New Rescue that needs some work!

[windryder201]

I just "bought" a fuzzy lop female from a family here in the area. She's got a few problems.

Princess Peach is a unspayed female "Holland Lop" (longer hair, though), supposedly about 1 yr old. I do not have more information that this.

1) Underweight. I'm working on this by buildig up her groceries until she gains
2) Long fur around her rump and back end that has a tendency to get wet and clump. You can also see urine staining around her vulva
3) a bald patch between her shoulder blades

My current bunny loves her very much and is rather rude about showing it (Yoshi is neutered and she has enough space to get away. I'd rather let them work out their issues as long as they're just chasing each other), so the bald patch could be from him I suppose. This is the first time they've been out together for more than a handful of minutes though.

So I was just looking for some advice on the last two problems, and was also wondering if maybe someone has see all these together as a symptom profile.

 

[tonyshuman]

It sounds like she may have fur mites, or it could be from fur pulling. Urine scald can also be a sign of urinary tract problems, including UTI. It would be best to have a vet check her out in case she has mites, a UTI or other urinary tract issue, and/or something else that is leading to her low body weight. Definitely clip or trim the fur around her bum. Another reason sometimes some bunnies don't clean their rear ends well is poor mobility--sometimes they just can't reach, especially if they're overweight (not a problem here), long-haired, or have arthritis. Arthritis of the spine can occur in bunnies and can start at a young age.

When you try to bulk her up, you may want to focus on pellets, particularly alfalfa-based ones even though she's an adult, and alfalfa hay. Bulking up by adding carbs is not a good idea and I'm not sure if lots of veggies could cause a bunny to gain weight. Mine seem to stay the same weight regardless of how much veggies I feed them (veggies=lettuce, greens, etc--not sugary stuff).

 

[windryder201]

I'm pretty much feeding her up like I would feed a horse. She hasn't been on any alfalfa before, so I don't want to shock her system. She's getting a variety of free choice grasses, and I'm giving her a little more alfalfa pellets each day. She has an appetite, but she's not attacking any of the food, so I'm going to presume that she's at least not starving for sustenance. I'm going to see how she does through the weekend and if she's not improving, bring her in.

And how rude, Peach. That is Yoshi's house. You are not supposed to be in it.

 

[myheart]

A vet check might be a good thing to do for her. She might be a fussy/slow eater, but she might need a vet to check those back teeth to make sure she doesn't havemolar spurs or points. They can be very painful to bunnies causing them not to eat very much. Sometimes the molar spurs get long enough to cut the inside of their little mouths up leaving room for infection to start.

Just a thought....

 

[windryder201]

I was able to check her teeth, they look pretty normal. didn't see any spurs or anything She DEVOURED all the hay I put in her cage for her last night, and now she's happily popping between her cage and Yoshi's cage eating hay. When I head out later today and put them both in their cages, she'll get her pellets (Yoshi really does not need them and he'll get at them)