[UPDATE] Weight Loss

[kurottabun]

In the past few days I realised Kurotta looks and feels bonier. We weighed him today and realised he is now only 500g, when sometime last month he was about 800g. I understand that this is underweight for a 9-month old ND.

I’m not sure what the reason for his weight loss is, but here are some changes we made as well as some things we noticed:

1) We transitioned him from a high fat + protein alfalfa based pellet brand to Oxbow timothy based pellets.

2) He has been drinking more water than usual recently (about 500ml over two days). We suspect it’s due to the increasingly hot weather (about 30+degrees celsius on average).

3) Because of this he has also been peeing a lot more to the extent that his pee is almost clear in colour.

4) He has been eating more hay as well, so this may be a reason for the increased water intake too.

5) His poop is fairly normal with the exception of a few smaller poops every now and then. I also still see him eating his cecals.

6) He has been having more out of cage time on average. More exercise = weight loss?

Generally he still acts the same – lounging around, loafing occasionally, going crazy for pellets and hay etc.

I will bring him to a vet soon but in the meantime, does anyone have any idea what’s up?

Is it possible that because he is peeing more, his body doesn’t retain as much water and that contributes to weight loss? 

Thanks in advance.

[lorree]

I don’t really have an explanation but is he still jumping around and binkying?
Just asking because due to injury my bunny has lost muscle and now has trouble with movement
If he’s still moving around normally then that’s great
Still keep an eye on it so u can catch any muscle loss early, rabbits will hide what they can.

He may have just lost weight as he’s not eating as fatty foods as b4 possibly but if u can get him checked out its better to be on the safe side

Is great that he is still enjoying food though

[kurottabun]

It’s rare to see him binky or flop in general. He does love to lounge with his legs behind him though

He’s still periscoping and sniffing around too.

[Wick & Fable]

It could just be his current diet regimen is not allowing him to gain much weight, even if it’s standard. Wick had to go through a week of critical care supplement feeding to get him up to healthy weight, and after that, he has sustained it since. He is currently growing, so his current diet/exercise may have maintained a healthy weight in context to his younger size, but now that he’s grown rapidly, that weight is no longer healthy and is actually underweight.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[kurottabun]

@Wick how much critical care did you use? Is one packet (36g) enough?

[Wick & Fable]

I recall Wick went through two bags in that week (week and a half potentially). He’s a piggy with Critical Care and was so fat after each feeding, it was hilarious.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[kurottabun]

Should I try to mix in the high fat pellets again before trying Critical Care? Currently he’s getting about 2 tablespoons of Oxbow timothy pellets and unlimited timothy hay daily. He’s 9 months old.

[Wick & Fable]

I’d give him more pellets. Wick has gotten them same amount from 12 weeks to now (1.5 years) and it’s 1/8 to 1/4 cup each day

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[kurottabun]

I just went to a supposedly rabbit savvy vet today but it didn’t do much

I’m just worried that the weight loss is caused by worms. He does seem to be eating more lately so it could be that he isn’t absorbing the nutrients he should be getting and hence feels hungry constantly. Which means that no matter how much food I add, he’ll not be able to absorb it…?

I’ll get him to another vet asap but in the meantime I’m not sure how long a rabbit with worms can last? :/

[Wick & Fable]

Did they check his teeth?

And any other support for worms than the weight loss?

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[kurottabun]

They only checked his front teeth and said it was okay. I don’t think they are skilled enough to check the back teeth. From where the conversation was going, I already deduced that I was at the wrong place and so I didn’t bother asking a bunch of questions I had prepared earlier.

Unfortunately it’s so difficult to find a rabbit savvy vet here (not even in terms of area – more like the whole country) and even harder to find a bunny-friendly dewormer. That said, there is still some hope as I’ve emailed another bunny savvy vet and hopefully will be able to get an appointment in soon.

[Wick & Fable]

I’m seeing Wick’s vet this friday for dental maintenance, so if you don’t get feedback by then, I can post back what rabbit-friendly dewormers Wick’s vet typically uses.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[kurottabun]

Thanks Wick! Appreciate it It’ll be great if there are a number of different brands they could recommend instead of just one brand. That way there’s more probability of me finding it here :/

[Wick & Fable]

If you haven’t yet, I would say do critical care now. Whether or not it is a worm or just simply needing a boost in weight, extra nutrients is needed to support an underweight rabbit. Like I said, Wick ate a ton of critical care to gain weight, and he’s only like 2lbs right now.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[OverthinkingBun]

I hope you are able to find a better vet! I have a dwarf mix who was underweight, and it turned out to be because of inflammation in her gums. However, one of the big signs was that she started eating less hay, so there’s a good chance that that isn’t what is happening with your bunny. Vets should be able to use a fresh fecal sample to test for worms, so I would ask about that if you can,’t find a new vet (I believe that the procedure itself is just the same as for a cat or dog, and either way there’s no chance your pet will be hurt, since it’s noninvasive).

