Bunny Weight is Driving me Crazy

[skunklionshow]

Since Leo’s weight loss post tooth surgery, I have been very paranoid about bunny weight loss.  We got a food scale to monitor his weight, while we were trying to put weight on him.  So I usually only weigh him when I feel like he’s losing weight.  Sometimes I do this weekly just to keep my mind at ease.  Anyway he’s lost about 6 oz from the previous week.  I have noticed for the last 2 days that the pellet bowl, still has pellets when I get home from work.  Also, the bunny salad still has veggies come morning.  So the first time it happened I figured the change in weather maybe affected their appetite.  Both were still eating treats, their willow wreath, and hay. 

I have been seeing him eat & drink so he obviously is eating.  I have a few thoughts:  weather change, new willow wreath, the condo addition and willow tent over their bed.  So how much weight is too much to lose?  How often shoudl I weigh them?  Do I need to go into the vet everytime his weight goes down?  Will he ever stabilize or am I just beeing a wacky bunny mama?

[Sarita]

What type of teeth problem does he have molars or incisors? When was his tooth surgery – was that filing?

When I had a rabbit with molar problems it was usually the pellets that he ignored and the molar spurs came back quite frequently.

[Scarlet_Rose]

Any change to the environment can cause stress which in turn often makes a bunny not eat.  Weighing weekly is about right and since his tooth surgery maybe it is painful for him to chew pellets and they are too hard for him.  Have you tried moistening them to see if that helps?  Didn’t you have some critical care on hand? You might want to try a bit of that as well to get him to a healthier weight.  Also here is a recipe for "Angel’s Mush"

http://www.coloradohrs.com/articles/medical_Angels-mush.asp

Are Leo’s ribs protruding out at all? If Leo cannot gain weight, then I would say pay a visit to the vet.  There could be some other health issue.  Have you written the dates and weight down?  I would to take in with you.  I don’t think you are being whacky at all, you are just a concerned bunny mama.

As for the treats, what kinds of treats are they getting?  I’m tyring to see if the hardness of the food is an issue or not.  Are the pellets stale at all or too dusty?

[skunklionshow]

Leo had problems w/ his incisors and molars.  They trimmed back about 4 or 5 teeth.  He had a follow up w/ the vet about 1 month ago and she said his teeth looked great and his weight was good.  She said that he shouldn’t need to come back until Christmas time for a re-check. 

He’s always been scrawny to me.  Maybe that’s just b/c my Jessica is very plump.  He’s a lionhead and tends to stay about 4 lbs, so as soon as I seem him going down I freak.  I haven’t changed their pellets or veggie salad selection.  He does eat, but it seems like he still loses weight easily.  I just don’t think he’s eating as much as usual.  I do have critical care on hand and will start it up today.  They get non-sweetened dried fruit as treats (papaya, cranberries, raisins).  I made an appt for him to go into the vet on Friday, just incase his mouth is sore again.  I think I’m more frustrated than anything.

[MooBunnay]

I have heard that some bunnies really like the critical care and will eat it up if you just leave it out – is that how Leo is? As Scarlet Rose mentioned, an easy way to help him eat just in case he’s having some difficulty with the pellets is soft food. You could probably just leave a bowl of that out for him and see if he prefers that. It could be that he is just preferring hay and if he’s eating hay and not so many pellets, it could possibly just be that he is getting slimmer from less calories. Have you thought of maybe mixing some alfalfa hay in with the regular hay? That could give Leo some extra calories.

[Sarita]

Dental problems are so worrisome.

Wonder if he would eat some canned pumpkin? It’s high in fiber and that might put some weight on him. I do believe Lionheads are small rabbits though – the size of Netherlands. What weight does your vet recommend? Does she think his weight is okay? Let us know how the vet appointment goes.

[skunklionshow]

I decided to do some inspecting of Leo when I got home from work today.  I think its his teeth again.  In the very least he will need to have his incisors trimmed again.  Here’s what I found:

The fur on his chin is matted from moisture.  My vet said to look for that if he seems off.

I looked at his incisors and it looks like one of the top ones slightly curves over the bottom one.  I’m not sure if bunnies are different than humans and that their teeth are supposed to abutt rather than overlap. 

Unfortunately, Leo does not like the critical care.  I think he was psychologically scarred by his previous bout of force feeding.  Its funny cuz Jessi is a netherland dwarf and she weighs more than him!  She’s really a chunky monkey.  She started to gain weight after we got her weight down.  She then got spayed and got chunky.  I’m assuming that just like humans and other animals, when they lose those extra female hormones they have difficulty maintaining weight loss.

I called the vet again today.  I’m going to leave work early to take him in earlier.

[Scarlet_Rose]

It sounds like the teeth might be misalligned, that would be something to check with the vet.  Try some canned pumpkin (pure, no spice) with a little mashed banana in it. I think he will gobble that up easily.  If you are out and about you may want to pick up some baby food too. Let us know what the vet says.

