19psi
Member
Hi everybody.
First post here.
I have a mixed breed rabbit named Bud. I adopted him through the Indiana HRS back in 2005. Estimated age is between 8 to 10. He's about 8 lbs. He's house broken and allowed free when I'm around. At night and when I'm not at home he lives in a carpeted penned in area that's about 50 sq ft.
Very laid back and inactive rabbit. Never been one to run around.
Diet consists of Katyee's Fortidiet, Timothy hay, Kale, Cilantro, Parsley, Escarole and treats such as yogurt drops.
Last month on a Saturday I noticed he wasn't eating all his pellets which was the favorite part of his diet. I have an automatic feeder that distributes a 1/4 cup for breakfast, lunch and dinner. He would eat his meal quickly and always beg for more.
That Saturday there were pellets left over.
Sunday I noticed him starting to drag his left hind leg. He did not appear to be in any pain. No teeth grinding, still cleaning himself and playing with toys.
Called the vet on Monday and made an appointment for Thursday. In that time I upped his vegetable intake due to him not wanting pellets and drinking very little water.
Luckily I have an excellent exotic veterinary clinic close by. His regular veterinarian moved to another state, however the guy taking care of Bud now seems to know rabbits very well and so far I feel comfortable with him.
Teeth were fine, digestive system is moving and he was well hydrated.
He has feeling in his feet. X-rays showed damage to his lower spine. The way the vet explained it, there are small "bridges" that cracked.
Not sure what happened as he's always been very mellow and lays around all day. Jumping off the couch to a carpeted floor is the most drastic move he makes.
He went on Tramadol and Metacam for the first week and I honestly didn't see any difference.
Following week I renewed the meds and the vet added a drug called GABAPENTIN. I give him that once a day and it seems to be helping.
Several days later I took him in for a follow up exam and his weight was still good. For the heck of it I insisted they do blood work and that turned out excellent, however he didn't check for e-cuniculi.
I've pretty much stopped the Tramadol and Metacam and nothing has changed. I'm still giving him the Gabapentin. I'll be asking the vet this week if I can just keep him on that from now on.
His current condition is that he's very wobbly on both hind legs after sleeping. He gets up and does very high arched stretches (a bit disturbing) and then things seem to stabilize for him and he moves around reasonably well. Still sitting up and cleaning, using litter box, playing with toys etc. Lazier than normal though.
My main question is about Gabapentin. I've done some searching on this drug and can only find information on it being used in laboratory testing rabbits. Nothing about it being used to treat pet rabbits. I see it is ok for dogs and cats.
Has anyone used this drug or know anything about long term side effects?
Also would anyone still suggest an e-cuniculi test?
Thanks for reading and sorry about being so long winded.
George
First post here.
I have a mixed breed rabbit named Bud. I adopted him through the Indiana HRS back in 2005. Estimated age is between 8 to 10. He's about 8 lbs. He's house broken and allowed free when I'm around. At night and when I'm not at home he lives in a carpeted penned in area that's about 50 sq ft.
Very laid back and inactive rabbit. Never been one to run around.
Diet consists of Katyee's Fortidiet, Timothy hay, Kale, Cilantro, Parsley, Escarole and treats such as yogurt drops.
Last month on a Saturday I noticed he wasn't eating all his pellets which was the favorite part of his diet. I have an automatic feeder that distributes a 1/4 cup for breakfast, lunch and dinner. He would eat his meal quickly and always beg for more.
That Saturday there were pellets left over.
Sunday I noticed him starting to drag his left hind leg. He did not appear to be in any pain. No teeth grinding, still cleaning himself and playing with toys.
Called the vet on Monday and made an appointment for Thursday. In that time I upped his vegetable intake due to him not wanting pellets and drinking very little water.
Luckily I have an excellent exotic veterinary clinic close by. His regular veterinarian moved to another state, however the guy taking care of Bud now seems to know rabbits very well and so far I feel comfortable with him.
Teeth were fine, digestive system is moving and he was well hydrated.
He has feeling in his feet. X-rays showed damage to his lower spine. The way the vet explained it, there are small "bridges" that cracked.
Not sure what happened as he's always been very mellow and lays around all day. Jumping off the couch to a carpeted floor is the most drastic move he makes.
He went on Tramadol and Metacam for the first week and I honestly didn't see any difference.
Following week I renewed the meds and the vet added a drug called GABAPENTIN. I give him that once a day and it seems to be helping.
Several days later I took him in for a follow up exam and his weight was still good. For the heck of it I insisted they do blood work and that turned out excellent, however he didn't check for e-cuniculi.
I've pretty much stopped the Tramadol and Metacam and nothing has changed. I'm still giving him the Gabapentin. I'll be asking the vet this week if I can just keep him on that from now on.
His current condition is that he's very wobbly on both hind legs after sleeping. He gets up and does very high arched stretches (a bit disturbing) and then things seem to stabilize for him and he moves around reasonably well. Still sitting up and cleaning, using litter box, playing with toys etc. Lazier than normal though.
My main question is about Gabapentin. I've done some searching on this drug and can only find information on it being used in laboratory testing rabbits. Nothing about it being used to treat pet rabbits. I see it is ok for dogs and cats.
Has anyone used this drug or know anything about long term side effects?
Also would anyone still suggest an e-cuniculi test?
Thanks for reading and sorry about being so long winded.
George
