I know moderator Wick has experience with prednisone for a bun with thymoma. Her bun Fable was on prednisone for several months. It absolutely prolonged her life. I will alert Wick to this thread.

Yes, my Fable was on Prednisone for her thymoma. It did indeed cause her growth to shrink, but as your vet mentions, steroids in rabbits (like Prednisone) has serious side effects over time, including weakening the immune system and affecting muscle mass. It also made Fable drink a ton of water, so she got two water bowls.

Having an antibiotic alongside the steroid is not uncommon. My vet personally did not prescribe that, but someone else whose rabbit also had a thymoma around when my Fable did was given that two-med regimen. Anecdotally, that rabbit is still living, while Fable has passed. Over time, the Prednisone took a permanent hit to Fable’s GI, leading to mushy poos for multiple days and she then got both eye and ear infections in conjunction w/ major weight/muscle loss. All that being said, she was breathing easier because the Prednisone stopped her cancer growth– the thymoma was putting pressure on her trachea and the Prednisone stopped that. It definitely prolonged her life, but yes, the side effects are serious.

Steroids are not the curative treatment for cancer and are never prescribed to rabbits except in situations like cancer essentially where the benefits outweigh the known serious side effects. Doing blood work repeatedly and updating vet on your rabbit’s health as things go on is key. Some people report their rabbits can go on for months to years w/ steroid management for cancer. I hope your rabbit thrives and is with you for as long as possible.

No personal experience with this, but my understanding is that steroids are prescribed to rabbits as a last resort treatment. For example, a back injury where they need to get the swelling down immediately. Another example is when a rabbit has cancer. We know they don’t have long left, but a steroid can help ease their suffering and prolong their life. In both of these scenarios, the benefits outweigh the risks and side effects associated with steroids in rabbits.

I have also seen where sometimes an antibiotic will be prescribed as a preventative. Steroids weaken the immune system, especially when taken for a long period of time. This means any opportunistic bacteria that happens to be around could multiply, leading to infections.