New Member and Mom to 10 year old bunny

[crafty-mom-2]

I have a 10 year old bunny. His name is Stewie. I think he is a dwarf lionhead, but not sure. Last year, he hurt one of his paws hopping off my husband's lap. At this year's check up, the vet could feel his ribs slightly. His weight was 1.62 kg, previously around 2 kg. Now, he doesn't want to hop around the house. He is also trouble hopping on to the shelf in his cage occasionally. A 10 month old puppy was recently introduced into the family. Is his behavior do to old age or the puppy?

 

[JBun]

It sounds like he could possibly have arthritis. Most of my rabbits developed it when they got older. I would suggest asking your vet about trying daily meloxicam(NSAID). I've given it to my older rabbits(0.3-0.6mg/kg, twice a day) for their arthritis and it's helped quite a bit.

Another option that can sometimes actually help the joints is adequan or cartrophen injections. It can take up to a month to start to see improvements, but another RO member said it really made a difference with his older rabbit. There are supplements that can be tried as well, like msm, glucosamine, and other joint supplements(eg. sherwood joint support).

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Arthritis
With the weight loss, it also can happen as rabbits get old. A higher calorie diet can sometimes help, but you also want to make sure it's not happening due to dental, kidney, liver, or heart issues. All of which often occur with older rabbits, and which you would need having a check up and blood tests/xrays done by your vet so any appropriate medications or treatment can be given if needed to help your rabbit. If you don't have an experienced rabbit vet that you take your rabbit to and you feel you need one, I would suggest doing some research to find a good one in your area. You can also look at the HRS list(link below) to see if there's a good one near you.

https://www.rabbitnetwork.org/educa...abbit-health-articles/weight-loss-in-rabbits/
https://rabbit.org/veterinarians/

 

[Nancy McClelland]

I give our older buns a joint supplement.

 

[bright_eyes]

JBun and Nancy are spot on!

I give my old crunchy bun Sherwood Prevention Tablets and it's improved her quality of life. I also make sure to deworm my rabbits occasionally, as they eat a lot of fresh foods from our property. Even though I wash it all, it's still potentially exposed to whatever lands on the soil it grows in ( ).

 

[crafty-mom-2]

Yesterday, we switched his cage for a shorter one of equal size. The cage sits on the floor. Plus, I give him Oxbow joint supplement tablet. This morning, he was hoping around the house. He loves his new cage.