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Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Update on Simon and a few new questions

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    • Jaedan's Slave
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        Hi everyone,

        As a few of you may remember, I had questions a few weeks ago about fostering this rabbit that I had been watching during a pet sitting job. Determined to get him out of the pathetic conditions he was in, I ended up fostering him. Simon has been at my house for about two weeks and I am working with a rescue to hopefully get him adopted soon.

        Things seemed to be going well with him and he has been very happy to get out of his cage and run around, which I think he hasn’t been able to do in a year or more. One of my main concerns when I was watching him was that he looked like he had the slightest case of head tilt, almost non-existent. My vet wasn’t convinced there was anything wrong with him and I was okay with that. Whatever kink I was seeing, it’s not there any more and it makes me wonder if the combination of his inch-long curled claws and supporting himself on the flimsy, bowed-in shelf he had with his previous owner had thrown everything out of whack, much like what happens to us with heavy back packs or bad posture. There were times that he seemed to stumble, but then there would be days where I wouldn’t notice anything. I was hoping that between the “bad posture” and the fact that he’s lived almost his entire life in a 3×1 cage, his muscles haven’t really been used properly. His eating and drinking are normal and now that he knows what leafy greens are, he eats those with gusto and searches for more.

        Things seemed fine so I took him in to get neutered and he’s been recovering nicely at home. Eating and drinking is normal and his litter box training is slowly getting better. After a day or two of recovering I let him out to get some exercise and there were times that he seemed to almost lose his balance and then he would correct himself and act like nothing was wrong. During this time he was also more willing to lay down at my side and let me pet him than attack me or get into trouble (yay for no more balls). I was wondering then if his little stumbles just had to do more with being sore than anything else. Last night though he was so happy to be out that he did a full body shake and rolled over. It was the only incident of the night and he was out for a few hours, though I was not watching him the entire time.

        So my questions after this very long drawn out story:

        1. Does this sound like early stages of an ear infection/ head tilt? Something worse? Or is it possible that he is just a little on the clumsy side? Compared to Jaedan, there’s a reason why I (affectionately) named him Simple Simon.

        2. Has anyone had similar instances when it came to rescuing a neglected rabbit?

        3. Did I possibly make things worse by having him neutered and stressing him out?

        4. I have specific clothes and shoes that I wear only when I am interacting with Simon (sitting on the floor; cleaning his cage and litterbox; any close interactions) I make sure to wash my hands after each visit, but there are times when I just go in to give him something or say hello and I am wearing normal clothes and often times the dog and cat follow me. If it’s a bacterial thing, could we be possible carriers and spread it to Jaedan?

        I do plan on getting in touch with the vet, but I can’t do anything until tomorrow. I’m a little stumped, frustrated and paranoid at the moment. I can’t figure how much is paranoia, how much is optimistic thinking, and how much is a real problem. I feel like I bit off more than I could chew in terms of this foster.

        Any help would be greatly appreciated and thank you for taking the time to read this long post.


      • tobyluv
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          It’s wonderful that you got Simon out of the bad home he was in. I’m sure he is very happy to be in your home now.

          An ear infection can definitely cause a rabbit to stumble. I’ve been dealing with that with one of my rabbits this year. He also sometimes cocked his head to the side a little, and would rub his ear along the floor at times. I don’t know if you’ve seen Simon do that.

          It could also be possible that Simon is having trouble hopping on a regular floor, due to the cage he was kept in and his long nails.

          I don’t think that the neuter surgery would have made him worse, it may just be that the ear infection (if that’s what it is) is progressing You said that he was eating and drinking normally after surgery, so that doesn’t sound like he was stressed out.

          His ears need to be thoroughly checked out, then treated if he does have an ear infection. I had to give both oral antibiotics and antibitic ear drops for my rabbit.

          I hope that you can flgure out what may be wrong with Simon soon, and that he will be just fine. I also hope that he will find a forever home before long.


        • Roberta
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            Is it possible some of the stumbles are experimental binkies ? and the wriggle and roll last night a full on flop ? Definitely follow up with the vet but fingers crossed some of the little things could be he is just getting use to running about freely and getting acquainted with normal feet.


          • LBJ10
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              I agree with what was said above. Could be ear or could be that he is struggling on the new surfaces. Did the vet actually look in his ears with the ear scope thingie? They didn’t see anything?


            • jerseygirl
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                the fact that he’s lived almost his entire life in a 3×1 cage,

                Ugh.
                I hadn’t read his story first time round. Thank goodness you can across him.

                It could certainly balance due to ear infection.

                Other possibilities:

                Tender spots on his feet- especially if he had long nails before.

