a fight.
I'm calling the vet first thing in the morning but I won't be able to take her in until Tuesday or Thursday. I guess I'm just asking if any of you have any pointers as to how I can keep her comfortable until then. She's never been in a cage with wires, she currently is in a large cage that has stick on tiles as the bottom. No matter how often I try to keep up with her she continuously urinates on herself and I can't seem to prevent her from doing so. How can I alleviate the stress on her feet? Are there any foods I can feed her that are high in calories so that she won't keep losing this weight? As far as treatment goes will she need surgery to remove the "bumps" on her heels that deform her feet? How good is the prognosis?
If nothing else, thank you for reading this far. I just feel awful right now.