Hind end weakness

[Coco2443]

Hi, I have a 5 year lionhead bunny who started having hind end weakness about 2 weeks ago. The vet put her on an anti inflammatory. She has been on it for about 1 week and I’m not noticing any improvement. It almost seems like it’s worse instead of better. She is eating and drinking fine but her poops also seem smaller. I’m waiting on a call back from the vet but wondering if we could be missing something. We never observed her getting injured. The vet said she had decreased muscle around her hips and she felt she was painful around her hips during the exam. The vet didn’t do an X-ray because she didn’t think it would show anything. Just wondering if anyone has any other ideas or things I could suggest to the vet? Thanks you!

[Bam]

Did your vet considered E cuniculi? It  often manifests as hind end weakness. EC is a microscopic parasite that can attack and damage nervous tissue. Treatment consists of 28 days of Panacur (fenbendazole) Antiinflammatory meds is (as a rule) part of the treatment, but it’s not the mainly component.

Another alternative is arthrosis, i e age related degenerative changes to the spine. This is treated with antiinflammatory painkillers and you often see rather rapid improvement bc the bun starts to move around more once the acute pain subsides. After a week you shouldve seen some improvement though, I think, unless the dose your bun was prescribed is very low. You typically start out on a rather high dose and then start to taper it down after 1-2 weeks until you find the lowest effective dose.

[Coco2443]

Thank you for your reply. I was wondering about E. cuniculi. I will definitely mention this when I talk to the vet today. I’m not sure what the dosage is on the Metacam. She’s getting 0.25ml a day, but not sure of the strength off the top of my head. I’ll look when I get home. Do you think the small poops are because of pain? She seems to be eating and drinking her normal amount.

[Bam]

It could be bc of pain, esp if pain makes her move around less than normal.

Some buns benefit from getting Pepcid (famotidine) together with the Meloxicam, Pepcid protects the stomach lining and some buns have a sensitive stomach. You could ask your vet about that too. Pepcid (famotidine) is an otc medicine that’s not pricey.

[DanaNM]

I definitely agree with considering EC. If your vet doesn’t take you seriously, it’s time to find a new vet.

I’m surprised they wouldn’t want to do an x-ray given the symptoms. 0.25 mL per day seems like a very small dose, even for a small rabbit (assuming the normal concentration that vets give). Many vets do under-dose meloxicam so I would also press them a bit on this. If you tell us the concentration of your meloxicam and your bun’s weight we can check the dosage.

5 is not really young, but seems too young for arthritis to be that advanced. An x-ray would tell you if there is arthritis though, or a spinal injury that could be causing this.

. . . 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.  

[Coco2443]

Thank you for all of your input. I made an appointment with a different vet who the rabbit rescue near me recommends. The original vet hasn’t called me yet and their phone line is busy. The metacam label just says metacam 5ml. Coco is 2.8 pounds and she’s getting 0.25ml/day.

[DanaNM]

I think that’s a smart move. For the dosage, does it say anything on the vial with units as mg/mL? 1.5 mg/mL is common.

. . . 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.  

[Coco2443]

No, it doesn’t say. I tried calling the original vet again because I’m curious now if they are under dosing her. Couldn’t get through on the phone. I’ll update when I find out. Thank you for all the info.

[Bam]

Metacam comes in 2 strenghts, 0.5 mg/ml for cats and 1.5 mg/ ml for dogs. Rabbits as a rule get dog strenght metacam, but even if your bun gets dog strenght metacam and she is a tiny bun, 0.25 ml per day would be the lowest recommended dose. You calculate the dose like this:

1.5 mg/ml strenght × 0.25 ml = 0.375 mg

0.375 mg divided by your bun’s weight in kilos (2.8 lb is 1.27 kilos) = 0.3 mg/kilo body weight.

That is a low dose, and it could explain why you havent seen any rapid improvement -but it wouldn’t explain why she has gotten worse, unless she has a very sensitive stomach and is experiencing stomach pain. Rabbits as a rule tolerate metacam very well even with longterm use, but there are exceptions.

I think it was very wise of you to contact a different vet!

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