what is the long term prognoses

[sparklefairy]

for a bunny with osteoarthritis of the spine?

 

[yvette]

I would be wary of weight, both gain and loss because of movement and general body condition.
Fly strike would be on my mind because bunny cant clean properly...

I would keep bunny on a level so no jumping or falling.

Pain meds.

Its not that you cant care for a bunny with this condiotion and theres no hope...there will be deterioration and I think a good vet and good husbandry along with common sense can keep this bunny in reasonable and comfortable health.

 

[sparklefairy]

Thank you for the reply. At the moment Gypsy is not too bad, she is very happy and still a little madam. It's just that she cannot hop very high or periscope.

She has been given metacam, she lives as a house bunny with her husbun, Storm, and they live in the spare room. I have given them a dog bed litter tray because the low side is easier for Gypsy, but I have noticed that her litter habbits have gone downhill lately.

She is not too fat or too thin and seems to take care of her self fairly well. Her fur is beautiful but for the first time she had a small poo stuck to her bum.

I've never had a bun with osteoarthritis of the spine before. I just wonder what the future holds. I guess we just take it day by day.

 

[yvette]

Yes, Im afraid thats all you can do.But if she has regular checkups and your vigilant and note everything different and just keep ahead of the game, pain relief and other medication will keep her content until she tells you shes had enough.
My Lily had a kyphosis of the spine..her lungs were in the kyphosis so she had very little lung capacity at the end.Slightly different to your bunny but I feel similar in movement restriction, pain etc.
Here is an x ray of Lily....

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/s...-two-days-of-Lily-Shane.&highlight=Lily+xrays

 

[sparklefairy]

Oh bless her that just had me in tears. What a little fighter she was

 

[Mrs. Bunnykins]

I'm sure you'll do your very best sparklefairy.

Caring for sick and special needs bunnies is hard work but very rewarding.

Best of luck.:thumb:

 

[yvette]

Her brother,BB has much the same, lower down in the back and he cant periscope or binky.Hes happy enough, has a new wife now, and Ive learnt how disabled they both were just by watching the behaviour of Little Miss....a right little Barc bunny....:lol:

But Lily-Shane will always be my baby....

 

[sparklefairy]

Thank you Mrs Bunnykins

aww I think baby bunnies would be a shock to my system now, Gypsy is 8 and Storm is almost 7. I didn't notice how much they had slowed down until I watched some babies leaping around
Both bunnies are active and Gypsy is spirited, curious and a madam. Storm has his mad moments but is quite lazy ( typical frenchie :lol: ) but there's no denying that they cannot do 4 foot leaps anymore

They grow up too fast! ( don't want to say old )

 

[yvette]

Thank you Mrs Bunnykins

aww I think baby bunnies would be a shock to my system now, Gypsy is 8 and Storm is almost 7. I didn't notice how much they had slowed down until I watched some babies leaping around
Both bunnies are active and Gypsy is spirited, curious and a madam. Storm has his mad moments but is quite lazy ( typical frenchie :lol: ) but there's no denying that they cannot do 4 foot leaps anymore

They grow up too fast! ( don't want to say old )

Theyre not doing bad....really theyre not.Just carry on, and treasure every day.xxxxx

 

[sparklefairy]

Theyre not doing bad....really theyre not.Just carry on, and treasure every day.xxxxx

i do try. i would hate to think that they were picking up on my worries. they are both so precious to me

 

[rodneyvet]

Hi you need to monitor urination also, rabbits crouch to urinate. if this is painful urine will stagnate in the bladder leading to sludge formation, so encourage fluid intake and reduce calcium rich foods like concentrates, keep with the pain relief. glycosaminoglycans are also useful ad a joint supplement. look out for signs of cystitis or urine scalding.
Goodluck

 

[sparklefairy]

Hi you need to monitor urination also, rabbits crouch to urinate. if this is painful urine will stagnate in the bladder leading to sludge formation, so encourage fluid intake and reduce calcium rich foods like concentrates, keep with the pain relief. glycosaminoglycans are also useful ad a joint supplement. look out for signs of cystitis or urine scalding.
Goodluck

Thank you for this usefull advice

 

[Kermit]

My Inca has not been diagnosed with this in arthritis particular but she does have curved spine, deformed back end, no tail so tail bone is underneath her and arthritis in her hip bones (last x-ray was over a year ago). She also has one back leg that turns under her body at a 45degree angle causing her to fall to the side at times. (oh boy she sounds like a proper mess!!)

She copes well with daily Metacam, daily Glucosamine and monthly Acupuncture.

She has trouble with urine scald and UTI's at times.

 

[sparklefairy]

My Inca has not been diagnosed with this in arthritis particular but she does have curved spine, deformed back end, no tail so tail bone is underneath her and arthritis in her hip bones (last x-ray was over a year ago). She also has one back leg that turns under her body at a 45degree angle causing her to fall to the side at times. (oh boy she sounds like a proper mess!!)

She copes well with daily Metacam, daily Glucosamine and monthly Acupuncture.

She has trouble with urine scald and UTI's at times.

aww bless her, but they cope so much better than we do, don't they?

I was just wondering, does 0.6ml of the dog metacam sound enough for a bun weighing 2.68 kg? and do I need to add a probiotic to the water?

What dose of glucosamine do you use?

 

[Kermit]

aww bless her, but they cope so much better than we do, don't they?

I was just wondering, does 0.6ml of the dog metacam sound enough for a bun weighing 2.68 kg? and do I need to add a probiotic to the water?

What dose of glucosamine do you use?

Inca has 14drops of Metacam just now and she is 2.3kg, I am sure that one drop is 0.05ml, so sounds an OKish dose. Vet has told me that Inca can go up dose wise, but holding that off until she really needs it.

Probiotics.....well I only really use them if bun is ill, runny poops etc. I don't use them as a matter of course. I prefer to have some Protexin pro fibre pellets in and just give them if needed, which is not very often at the moment

Glucosamine....I use this stuff http://www.vetuk.co.uk/joint-supple..._4_322/arthri-aid-canine-feline-liquid-p-1685 . The cat/dog dose is 0.5ml/kg so I just give Inca 1ml a day.

 

[sparklefairy]

Thank you

I'm not sure if it's the metacam, but there has been a couple of runny poops :?

 

[Kermit]

Thank you

I'm not sure if it's the metacam, but there has been a couple of runny poops :?

Would go for a probiotic then....most are quite good

 

[Bruno]

Hi you need to monitor urination also, rabbits crouch to urinate. if this is painful urine will stagnate in the bladder leading to sludge formation, so encourage fluid intake and reduce calcium rich foods like concentrates, keep with the pain relief. glycosaminoglycans are also useful ad a joint supplement. look out for signs of cystitis or urine scalding.
Goodluck

This. Bruno has had arthritis since he was just over 2. It was a bladder infection that ended up with the full diagnosis as he had xrays and ultrasound etc to check what was going on as he was a very poorly rabbit. He has no problem with calcium rich foods but is now on Cystaid to help the bladder problems.

A good vet is a must, I tried Cartrophen injections which did help but would have helped more if diagnosed earlier. Now 2 years on Bruno has a very large dose of metacam split morning and evening, he has Zantec twice a day to protect his gut from the metacam. Bruno is a house rabbit and also has a electric pet blanket which he favours when it is cold and damp despite the house being kept warm for him.

All this has been so worth it, it has given my giant rabbit an extra 2 quality years.

It obviously isn't curable but a almost 'normal' quality of life can be achieved depending on the rabbit and how easy they are to medicate. Bruno is very easy and loves life.