[skunklionshow]

Leo was at the vet Friday night.  The vet said that his teeth looked alright, but the gums on the right side looked sore and tender.  So Leo is on pain meds and anti-biotics.  His weight was just below 3.8 lbs, so he said that we should start critical care again.  He goes back to the vet tomorrow (Monday).  I’m having a heck of a time w/ the critical care.  He hates being force fed and if I leave it blended up in the cage, Jessi eats it all up—–I told you she’s a piggy pie.

[Gravehearted]

poor Leo 🙁 I’m really glad you brought him in to be checked and really hope the meds will be having his gums feeling better soon.
most bunnies HATE being force fed, but to be honest I’d rather have a feisty bunny than one that’s putting up no fight at all!
i find some bunnies have a sweet spot, but in his case, I would definitely try to insert the syringe on the non-inflamed side of his mouth. how big is the syringe that the vet gave you? i’ve found it to be much easier with the larger 30 or 50 cc size, since you can really get the front into their mouth.
hang in there!

[skunklionshow]

Leo went back in Monday night and his weight went down 1/10th of a lb.  The vet up’ed the critical care.  I tole him that on Monday morning, he was eating his food, so thought he was back on track.  I was wrong and he lost weight!  He goes back on Weds.  My vet said that it still looks like inflamation and not tooth misalignment or jaw abcess.  My mom actually asked me…"when will it just end…aren’t you just putting in good money after good money into him!"  That so ticked me off.

All and all he’s a happy boy and especially happy w/ Jessica.  She said that she felt like his quality of life has been compromised b/c of force feeding.  NICE!  The vet recommended blending the critical care w/ Strawberry Ensure for an extra nutritional kick.  If he still hasn’t put weight on by Weds., they will knock him out to get a good look at his teeth on Friday.  We were attempting to avoid this, since he had such a difficult recovery last time.  I’ll let you guys know.

[Sarita]

It sounds like your vet is good and knows rabbits. That’s so important with dental disease. Keep us updated.

[Scarlet_Rose]

Oh poor guy, I hpe they don’t have to put him under to take a look.  He is a special guy that if he could speak your language, I am sure would thank you so much for taking such good care of him and caring so much.  Nevermind what anyone else says.

[skunklionshow]

As of last night’s vet visit….

Leo’s weight has improved, but his still about 5 oz from his normal weight.  He is scheduled to go in for a dental, again, on Weds.  B/f my vet put him under he wanted his weight up and steady.  I’ve taken most of the critical off the menu b/c he attacked me at Sun. PM feeding.  He bit me several times.  In the nearly 2 years that I’ve known Leo, he’s never bit anyone!  I was shocked!  I realize that he really hates the feedings as much as I do.

So he will be getting knocked out for his dental tomorrow.  I’m sure I’ll be back to critical care feedings once he gets home b/c he wouldn’t eat the last time he had a dental.

I hate to say this but….I’m very seriously considering NOT neutering him.  Jessica is spayed, so I won’t have baby bunnies anytime soon.  He has a very mild personality and hasn’t shown any of the bunny boy hormones over the time I’ve been w/ him.  He is about 4 y.o. and I’ve been around him almost 2 years (?)  He seldom humps Jess.  I am very concerned about his regular eating habits.  It took me so long to get him on regular hay and veggie intake that I am concerned that b/t the regular dental issues and his bad response to eating post anesthesia, that it would be more stress on him to get him neutered.  Input?

[Scarlet_Rose]

Have you tried serving him critical care on a plate? Maybe mash it with some pumkin & banana. Can they neuter him at the same time as the dental check up? I think I would seriously talk about this with your vet as they handle the animal and really "know" him better than I can say yes you should do it anyway or no, it would compromise his health. With his being underweight though, it may very well be best to hold off.

[skunklionshow]

We tried the critical care on the plate and he pee’d on it!!!!  Jessi readily eats anything on or off a plate, so she really enjoyed the critical care, mashed bananas, applesauce, and pumpkin.  He wanted nothing to do w/ any of it.  He’s  a licker, so the hubby tried to put some on his finger and get him to lick it off, that lasted about 2 finger fulls.

The vet recommended separating Jess and Leo to better monitor his food intake.  Anytime we did, they broke their barrier down and would cuddle in their bed!  I guess they just aren’t happy w/o each other.  I did put a new post about liver enzyme problems in general Q &A….the neuter may be a mute point.

[Scarlet_Rose]

I saw that, I am so very sorry.  I wish there were something out there to get him to eat on his own, I think I am just about all tapped out of ideas. Angel’s mush is an idea, but it has a lot of pumpkin in it and you said he wouldn’t even touch that.  Have you tried to grind up his own pellets and add a bit of water or pedialyte to them?

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