Elderly bunny not acting normal

[Asutt]

Hey guys, I’m new here. My bunny is a 6 (turning 7) year old lionhead who is on the very small side. He is not acting as you would expect a happy/healthy bunny to act but I can’t turn to my vets for advice two reasons:

1) They’re too expensive and money is tight right now

2) I have NO trust in them. One of my vets knows nothing about rabbits and has even given me free consultations because they literally did nothing with my rabbit. The only rabbit savvy vet (scoff) in my area almost killed my poor bunny by over prescribing him Metacam after an ear flush. The medication made him look super stoned and gave him diarrhoea. He is also extremely expensive.

My rabbit eats and drinks fine and is quite friendly but everything else is unusual. He does not flop or even lie on his side at all, the only position he sleeps in is the bunny loaf (legs tucked in). He does not binky either. He does move around at a reasonable speed but he does not break into full on runs or move around much without stimuli. He has quite bad coordination, at least once a day he will stumble over. He doesn’t really play with his toys at all. He doesn’t jump on things or dig. He grinds his teeth a lot and sometimes whines when sleeping. He’s stopped cleaning himself properly so I have to check his bum area and clean every now and again (not appreciated).

I don’t think he is depressed because he has space and toys. I have considered the possibility that he might be starting with arthritis so I may try the natural science joint or old age supplement. I still have the metacam that almost killed him and I am considering giving him that in very small dosages (will he need a gastro protestant if this is long term?). Also, I have seen cosaquin recommended on here so may try that. Of course all this might prove futile because I have no idea what the issue is, I just know something isn’t right and the symptoms fit.

Has anyone experienced a rabbit with these issues? Or know what might be wrong with him? If it’s arthritis what else would you suggest I do? Or can you give me advice/feedback on the treatments I have considered here?

Thanks in advance for your help!   

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Unfortunately you may have to spring for a vet -even at tough times if something is medical you won’t find a cure online

you described a lot-how much is new? How sudden was the onset? What was he like prior to this change?

Are you able to post a video of him stumbling?

[Asutt]

To be honest, he has always been a ‘special’ rabbit. I describe him as a sandwich short of a picnic. But these symptoms are new and started around 6 months ago. I will try get a video of his poor balance to post. I have described some of these symptoms to two different vets before and they have not seemed to care or know what to do…It’s such a shame I don’t have knowledgeable vets in my area.

[tobyluv]

Stumbling, or balance issues, can be due to arthritis in the legs or hips. It could also be due to an ear infection. I’m sure that there may be other causes too. Not keeping himself clean could mean that’s he doesn’t have the mobility to make certain moves, or that it’s painful for him. The teeth grinding (unless it’s happening when you are petting him) also means that he is in pain. I have had elderly bunnies that started having mobility problems and Metacam really helped them. You need to have the right dosage and you start out with one dosage, then lower it to a maintenance dosage that’s not given as often.

To know exactly what is wrong with your bunny, and to get him the proper treatment, he really does need to see a vet. Have you tried to see if there might be any other vet options in your area? Sometimes you have to travel further away to find a good vet. Maybe one would work out a payment plan with you. There is also Care Credit, which some vets participate in. You pay with a credit card and pay back in installments without any added interest.

[Asutt]

I contacted the vet who did the ear flush and he said he would have recognised an ear infection if it was present so I don’t believe it is that but I may ask for a second opinion and keep an eye on his ears until then. His teeth grinding occurs when I am not petting him  it’s a horrible sound.

Thanks for your advice! I will look into care credit and see if any vets in my area do it. I’ll have another look for good vets in my area to see if I missed any. In the meantime I will have a look at the dosage recommendations on metacam’s website as I went by them last time when my vet over prescribed, then maybe double check with a vet over the phone before I start giving him any. If he is going on metacam long term does he need a gastropod protectant? I’m also planning on slowly changing his dry food to burgess excel for mature rabbits (I heard it has ingredients for joints) as he is currently on the adult version.

[tobyluv]

Metacam can sometimes cause a loss of appetite. When I have gotten it, there is always a warning on the label to watch out for that. I don’t remember it ever causing diarrhea in the rabbits I have given it to, but that is also a possible side effect. I’m assuming that a gastropod protectant is a term for a probiotic, such as Bene-Bac. That is always good to give when a rabbit is on an antibiotic, since those can cause the stomach flora to get out of balance, so I suppose it would help to keep that stomach flora in balance if a bunny is on Metacam.

It’s been a few years since I have had an elderly bunny on Metacam to help with joint pain and mobility, so I don’t remember the dosage. It would of course be dependent on the rabbit’s weight too. I do remember that when starting out, it was given every day at a certain dosage, then after a couple of weeks, the dosage was lowered and it was given less frequently.

[Asutt]

The gastrointestinal protestant I have is called ranitidine, it’s made for cats but was prescribed to my bunny when he went through a bout of not eating properly so it is rabbit safe. It prevents ulcers in the stomach and is under the group histamine-2 blockers. I will ring several vets before attempting to give him both of these in case they interact or the protestant is not suitable long term. Were your rabbits on any other medication to protect their stomachs whilst on metacam? Or was it not necessary? 

[tobyluv]

So I see now that a gastropod protectant is different from a probiotic. I know that Rantidine is the same as Zantac, which is an antacid and stomach protector, and I have read that rabbits can have that. My rabbits were not on any other medications to protect their stomachs while on Metacam. But I remember the vet saying that rabbits can’t be on high doses for long. That is why you start giving them a lower dosage and cut down on the frequency after a while.

[Asutt]

According to metacam’s calculator he can have 1.2 ml a day or 0.6 ml twice a day. I may start him off on that dosage for about a week and see if there is improvement. If there is I will reduce slowly, I’m thinking maybe aim to half it or 1/3 and give it less frequently. Does that sound sensible?   

[OliverBun]

My old man was on metacam for 4 years. He’s 3.5 lbs and took .5mls once a day with food. No more was necessary for him and it helped a ton with his arthritis.
Depending on how the stumbling looks, I’m inclined to think arthritis is the culprit. Everything you have described is stuff I’ve experienced with my bun.
He recently started having appetite loss issues with the metacam so we switched to gabapentin. I’m a huge fan and it helps a lot. He’s acts much more peppy and happy with pain relief help!

[Asutt]

My rabbit is a similar weight so I will aim for around that dosage. Thanks, I’ll keep an eye out for appetite loss. Not sure how long it’s supposed to take to kick in but I gave him 0.6 ml last night and he was very active this morning, more so than usual.

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