                Any weakness in muscles. You might ask the vet to test if he has strength in all limbs.

                If you’re noticing it more post neuter, then possibly from way he was positioned during surgery or if leg vein was used to anaesthetise??? But as you were seeing a balance issues beforehand, I really don’t think it would be related to the neuter. You certainly have not done the wrong thing by having him desexed IMO.

                As to question 4, I’m thinking you’ve taken adequete precautions and Jaedens not at risk. Often the bacteria involved in infections is present in healthy rabbits anyway.


              • Jaedan's Slave
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                  Thank you everyone for your
                  helpful suggestions and kind words.
                  I like the vet that I take both Jaedan and Simon to. His bedside manner could be better, but he seems to know what he is doing and has helped me a lot with Jaedan. However, I do feel that he didn’t do as thorough an exam on Simon. Poor Jaedan gets things stuck in his mouth and ears, a light flashed in his eyes, the whole thing. Now that I think of it, I don’t really remember seeing him use the scope in Simon’s ears.

                  I do hope that it is an ear infection, his cage certainly smelled dirty enough to cause
                  such a thing before I got him. He does seem to be holding his left ear a little tweaked now, which is the same side I noticed the head kink before.

                  I was watching him tonight and giving him a snack and he fell over as soon as he had the first piece of lettuce in his mouth. If that was a binky or a flop of joy it was the scariest one I’ve ever seen.

                  He is by no means graceful and part of it could be the lack of muscle strength. He seemed
                  like he got tired easily the first few days I brought him home and let him run around. He runs into things, too. I know they have that blind spot, but it’s almost like he has no depth perception sometimes. He has a broken tail, too, an old injury I’m sure from doing his crazy antics in his cage. He certainly is one special boy.


                • Roberta
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                    I agree, falling over with a piece of lettuce is not a misfired binky or flop…
                    Sounds like an infected ear is the most likely cause.


                  • LittlePuffyTail
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                      Is there another vet you can bring him to for a second opinion? If there is something going on, the sooner you start treatment, the better chances of a quick and full recovery.

                      I’m so glad you are taking care of Simon


                    • Jaedan's Slave
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                        I took Simon to a different vet today because my normal vet won’t be back until next week. Not sure how I feel about this new guy, which is unfortunate because my normal vet is a 15 min drive and these new guys are just down the street.

                        Anyways, he checked Simon’s ears and teeth and can’t find anything wrong with him. When I asked him if the surgery last week could have triggered something he said that it is a possibility, since he was showing a few quirks beforehand but it could also be that the drugs could still be going through his system… Exactly a week after the surgery? What do I know; to me it sounds odd, but I didn’t go to veterinary school. He wants me to keep an eye on him for awhile to see if things go back to normal before he tries any antibiotics.

                        I feel like I am just seeing things sometimes, but I know there is something wrong with him. Even my mom, who isn’t a rabbit person, noticed his once-in-awhile wobbly gait. I think I will start taking videos to show the vet and just keep an eye on him.


                      • Deleted User
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                          Videos sound like a good idea!

                          I’m no medical expert either, however, I can tell you it takes weeks to get many drugs out of the human system. If memory serves a person processes roughly fifteen minutes worth of anaesthetic a week out of their system, … so if you were under for an hour it is a month before it has left. I’m not agreeing or disagreeing with what you were told, just saying that particular statement while it may or may not explain your rabbit’s problems doesn’t sound entirely off the wall to me.


                        • Sarita
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                            How old do you think Simon is? Maybe it’s arthritis.


                          • Jaedan's Slave
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                              Wow, thank you for that information I didn’t know that. That would be the ideal situation, maybe he is just a little more susceptible to it. Jaedan was 6 years ago, I don’t remember what he was like after the surgery, but I was also a lot less aware back then, too. Thank you again. Fingers crossed.


                            • Jaedan's Slave
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                                Sarita- unfortunately I only know that he is over 3 years old. Comparing him to Jaedan, who is 6 and has a bit of gray on his ears, Simon doesn’t seem as old.

                                Is it possible that Simon could get arthritis at a younger age because he was kept in a cage all his life?


                              • Sarita
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                                  Well I had a rabbit diagnosed with arthritis at 4 years old – he was kept in a small cage but rabbits can generally be diagnosed with this at younger ages. So it’s just one possibility that came to mind – it can be seen on an x-ray too.


                                • Jaedan's Slave
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                                    Thank you, I will keep that in mind too, Saritas. A whole lot of suggestions and not a whole lot of answers. These bunnies are going to kill me.

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                                Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Update on Simon and a few new questions