Little Old Lady

[JackWabbit13]

I was just posting another thread and realized, Jumping Jack is a freaking senior now!

I think my main concern is diet, at the moment, although she seems to be getting bored more easily now (maybe a topic for another time, or maybe now?). She gets roughly 3/4-1 cup of mixed veggies, twice a day. I change the veggies I buy every time I go to the store, and occasionally vary the amount a little bit, to give her a variety. I also give her 1/4 cup of Oxbow Garden Select pellets in the evening, in this thing that Oxbow makes that looks like one of those Weeble Wobble toys, but it dispenses the pellets. It’s neat!

ANYWAY…

Should anything change about her diet? I don’t give her treats often, but her treats are always fruits, veggies, or compressed timothy. And I’ve been considering some supplements, if there are any that would be beneficial to her. I don’t know which ones in particular I’d choose. But I hear senior rabbits shouldn’t be given supplements unless otherwise instructed by a vet. What do you think of that?

[DanaNM]

Awww Jumping Jack!

With seniors it’s good to track their weight. Some buns put on weight due to less activity, which can be harder on the joints and make arthritis worse. Other buns have a harder time keeping weight on, so they need supplemental feeding. So my first step would be to track her weight. I actually tend to do this more by feeling them than actually weighing my buns.

How much does she weigh now and how does her spine feel? Can you feel her hip bones sharply or not at all?  1/4 cup of pellets is on the high-end of pellet rations, but if she’s a very large bun then it might be fine. She also is getting plenty of salad, so if her weight is high or she doesn’t eat a lot of hay, then you might reduce her salad a bit.

There are various joint-support related treats that I’ve tried over the years. Some I think have helped more than others. I had an elder bun that responded really well to Myristol, but my current senior hates it (lol).

I often give the Oxbow joint support treats to all my buns. Hard to say whether they help too much, but the buns like them and I haven’t had any issues with excess cecals. I’ve also tried the Sherwood prevention treats, but again hard to say if they help. The buns are 50/50 on whether they like them ahah.

With my geriatric bun who has trouble keeping weight on, I’ve been giving him supplemental recovery food twice a day just to give him some extra nutrition. There are several brands out there now and I finally found one he is excited to eat, so if keeping weight on becomes an issue for Jumping Jack I’d try dif brands until you find one she likes. 🙂

The final thing with aging buns is making sure their environment isn’t making arthritis worse, so the flooring should have good traction, and you should minimize her having to jump down off of things. Some buns also need a low-sided litter box if they have trouble jumping into their usual one.

. . . 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.  

[JackWabbit13]

She definitely isn’t a large bunny. I read that they should weigh about 4 pounds, I think she’s around that weight. Would it be accurate to weigh myself holding her, then just myself, and do the math? Or would that be a bit off since she’s so small compared to me? Her hip bones are definitely not sharp, and not visible, but you can feel them

I think her current pen is good. I would like to free roam her in my room. She has a little hut (which she throws instead of hides in), she doesn’t seem to have litterbox issues (the little jerk even digs up her used litter for me to clean up sometimes 😂), she has a nice soft bed (which, when she’s mad at me, is a great second litterbox 😂), and not anything she could jump on and off of. If I free roam her, I want to build or buy a ramp for her to get on the bed

[DanaNM]

Some people like to weigh their buns using a kitchen scale. Most times bathroom scales for humans aren’t quite accurate enough, but you could give it a shot?

Sounds like her set up is great. 🙂

. . . 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.  

[JackWabbit13]

We don’t have a kitchen scale. I’ll see what the bathroom scale gives me and post it here, see if it seems accurate. I’ll see what the vets get for her weight during her checkup, but that’s not until December-January-ish

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