Bunny has stopped hopping, only walks

[mini]

Hi guys,

New to the forum. I have three house bunnies, the eldest is 9 and in very good health. Until today. Yesterday she had her annual check up and passed with flying colours. She is in tip top condition. She got her Calicivirus shot at the same time, and was fine for the rest of the day. 

Today she has stopped hopping, only walking and very resistant to really going anywhere. She will walk herself a few yards and then stop and not move for ages. She seems otherwise fine, albeit more docile, her appetite is a bit off but she’s eating treats and is urinating/excreting as normal.

It’s the sudden lack of hopping that has me concerned. She can only walk her back legs, and very slowly, like an old age pensioner. Until today, she’s no problem hopping about, in and out of her cage, chasing her friend and getting under our feet when she feels she should. I can only look at the fact that the injection was yesterday and 12 hrs later, she has changed dramatically. All other factors (other buns, diet etc) were unchanged.

If she’s no better in a day or two I’ll take her to the vet, if she gets worse I’ll take her immediately, but I’m interested to hear other people’s experience or suggestions.

[B. Faircloth]

I’m new as well but I might wonder if she’s feeling pain from receiving the vaccine, or if possibly the weather is changing and she’s feeling it in her bones. I’m completely new to bunnies so I’m not even sure if that’s possible, but I know cats and dogs can “sense” weather changes and I even have a cat that seems more arthritic and slower on colder or rainier days. Maybe that’s a possibility?? I’m sorry I don’t have more to offer but others here are fantastic and someone will surely have the answer!

[mini]

^ Thanks for the support though.

It’s such a marked change, it’s that which has me worried. She is hardly going anywhere now and where she would knock you over in a sprint to get her night time dinner (a couple of teaspoons of pellets), she didn’t budge. She otherwise looks fine, no signs of distress.

BUT, we just noticed a lump of faeces, about the size of a large grape, one mass, and soft (not runny though) around where she had been sitting. It’s night time now, so I hope I can get some sleep and I hope she is looking better in the morning, by which time there may be some more tips from the forum. 

 

[Sarita]

I would talk with the vet especially since she’s a senior. I’m not at all familiar with the Calicivirus shot though to speak of it since we don’t do this in the US – perhaps it is a result of this or perhaps it’s just a coincidence. I wouldn’t think that if it was arthritis (which is very common in rabbits) would cause this from one day to the next – USUALLY you see the slowdown gradually.

[mini]

UPDATE: okay, after a terrible night sleep, and a few tears (being the hardened mid thirties guy that I’m not), Mini has made a huge improvement. We let her out into the yard this morning and she shuffled out, but soon she was poking about, albeit at a slower pace. Then she decided she might hop from the pavers up onto the lawn, requiring a vertical jump about twice her height. She weighed it up, went away, came back (typical bunny…can’t let anything go!) – then boom! Up she jumped! My partner and I were fist pumping yet Mini carried on as though it was no big deal. She ate well out there, and eventually decided to go back in to where her buddy was – and HOPPED most of the way. Stoked.

She’s still not 100% but the eating is okay now, plenty of good faecal pellets and she’s moving a much, much better.

We agreed that maybe next year she won’t get the calicivirus shot but plenty of time to think about that, but as far as I can tell, all symptoms go back to the injection.

[MerlinsMom]

Great to hear she’s feeling better! It does sound like it might have been related to the vaccination. I don’t know anything about calcivirus as I’m in the UK but just imagine how it feels when you have an injection – it can make you feel off for a day or so afterwards.
If the symptoms come back though I would definately take her to the vet, just to make sure. Even if there’s nothing wrong, it’s better to be safe than sorry!

[LittlePuffyTail]

I’m glad she’s feeling better. I don’t know anything about bunny vaccinations since we don’t do them in Canada either, but I know that vaccinations often make my horse quite sore and swollen. So that’s my guess as to what was wrong with your bun.

[Author]

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