Arthritic bun

[tskelly93]

My rabbit Chaos (mini lop, 6 yrs old in june) has been diagnosed with arthritis in both elbows. He’s currently on 2 doses of metacam a day (been doing this for about a week, 1 larger dose caused gastric issues) and so far he isn’t showing any of the visual symptoms of pain (not using the foot, knuckling his feet, excessive licking) and seems like he’s alot more active and happy, definitely compared to the past few months.

At the moment I’m not sure just how sever the arthritis is (were due back this week for a check up so hoping to find out then) but I want to try and do as much as I can to keep him out of pain and also slow down the development of his arthritis. I’ve read about the oxbow joint supplements so have ordered those for him, but have also seen about heat mats and fleece beeding being beneficial.

Just wondering if anyone uses such things for their buns? Was looking into a microwave heat mat (although I think they’re abit small) or a cat heat mat (not sure if self heating is any good) to get him as my flat fluctuates in temperature. Im also wary about using a vetbed type bedding as my other buns a massive chewer (she will chew anything. Even if you’re wearing it) so worried about using fabric but have tried hemp rolls and they’ve lasted the blink of an eye before being destroyed be her, whereas chaos seemed comfy on them and rarely chews on things he knows he’s not allowed to eat

[Deleted User]

I give my older rabbits the Oxbow joint supplements. I don’t know if they make a difference, but apparently they taste good. I don’t think there’s a scientific consensus about whether that type of supplement works for humans or rabbits, and usually I’m pretty skeptical, but in this case, if I’m going to be giving my rabbits a cookie each day anyway, I figure it can’t hurt.

My rabbits are free range but I have fleece blankets that I put in the areas they spend the most time. I fold them about 3 or 4 times to make a thicker, softer pad, and the rabbits do seem to prefer sitting on the fleece to the regular flooring. They sometimes chew holes in them, but chewing doesn’t equate to swallowing. I’ve never actually heard of a rabbit getting any sort of blockage from eating fleece, but I see people worrying about it all the time. I’m not saying it never happens, but fears often get amplified over the internet.

[ownedbybunnies315]

The research isn’t really in yet about whether bunnies really absorb glucosamine in a way that benefits their joints or not, but anecdotally, I can vouch for the oxbow joint support. The dosage for most rabbits is 2 cookies everyday, and I use that dosage for my 8 year old 4.5 lb bunny. She has had early onset arthritis in her left shoulder since she was 4 1/2 due to trauma she sustained before I had her. She has not had any symptoms in years and has not been on any pain meds like meloxicam either. About 6 months ago I went away for a vacation and left her with her normal bunny sitter. The bunny sitter was a little more lax than usual about giving her the cookies (she was crazy busy, and there are no hard feelings on this end), but when I got her back, she was limping and favoring her left front leg again. I started her back on the regular cookie schedule again, and within two weeks, the symptoms were gone. Now she is going through her normal spring fever digging-like-crazy routine and is clearly not in any pain. You have to give the cookies a couple weeks to work because glucosamine isn’t a pain med and doesn’t work like that, but from what I can see, they definitely make a huge difference for my senior girl.

[tskelly93]

Thanks for the advice, im going to rebuild his cage to make it abit easier for him to get about in and reduce stress on his joints. He loves his joint treat but still seems like it’s building up. He’s currently having his pain meds reviewed as he’s starting to show signs of pain again but hopefully it can be managed

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