bunzilla629
Member
My 9 year old dutch bun, Guinness just had a vet visit today (one of many in the last few months.)
He was diagonsed with colon polyps in August of last year and the vet was unwilling to put him under for surgery to remove them (which I agree with) bc of his age.They hadnt seemed to be an issue for awhile. I took him in for his yearly in April and the polyps had gotten bigger, so the vet put him on .07mm of metacam daily, which is the highest dose for rabbits.Due to symptoms we also agreed he has arthritis in his front feet, which the metacam would also treat. He also has long bottom teeth with a few sharp points. Since he cant be put under for a tooth file, the vet said put him on a all hay diet to get him to chew more. (thus cutting out pellets completely)
so now he has lost almost a pound in a little over a month and his teeth arent any better, and I am sick with worry. The vet doesnt know if the weight loss is because of his age, the medication (which can affect his liver) or the all hay diet.
Can any of you with older rabbits give me any ideas on what to do? Guinness is otherwise happy, he plays, eats and doesnt act like he is sick, and I would like to continue his quality of life.
He was diagonsed with colon polyps in August of last year and the vet was unwilling to put him under for surgery to remove them (which I agree with) bc of his age.They hadnt seemed to be an issue for awhile. I took him in for his yearly in April and the polyps had gotten bigger, so the vet put him on .07mm of metacam daily, which is the highest dose for rabbits.Due to symptoms we also agreed he has arthritis in his front feet, which the metacam would also treat. He also has long bottom teeth with a few sharp points. Since he cant be put under for a tooth file, the vet said put him on a all hay diet to get him to chew more. (thus cutting out pellets completely)
so now he has lost almost a pound in a little over a month and his teeth arent any better, and I am sick with worry. The vet doesnt know if the weight loss is because of his age, the medication (which can affect his liver) or the all hay diet.
Can any of you with older rabbits give me any ideas on what to do? Guinness is otherwise happy, he plays, eats and doesnt act like he is sick, and I would like to continue his quality of life.