Give me tips to ensure that i will have a healthy rabbit

[mcb100]

Hi, all! I had two rabbits and I recently lost one. The beautiful mini lop that is in my profile picture is unfortunately, no longer with us. It broke my heart. He literally was my best friend and he had seen me through many life tragedies. I don’t know how he died. I noticed that he was gradually losing weight. I didn’t worry too much about it because every time I went to give more hay or refill the food bowl, all the food/hay was gone. (Which was probably the other rabbit eating it, now that I think about it.) From what I understand, if a rabbit appears fine they may only need to go to the vet once a year. I took him for his yearly many months ago, and he was not due for his other yearly till many many months. However, as previously stated, I did notice he was losing weight so I made a vet appointment for him this Tuesday, but it was too late….he passed away this week. The weight loss makes me think cancer or diabetes but I will never know. He only just turned three. He was well cared for, and the other rabbit appears to be healthy.

Now that he’s passed away, I’m quite paranoid about anything happening to the other rabbit. This rabbit is doing fine and is healthy but I really want to take all precautions. She is a lionhead, who is about four years old. She lives in a huge hutch that is indoors during the wintertime and the nighttime. During the days, in the summertime she lives in an outdoor hutch as she quite likes the fresh air. (Then before nighttime everyday, we just simply move her from the outdoor hutch into the indoor hutch *I find most indoor rabbit cages to be too small so we just took a huge hutch and moved it inside.* As previously stated, she also has an outdoor hutch for summer days, not nights or wintertime.)  She gets fed Oxbow Adult Rabbit plain pellets, and Small Pet Select 2nd cutting timothy hay. Occasionally, she gets treats or some leafy vegetables like dandelion or parsley. Because I’m so paranoid about anything happening to her now that the other one has passed away, I try to give her rabbit multivitamins I think they’re called Daily Best. She doesn’t eat the vitamins out of my hand, but I place them in her food bowl and *hope* that she gets one a day. I will be taking her for a vet checkup soon that she probably doesn’t need (it’s nowhere near time for her yearly), because I want to make sure she’s in good health.

Some questions I have:

–Can the vet tell if she is diabetic?

–If I wanted bloodwork done on her, what would that be able to show me?

–Would bloodwork even be worth it because she’s such a tiny breed? I wouldn’t want to risk her having bloodwork done if it’s too stressful for her or if there’s a chance that she wouldn’t pull through it.

–What are the signs of cancer in rabbits?

–Is the timothy hay that I’m feeding her (which appears to be of excellent quality, much better than that stiff pet store hay) really best, or should she also be having a mixture of oat, orchard, or grass hay to ensure the best health?

–Getting a second rabbit is really an option that is not available to me right now, maybe not for another whole year–provided that she gets proper care, love, and lots of attention will she be okay as a single rabbit for a year or so? (She actually seems perfectly content and a little bit happy–like she doesn’t even notice that he’s gone or something–but opinions are always welcomed.)

–Is there anything else that I can do to ensure that she has the best health? (Toy/food/treat/hay recommendations. Any recommendations at all are really welcomed.)

[Mikey]

The weight loss could have been many things. GI Stasis is actually what comes to mind with the way you worded things. That, or parasites/worms. Either way, i would take your second bunny in for a check up just in case

“–Can the vet tell if she is diabetic?”
Im sure if you ask for some blood work itll tell ya

“–If I wanted bloodwork done on her, what would that be able to show me?”
Many things. Its something youll have to talk to your vet about, as im sure theres many different blood tests that can be done to show many different things. But, for example on blood tests, my little Bombur needed a few before he was neutered because his liver levels are high. We got him to a safe level via diet, but the vet wants him to have blood work every 2 months to ensure his liver is working correctly. It showed that his other organs were working correctly

“–Would bloodwork even be worth it because she’s such a tiny breed? I wouldn’t want to risk her having bloodwork done if it’s too stressful for her or if there’s a chance that she wouldn’t pull through it.”
A good vet knows not to take too much blood. I have a 1.5lbs dwarf (Bombur) who does just fine with blood work, as long as he gets a treat afterwards

“–What are the signs of cancer in rabbits?”
Someone else will have to answer this one, but im pretty sure its along the lines of: lack of apatite, sleeping more often than not, not wanting to play/run/binky, not drinking as much/drinking too much, ect

“–Is the timothy hay that I’m feeding her (which appears to be of excellent quality, much better than that stiff pet store hay) really best, or should she also be having a mixture of oat, orchard, or grass hay to ensure the best health?”
I dont think that really matters, but ive read that rabbits like more of a variety so they arnt eating the same exact thing day in and day out. Make sure you are feeding rabbit approved veggies and greens as well. Hay should make up 80% of a bunnys diet, with greens at 15% and pellets at 5%

“–Getting a second rabbit is really an option that is not available to me right now, maybe not for another whole year–provided that she gets proper care, love, and lots of attention will she be okay as a single rabbit for a year or so? (She actually seems perfectly content and a little bit happy–like she doesn’t even notice that he’s gone or something–but opinions are always welcomed.)”
Probably. If rabbits are depressed, they make it obvious. Youll notice something is wrong right away. If shes not acting out of the normal, i would assume shes as happy of a single bunny as she might be in a pair

“–Is there anything else that I can do to ensure that she has the best health? (Toy/food/treat/hay recommendations. Any recommendations at all are really welcomed.)”
I have 2 disabled bunnies, so this may be a little bias, but i would recommend going to the vet for a check up once every six months rather than once a year

[Azerane]

Mikey has pretty well covered everything, I just wanted to add that giving her some treatment for internal parasites, such as a worming treatment would be recommended, it’s possibly part of what caused your other rabbit to become so thin. You can ask the vet about appropriate worming treatments for rabbits but it’s certainly something that I would consider a possible cause and worth preventing in your current bunny

[Love4Bunny]

Just to add onto the suggestions, my vet recommended Advantage Multi solution for Cats (fleas, ticks, etc), so I use that when the rabbits are going to spend time in the backyard. You mentioned that you occasionally feed her leafy greens, so I would def. up the quantity and variety of bunny-safe greens, per the dietary recommendations on the BB website. To me, greens aren’t a treat, but rather, a necessary daily requirement. Not all greens are going to be good for your rabbits for constant long-term feeding, so that’s why a variety is important. Also, the vet may test your bunny’s poop to rule out a parasite, so you may want to bring a sample along to your next vet visit. Like Mikey, I also take my rabbits to the vet once every 6 months or so, just to be safe.

[Bam]

I’m sorry that you lost your beautiful rabbit.

Just adding to what Mikey + others have said: Otherwise unexplained weightloss would make you suspect cancer. It’s not the first sign, but buns can tell us if they don’t feel well and they are experts at hiding illness.

Did you notice small poop? If a bun doesn’t eat enough (f ex because the other bun takes it food), the size of the poop gets increasingly smaller, down to the size of black peppercorns. If the rabbit doesn’t stop eating altogether, this can happen very slowly and eventually lead to GI stasis and the rabbit’s death.

Uncontrolled diabetes involves not only weightloss but drinking and peeing excessively. Floods of pee, huge water-consumption.

In some areas it’s advisable to deworm your rabbit every 6-12 months. Ask your vet about that. There are several dewormers a bunny can get, they are effective against different species of parasites with some over-lap. Ivermectin, selamectin, fenbendazole are types you can use with bunnies, but your vet can tell you which would be most effective against the parasites in your area and about suitable deworming- intervals.

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