Thin Bunny

[Hoppityhop]

Hi,

I'm new here, so sorry for just bursting in with my own post.

We have had bunnies for nearly 10 years. After losing one of our bunnies a couple of months ago, we got Hector from the RSPCA just over a month ago. They think he is about a year old.

He is eating fine - we let them (we have a girl bunny, Lucy, too) free to roam the garden during the day, so have ample leaves and grass, and we give them Excel, same amount as we gave the two of them before, along with carrots, cabbage, hay. He seems to be eating all of these, and as far as I know, he's drinking too.

But, he has started to look really thin. His haunches are showing, and he just looks thin. He's bounding about and really seems happy though.

I've booked him in at our vets for tomorrow afternoon, but does anyone know what there could be wrong?

I have no idea what he weighs, he is quite skittish, and we've wanted to let him settle in before we start handling him too much. I'm hoping he won't be too much trouble to get into the carrier tomorrow!

Thanks for any advice.

Heather x

 

[anneq]

Off the top of my head, I'd think worms - any chance you could check his droppings and see if there's any evidence of that?

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

alot of questions come to mind,diet and poops probably being the first big question,,is there 70% fiber in the diet..ie timothy/orchard grasses,,howabout low fat high quality pellets(for vitamins and nutrition),-(one oz.per pound of bun).-,.is the tummy soft like dough,or like a rock,./.prey animals are hard to diagnose(by sight)-they would rather die than appear weak,,thus they do,../.sounds like a good idea to have an exam(physical/dental)-by an experienced exotic specialist,,not a want-a-be-vet,,i will never forgive myself for doing that(once).cabbage causes gas(in the gi tract)- which is painful ,dandylions,clovers,grasses,occassional carrot,bananna,apple(w/o-seeds,stem)-.,if this is helpful let me know,,,sincerely james waller

 

[tonyshuman]

Yeah, worms could be the cause. However, a full vet check will help ensure it's not something more serious. I hope that's what's up, please keep us updated.

 

[Sweetie]

I was thinking that it could be fur blockage, but since he is eating and drinking that may not be the case. The vet would have a more accurate diagnoses.

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

I would bring a fresh poop sample with you. You want one less than 8 hours old, but the fresher the better. If it is too old, it can give a false negative.

As you don't know his weight, you may not be feeding enough pellets. The general rule of thumb is about 1/4 cup per 5 pounds of body weight. This is probably ideal body weight, not current weight (you would feed more to a thin and less to a fat bunny). If he tolerates it, you can give a bit more to help boost her weight.
Some oats (regular oatmeal, not instant) a few times a week can help too.

Giving more food won't help much if he does have something else going on, so a vet check for worms and other parasites would be a good idea, and the sooner the better.

I hope at least on of your rabbits is fixed. They do breed easily and quickly. If you don't let them in the run together, it should be ok, but if they are ever together, one should be fixed.

 

[tonyshuman]

Yeah, taking in a fecal sample to the vet would be a good idea. Usually the fecal test is about $15-20 on top of the annual well-bunny checkup. I think it might be good to have blood work done, as well as having the vet feel for any abnormalities. Off the top of my head, in order of seriousness/frequency of occurance, are worms, anemia of some kind, and cancer leading to weight loss.

Is the Excel food alfalfa based, or timothy based?

I agree that you need to have at least one fixed, but since you got Hector from the RSPCA, he's probably neutered already, right?