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Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Advice for elderly rabbit

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    • jeg2014
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        Hi everyone,

        I have a 4.5 year old English Lop who is not feeling well. He was eating yesterday morning and then after I got home from work he wouldn’t eat pellets but ate lettuce. I could tell he didn’t feel well and by 7:30 he wouldn’t even eat lettuce but did eat a very small carrot. He attempted to eat some hay but laid his stomach down on the ground and appeared to not feel well. He ate another carrot very early this morning but nothing since. He pooped very small poops last night but no fecal matter since. He has had gut stasis multiple times before and his stomach has always felt hard. Today his stomach feels very pliable and loose. I attempted gentle stomach rubs (since that has helped him in the past) but he flinches at my touch and appears to feel terrible. 

        My bunny is also approaching (or at) old age and has nerve degeneration in his spine. I’m wondering if he is possibly having his body shut down due to old age or if it is just gut stasis. I have a vet appointment at 4:00 today (the soonest appt they had open). I would love any advice on how to keep him comfortable or if anyone has been through this before. 

        Thank you! 


      • Bam
        Moderator
        16838 posts Send Private Message

          A 4,5 year old rabbit isn’t elderly.

          Keep him warm. Give him a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel or even better, sit him in your lap with a fleece blankie on him. Rabbits tend to get hypothermic very quickly, and that worsens everything. It sounds odd that his tummy is soft yet he reacts with pain when you touch it.

          I’m glad you have a vet appointment. If you have some metacam at home you could call your vet and ask if you should give that while you are waiting for your appointment. If he’s in pain, that also worsens any condition. Just remember it’s extra important to keep him warm if you give metacam since it lowers the body temp further.


        • jeg2014
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            Thank you for your reply. I’ve had a couple vets tell me that English Lops average age span is 5-6 years. He is on metacam for his nerve degeneration (.8 ml every night) so he had that dose last night. Would I be able to give him more now even if he has had a dose in the last 24 hours? 


          • Bam
            Moderator
            16838 posts Send Private Message

              I’m sorry, I wouldn’t dream of contradicting your vet in any way.

              I just looked up the dosage of metacam for rabbits and found a study that said 0,3 ml/kg once daily can be given. Medirabbit says 0,1-0,2 mg/ml per kg up to 1,5 mg per kg. http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/Analgesics/safe_analgesics.htm

              So you have to calculate the dose by the weight of your bunny in kg.

               

              Edit: Just checked my own metacam-bottle that my bunny got after a molar burr. The dosage for him was a little over 0,5 ml/kg, in total 1,5 ml for a 2,73 kg rabbit. Per 24 hours.

               

              If the dose you’ve been giving him is in the lower end of the range, I think you can top it up, but since I’m not a vet, I obviously can’t guarantee that it’s safe. 


            • Kokaneeandkahlua
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                Metacam can be really hard on tummies-can you see if your vet could look into other types of pain meds? It’s good for short term, and must be given with food but it’s not something you want to be on long term if you can avoid it.

                I’ve never heard of nerve degeneration in rabbits-what symptoms does your bunny have? How was it diagnosed? I’m sorry you both are going through that-I’m super interested in how it presented and was caught by the vet, as I don’t think it’s super common, I certainly haven’t seen others on here with that condition. If you are comfortable speaking about it-I’d love to hear!

                Sounds like your bunny is in stasis, very treatable. Hope your vet trip today goes well!

                As for lifespan-with vet care, spay/neuter and a safe indoor home-rabbits can live a long time! I don’t consider them senior until about 6, mine are 8 and 9.5+(unknown)-they can of course have things go wrong young, but 4.5 years is still young!


              • jeg2014
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                  He was diagnosed with the nerve degeneration because his bladder was filling up (huge) and he was not expressing himself. The vet took X-rays and found that his spinal cord disks have degenerated– the X-rays were also sent to a radiologist and he confirmed the diagnosis. We did 6 treatments of laser treatment and he improved. He still needs help expressing his bladder 2-3x a week. 

                  I really do hope that you all are right and that he isn’t super old but just has the stasis. The vet I am taking him to today is a different vet (my regular vet is out until Friday and that clinic doesn’t have any other small animal specialists) so maybe a 2nd opinion will be helpful. 


                • Bam
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                    As Kokanee says, Metacam is hard on the tummy (it’s the same type of med as diclofenac for humans, a med that you often have to take together with a PPI like omeprazol or ranitidin because it’s so tough on the stomach lining). So if he’s having lots of stomach trouble, the metacam could be a contributing factor and perhaps you could get another pain-killer, or if your vet think he could have some Zantac or Raniq together with the metacam to spare the tummy. Both Zantac and Raniq are bunny safe, so you could ask.

                    I hadn’t heard of disk degeneration in rabbits before either, but I know it can happen to dogs as they age and to people too. I’m sorry that it happened to your bunny.

                    Many vibes for his appointment today.


                  • jeg2014
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                      Thank you for your help and positive thoughts! He is still pretty lethargic but did eat some lettuce. I’ll update after our vet appointment. 


                    • LittlePuffyTail
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                        ((((Sending some Well Wishes for your bunny))))


                      • jeg2014
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                          So it turned out to be stasis (I’m pretty sure). He also may have a bladder infection so the vet prescribed antibiotics. He finally pooped today and is eating. He still appears to be feeling a little unwell but is much better than yesterday.

                          Question: today he has been having trouble drinking water (he drinks from a bowl because he has always refused a bottle). He has been almost dunking his mouth into the water and then pulling up and lifting his head is if trying to thrust it into his mouth. It is super strange and his chin becomes soaked, I’ve had to wipe him down multiple times tonight. Any suggestions on this? What could this indicate?


                        • Bam
                          Moderator
                          16838 posts Send Private Message

                            It could indicate difficulty with swallowing, so he needs gravity to help him get the water into him. Difficulty swallowing may indicate a neurologic issue.It may also be a teeth-issue. 

                            I’m glad he’s feeling better, but this new symptom is worrisome imo.

                            Edit: Here’s a short movie of a bunny with strange head-movements typical of a teeth-issue: http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Dental_diseases/Differential/D_problems1.htm

                            Medirabbit is an approved source. Is this something like what your bun is doing? 

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                        Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Advice for elderly rabbit