But probably the best thing is to have the back teeth checked while your bunny is sedated, if you are able to get an appointment with a vet you trust.

BTW, if your rabbit won’t accept the critical care, you can make it into “cookies” if you want. My bunny wolfed these down but HATES anything to do with syringes. I’m not an expert and this advice is just for skinny rabbits, not sick ones.

[kurottabun]

@Wick How much and how often should I feed him? I checked the Oxbow website and it says “Herbivorous mammals: Mix 3 Tbsp per kg of body weight daily. (1 Tbsp is equal to approximately 9 grams.)” So if Kurotta is currently at 450g which is about half a kg, I should feed him about 1 1/2 tablespoons of CC 4 to 6 times daily? Since the website says “Amounts are general guidelines. Divide into 4 to 6 feedings unless specified by your veterinarian.”? And how long should the intervals be?

@OB Thank you! Kurotta has been eating enormous amounts of hay and is still gobbling up pellets like a monster, so I highly doubt it’s a teeth issue. I’ve not fed him CC before so will update on how it goes with him.

All paws and fingers crossed.

[Wick & Fable]

For pure weight gain , Wick’s vet said two feedings per day, “as much as he would take”. For Wick that was 5-8 syringes (6ml syringe I believe). The goal is to gain weight, so your rabbit needs to be stuffed in order to do that essentially haha. I never went by the directions on the critical care.

Unfortunately if Wick didn’t like critical, I’m unsure how to gauge when I would have stopped. Wick loves it, so once he’d turn his head away and hop away, o knew he didn’t want anymore.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Wick & Fable]

He had a visible belly after he’d be done though haha

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[kurottabun]

Update: I fed Kurotta some CC yesterday. I didn’t buy a syringe so I just mixed it in a small bowl since he isn’t really “sick” or losing appetite and hence wouldn’t need force feeding.

I fed him once at about 7+pm and another at 10+pm. The first feeding was tough because he sniffed it (many times, after many attempts of me putting the bowl right under his nose) and decided he wanted nothing to do with it lol. I had to add some pellets into the mixture, and even then he would just try to pick out the pellet itself. Eventually he relented and just ate the pellets coated with CC anyway. He managed to finish about half the amount before deciding he wanted no more, so I refrigerated the other half.

At 10+pm I took out the cold CC and brought it to him. To my utter surprise he gobbled it up. I have no idea why though – is it possible that it’s an acquired taste, or because it’s cold…?

Also, should I be feeding him CC right out of the fridge since I realised the Oxbow website says:

“Mix one part of the powder with 2 parts of warm water. Please ensure Critical Care is fed at room temperature or warmer.
Critical Care should ideally be prepared fresh for each feed. If necessary, the powder when premixed with water can be refrigerated up to 24 hours.”

Any idea as to why it has to be fed at room temp or warmer?

[Wick & Fable]

Syringe doesn’t always mean force-feed. Wick wasn’t force fed it because he gobbled it up, so the syringe was just a more clean and efficient method.

I was told it’s because it can go bad due to the nutrients in it. Wick’s vet says that prepping in the morning and feeding refridgerated leftovers later in the day is fine, but trash any leftovers at the end of the day.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[kurottabun]

That makes sense. I did get drops of CC all over the floor, but that was most likely due to Kurotta running around and rejecting it during the first feeding by eating the pellets while allowing the CC to drip lol. The second time he just ate from the bowl and I held it right under his mouth, so any drips would’ve gone back into the bowl. He did wipe his face a couple of times though lol!

Alright that’s good to know. I’ll try the room temp one again today and see if he likes it as much as the refrigerated one.

[Bam]

You can deworm buns with fenbendazole or ivermectin. Those are the substance names, brand names will vary from country to country. Fenbendazole is often called Panacur or Lapizole. For deworming you just give 1-3 doses, it’s the same med you give for EC but for EC it’s given for at least 28 days.

A probiotic can help with nutritional uptake.

[kurottabun]

I’ve spoken to a few breeders and vets and so far two of them have suspected it may not be a worm issue and instead a renal or gastrointestinal issue, which is probably more severe and complicated to treat. Apparently in my country it’s not very common for rabbits to get worms. I’ve called a number of vets (maybe about 10?) and none of them mentioned the names Panacur or Lapizole. Some did mention they have/use Fenbendazole though.

I’ll be bringing Kurotta back to my hometown 4 hours away tomorrow (Saturday) to see another vet. They will be doing a general check then determine if a blood test and urine test is necessary. They said a fecal test isn’t necessary if he isn’t having diarrhea though (which he isn’t; just having slightly smaller poops among other normal-sized ones).

