As your bunny gets older ..

[Saffy]

We're taking Benji to the vets today for a check up.

He was bonded with Luna in July of this year and about 3 week's ago we had to seperate them at night because Luna had started to get fruity with Benji and this had resulted in a bit of a tussle one night because Benji was unable to get away from her.

We have notcied Benji losing weight but we initially put it down to the fact that he had obviously been eating Mookie's (the first rabbit he was bonded to) food aswell as his own as she was getting thinner whilst he was beginning to look likea ball with a head.

I have notice the past 4 nights, that Benji has not been eating much at all. I cleaned him out yesterday and put new litter in his tray and he has peed but only done several small. hard poops.

He seems happy enough in himself though he like to doze a little more so we thought, old age.

He has lost a lot of weight though and you can feel his back and hip bones very easily.

As I said .. we are taking him for a check up today but I wonder, is this illness or just a sign he is getting older?

No idea what rabbits are like when they get to old age because sadly Felix died before a year old, and Mookie was only four and a half .. Benji is the oldest living rabbit I have seen at five and a half years.

I've been giving him pineapple juice and he's drinking that like it's wine ...

 

[MikeScone]

As with anyone else, rabbits slow down as they age, and develop some of the same ailments as we do. As I get older, I'm slowing down, too, and things hurt. It happens.

My first bunny, Scone MacBunny, passed away in June at seven and a half. During his last year he had a number of periods where he didn't want to eat, and just wasn't himself. I had him to the vets several times before they did an x-ray and discovered that he had what amounts to arthritis (bridging spondylosis of the spine, to be exact), and also calcification in his ureters which was backing up into his kidneys. He just hurt, and couldn't tell me why, so he wasn't eating or drinking as much as he should, and he couldn't jump up on things as much as he used to.

I was told to encourage Scone to drink, and to give him sub-q fluids for a while. They also gave me Adequan to inject (every other day for a week, then every week for six weeks, then every other week for the rest of his life). The active ingredient in Adequan is glucosamine, which is basically the same stuff I take for my joints. I couldn't believe the difference in Scone - within a week he was noticeably better, and by the end of the first month of shots he was like a young bunny again.

If Benji continues to be "off", and there's nothing wrong with his digestion, I'd suggest that you ask the vets to consider joint pain.

 

[Saffy]

Thanks Mike. He's eating little bits and bobs and he's drinking fine. I've got some of the Science reocovery stuff that I will give him later but am glad you've said that he's slowing down just because he is getting older. That's what it seemed like to me.

He's loving the new hay I've got which smells heavenly, even to me.

The vet gave him a thorough check over yesterday .. looked at his teeth, moved his jaw around to check mobility .. checked his heart and tummy .. she said he's fine.

I kept him inside with Luna last night and they were both nibbling on hay and they both had a couple of green beans .. Going to buy a load of nice herbs and vege today to tempt him.