bunny lost weight

[Victoria]

Hi I have this question about our bunnies. They are both dwarf mixes and both weight about 2.5 kg or so. They are 2.5 year old approximately.

When we went to the vet about 2 months ago one of the rabbits had head tilt the cause of which was not identified by a blood test they performed. He was given different antibiotics and anti- parasite agents and head tilt disappeared. The vet told us the blood test shown less red blood cells than is normal and that is why he said the rabbit is not putting on weight. He then weighed about 1.9 kg. He briefly put about 0.1 kg but now has lost it again and is thinner than ever. He also drinks too much and pees too much from time to time, but not in the past two days (it is average). The vet said he is not diabetic and his kidneys are normal, he has no physical abnormalities. He is active but a bit too friendly than when he is well and has a normal good appetite.

Similar thing recently happened to his brother Red. He also drank and peed a lot in the past 2 weeks. Now he is slightly thinner than usual but not as thin as Black.

At the moment we cant afford the vet but will go on Monday.

Any one has any idea what is wrong with him?

The vet who is exotics specialist we see said he needs more blood tests STRAIGHT after the first test, but he never said he found anything wrong apart from less red blood cells. A blood test costs over $100 in Australia and we had one recently that shown nothing abnormal apart from lesser amount of red blood cells, which the vet said could mean an infection that lead to bone marrow suppression but did not id the infection he said it could be: myxomatosis, calicivirus, E caniculi or some other infectious problem. Or it could be lead poisoning which is unlikely as he has not contact with lead or any other poisonous materials or plants or foods.

The rabbits eat a diet of hay every day, greens such as coriander, carrot tops, parsley, some days they get a piece of fruit such as paw paw, apple, sultana, water melon or banana, they get small carrots every couple of days, they have clean fresh water supply plus rabbit pellets (lucern plus oats and molasses enriched) He also said it could be cancer (but then why did he respond to antibiotics?) I don’t understand why the vet wants two tests- could he not use the blood he collected back then for the two tests? It is too expensive for us right now which we told the vet, may be this is the procedure, I guess.

If anyone has any ideas about what is wrong can you please write

Worried .

 

[Victoria]

Probably even if the vet used the blood for both tests it will still mean that we have to pay for the second test to be performed nto the blood collected, I did not think of that for some reason.

 

[Pipp]

Well, this is a puzzler. I'm not well versed in the meaning of blood tests, I thought an infection showed a high white count? Anyway, I think this is a Randy question.

Off the top of my (sleepy) head, Myxomatosis is usually signaled by swollen and/or crusty eyes, nose and other areas, and Calivirus traditionally causes warts or bumps I think. I doubt either would be the cause

E Cuniculi, however, can present a lot of different symptoms including head tilt, kidney and paralysis issues. (Any sign of stiffness in the back leg(s)?) The vet can do a test for exposure, although a true diagnosis can only be made postmortem. Symptoms are more likely to appear when stressed. The anti-parasitic meds may have helped if this was the cause. (EC is a parasite).

Were the antibiotics and the parasite meds given concurrently? What was the antibiotic prescribed and what was the anti-parasitic med?

Its also possible there could be a dental issue (probably the most common), a related (or not) ear infection/vestibular issue, mycotoxins (from mould) somewhere in the food (not very common), or possibly the food itself. I could be wrong but I remember reading that the Lucerne (which is the same as our alfalfa) down there isn't as nutritious as the alfalfa in other areas, but it shouldn't make them thin. The diet on the surface seems good, but if there's a steady supply of any one thing that's coming from a source with lead, pesticides or anything else, its almost impossible to detect, so variety is the key for all diets. Best to keep changing sources/brands for hay, pellets, veggies, etc. just to be safe.

My guys will always drink and pee a lot more when they eat more hay, so watch for any correlation with the rest of their diet. If the kidneys checked out normal, probably not much of an issue there.

What colour is the pee?

For now I'd obviously keep them well-hydrated and if you can get a product like Nutri-Cal down there -- a high calorie paste prescribed for cats and dogs but great for rabbits -- that might be useful to keep his strength up. A small handful of rolled oats added to their diets might help with their weight.