Up till yesterday Kurotta was still eating hay (I suspect the intake has gone slightly down due to me feeding CC the past two days), still went crazy for pellets, drinking water and pooping/peeing quite normally. He’s a champ during car rides so I’m not too worried about the stress factor, although still a little because he isn’t 100% healthy right now and is showing signs of lethargy/weakness.

[kurottabun]

I’m going to use this thread as a journal of some sort.

So I brought Kurotta to another vet on Saturday and the blood test they took showed that he has a liver problem.

Apart from that, his incisors are also not 100% straight, with one of the sides needing a little bit of filing. His molars had some slight spur too but they said that both of these aren’t bad and wouldn’t need to be dealt with for now, especially since he is sick with something else.

They ruled out teeth problems considering that he’s still going crazy for food and the spurs aren’t serious (no cuts in the mouth too), so the only possibility is the liver issue. They told me that it could be EC since the parasite attacks the liver too and his hind legs seem to be a bit weak, but there’s no way to check for it specifically because not much research has been done on this in my country.

Apart from EC, there are another two possibilities:

1) Congenital liver issues that are only surfacing now
2) Toxins in something that we gave Kurotta (could be veggies etc.)

I was prescribed Fenbendazole and Samylin (a liver supplement), and they asked me to monitor him for another two weeks. If he continues to lose weight, I’ll have to bring him back to do a scan and find out if there’s any growth on his liver.

Kurotta hates both the meds and crushing the Samylin pills into a pellet mash didn’t work either lol. He sniffed the pellets and just walked away. So smart. We crushed it in water instead the next day and force fed him with a syringe.

[Bam]

(((((((Kurotta)))))))
Will be following this thread with great interest.

EC tests aren’t very good in any country (even if they are getting better), and fenbendazole is still first choice treatment in most, if not all, countries. There’s ongoing research, but still too little is known.

[Sirius&Luna]

I’m glad you’ve found a vet that seems to know what’s going on.

Sending lots of good vibes to tiny Kurotta.

[kurottabun]

Tomorrow will be a week since Kurotta started his medication and supplements. I’ve also been feeding him CC + an extra tbs of pellets (3 tbs).

He has been gaining weight steadily everyday and was 499g as of yesterday night, compared to 464g when we weighed him on 21/5. Poops are looking healthier and he looks slightly rounder/less lethargic.

In the past 7 days of force feeding him medications we thought he had gotten used to being handled, but we found out yesterday that he was probably just too weak to fight back because yesterday night, he finally got his strength back and REFUSED to be in a bunny burrito, nibbling on the cloth and biting both hubs and I when we tried to restrain him. We managed to force feed him successfully (after a long battle) and as usual, some pellets will earn instant forgiveness LOL.

Still have no idea what was the cause of the liver issue though, which makes it difficult to prevent if it was actually something we gave him that triggered this whole episode.

[Bam]

Fighting back is good!!! Go, Kurotta! Glad to hear his weight is improving.

[Azerane]

I’m really glad to hear that Kurotta is recovering well, it sounds like he’s starting to get his spunk back, which is always a good sign

[kurottabun]

Kurotta’s weight was ranging between 557-564g over the past two days, after two weeks of medication

It seems to be plateauing around there though. I think I’m the only customer buying CC from the shops and they only store 3 of the small bags in each store due to low demand, so I’ve pretty much bought all the bags available near me lol. The next batch of stocks will only come in August.

Is there anything else I can feed him for weight gain in the meantime?

[Heaven]

Apologies if this has already been suggested, but pellets mushed up with water can be a perfectly good substitute for CC. And I remember that pellets are his fave

I’ve also bought CC from Amazon, it arrives next day if you have a Prime membership (or can use someone you know’s).

[Bam]

Pellet mash, rolled oats (maybe in the form of oatmeal, served cool). Tiny amount of pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds. Those are the most common “weight gainers” for buns.

[Heaven]

Cold oatmeal is a great suggestion Bam!

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

Keep it up Kurotta, we’re all cheering for you! A friend of mine used to breed show rabbits with her family and when bunnies needed to gain weight they always fed them as many dandelion leaves as they could eat.

[kurottabun]

Thanks for the tips guys!

@Heaven Buying any stuff on Amazon takes weeks to arrive where I am lol!
@Ellie I don’t think I’ve ever seen dandelions around here. Perhaps the tropical climate doesn’t tolerate them…

But I did manage to get two small bags of CC as the store suddenly had stock again (I think they may have transferred them over from another store), so all is good

P/S: Fed Kurotta CC again yesterday. His weight was 600g as of yesterday night. Another 200g to goooo

[Author]

Messages