Falling over when grooming

[kanin]

Is Fresno falling over while he grooms himself something to be worried about? He’s completely fine otherwise, no change in attitude or appetite and he doesn’t seem off-balance any other time. But a lot of the times when he grooms himself, if he’s not leaning against something he’ll fall over onto his side, like when he’s stretching around to reach his back. I’m wondering if it’s maybe just because he’s a chunk??

[Bam]

I dont know, I had a bun who fell over when he had fur mites (I had just found him abandoned in the woods). The fur mites were between his shoulderblades, where he obviously couldn”t reach, but he really tried to. (I of course got him treatment and the mites never returned).

That same bun later fell over backwards in anticipation of a treat, esp when the treat was a slice of peach

He was perfectly healthy then, but he was crazy food oriented.

I think you should study him in order to find out if he exhibits a balance problem in other situations as well. As you know, an inner/middle ear infection can cause balance issues, as can e cuniculi.

[LittleLionMan]

Bam raises some important points and things to look out for. As the fellow owner of a chonky boy, I will also add that sometimes my boy teeters when he grooms. I’m not sure he’s ever fallen completely on his side or back, but I have seen him get off balance before. It mostly happens if he’s trying to get hard to reach places, so it doesn’t occur every day. Sometimes I’ll put my hand behind him when he’s leaning back so he has something to push against if he needs. But as Bam said, you should watch your bun and figure out when it’s happening and how often. maybe that may help you deduce why it may be happening and if a vet visit is warranted.

[kanin]

Ugh. So he doesn’t exhibit a general balance problem, only when grooming and reaching behind him like towards his back/above his butt. But after posting this and observing him more I’ve noticed he grooms himself a lot more often than my other two. I did treat them all for ear mites but maybe it didn’t get rid of them. Which is really irritating because my vet for some reason refuses to let me buy revolution from them and instead insists that I use oral ivermectin which clearly isn’t working. I don’t even understand why the mites are so persistent. We keep a clean house and their area is clean and they never go outside.

[Bam]

Rabbits as a rule get mites from their mothers. The rabbit’s immune system keeps the number of mites down, so they cant cause any trouble. Then if the bun experiences stress of some kind (it doesnt even have to be negative stress), the immune defense takes a (temporary) toll, and the mites seize the opportunity to multiply.

So is not about the hygiene in your house. Its still wise, of course, to do thorough cleaning, wash fabrics and freeze toys etc for 48-72 hours, after the bun receives treatment. The bun should get repeat treatment after 8-14 days in order to catch the mites that were eggs when you did the first round. For heavy infestations, the bun might need a 3rd round of treatment.

If you look at the skin under the fur where he scratches, do you detect any sort of problem? Fur mites typically cause skin-colored (yellowish-white) scabs/crusts and flakiness. The skin of a rabbit should be completely even in texture, soft and pliable  (except on the face where you can feel small hard-ish “knobs” that  typically encompass a whisker.)

[kanin]

That’s so strange and interesting! But yes I did 3 rounds of treatment. He even got treatment soon after I first brought him home. So they seem to just be coming back. At their vet visit when they got their ears cleaned she ran her hands through their fur to check their skin and didn’t see anything, but I’ll check it myself in a bit and let you know if I do.

[Cinnamon Bun]

@Kanin, how is he now? Have you spotted anything yet? ♥

[StellaBellaBunBun]

Not sure if this is helpful but I use a tiny bit of olive oil on Stella when she gets little patches of dry skin, fur mites, or ear mites. The first time I put a tiny drop in her ear and I would not do that again because she freaked out about feeling something in her ear and scared me half to death. That said, she was fine, she got over it after the longest 10 minutes as a bunny mom, and it worked!

Homeopathy is not for the faint of heart, but after reading what your going through with your buns and your vet, it’s probably worth a try! Especially since it’s just on his back/butt area.

Best of wishes to your sweet boy!

[Author]

Messages