It will be important to keep them de-stressed, so hopefully they won't have any environment or other changes and they won't have any other ailments to challenge their immune systems.

Hope you can get to the bottom of it or at least they don't have any more problems.


sas :clover:

 

[Victoria]

Hi thanks a lot for your answer. I will try oats and try to change hay source and other things you said, but we dont have many options in this area with some things. We are in Australia , there is no vaccine against Myxomatosis and it is bad myxo around here too it was made to kill wild rabbit population not native to Australia, I am worried about buying hay from farms just get it specifically made for small animals like rabbits from a shop that sells them. I dont even know can myxo be transferred from hay and other foods?
This is not dental problem for Black -his teeth were checked and the vet said they are in great condition. Red has never been to the vet in his 2 years, should go as soon as we can do it.
The antiparasitic med was for E cuniculi and one of the vets suspected he has it but also said cant say with this for sure. He also was given injections of benicilin or something like that, then Baytril by mouth and this anti parasitic (is this how how to spell this sorry, enlg is not my 1 language) - i cant remember what is was called some white paste like med.
They dont seem stressed, there is nothing stressful here that I can think of. He gets plenty of attention as he is actually very attention seeking rabbit (Black is). He is out of his cage every day for more than 1 hour, jumps everywhere like the bed and chairs.

 

[Pipp]

Victoria wrote:

I am worried about buying hay from farms just get it specifically made for small animals like rabbits from a shop that sells them. I dont even know can myxo be transferred from hay and other foods?

Myxomatosis is transferred by fleas, mosquitoes, mites, etc, but it can also spread from rabbit to rabbit and even be carried on your clothes or shoes if you come in contact with an infected rabbit, so avoiding farms with Myxi outbreaks is a very good idea. Its good to be this cautious.

It's unlikely it's Myxi now, though. You'd be looking at swelling around the eyes and nose and symptoms like that.

Given his age and the visual exam, it makes it a lot less likely its dental, probably for either of them.

The antiparasitic med was for E cuniculi and one of the vets suspected he has it but also said cant say with this for sure. He also was given injections of benicilin or something like that, then Baytril by mouth and this anti parasitic

The common one is Panacur. Ponazuril is a newer, more expensive drug. I imagine he was treated with penicillin or bi-cillin (injected, right?) along with the oral Baytril. Your vet sounds very good.

If both rabbits are affected (going by the weight loss), I'd lean towards EC rather than a straight ear infection, but the treatment covers both scenarios. However, if only one bunny was treated and the other one is also infected, he could reinfect the treated rabbit. (I think EC is spread through spores in the urine). Something to keep in mind.

I don't know how curable EC is even with Panacur, but with careful management and treatment, they can live long, happy lives, although maybe not as long and happy as without it.

They dont seem stressed, there is nothing stressful here that I can think of.

What I mean by stress is anything that will physically stress a rabbit's system. He could have a minor infection, fleas, sore hocks, upper respiratory infection or whatever and that's going to make him just a little more susceptible to the EC becoming active. Some bunnies will also react badly to having their homes moved, or being separated from friend(s). Even going through a bad moult causes stress. They get 'run down' and their immune system weakens and some of the parasites and bacteria almost all rabbits have can multiply and become a problem.

You are in good hands with your current vet, though. You may not be able to do much more than refill the current prescriptions and manage the symptoms even with more testing. As noted, EC can't be confirmed.


sas :clover:

 

[tonyshuman]

Depending on how long the antibiotic course was done, and what the antiparasitic was, I would repeat one or both. The bicillin/benacillin injection series needs to be done every other day for at least 2 weeks. It could be a residual infection from the initial tilt. It could also be internal parasites, although I would be more likely to suspect some kind of intestinal parasite rather than EC. A good course of a strong antiparasitic could help as well.

 

[Victoria]

Thank you for the answers, it puts my mind to rest because I just did not know what to do until we see the vet. I also suspect some sort of infection and the vet said that there may be an infection in his throat (thats why all the drinking and he makes this gurgling sound when he drinks too) on the phone when he spoke to my fiance.

 

[Victoria]

PS and it was Panacur now that you said it I remembered!