Moo, the 7 year old widower

[Hive-n-Honeycomb]

Hi there,

The Backstory: For years, I have purchased mazes and all sorts of fun things from this site. I’ve looked at the forums off and on as well ever since my life with lagomorphs began seven years ago with my Moo, a Dutch Dwarf who is as I am sure you have guesses black and white. I got Moo when he was two weeks old from a closing pet store out in the boonies of town. A month later, we got Jellee to be his bonded mate. My gorgeous white and grey Holland Lop beauty queen passed away in July of last year. It happened quite suddenly, the veterinarians that we’ve spoken to say that it was most likely an unknown heart related issue that wasn’t shown in blood work or annual visits. They both were just over six years old when this occurred.

The Sludge: Directly after this happened, my Moo stopped drinking water for a couple of weeks. He had to get fluids until his depression and re-acclimation lifted. Soon afterward, our battle with bladder sludge began which involved a day stay with fluids and bladder expression. Fast forward to three weeks ago, he has had sq fluids every once and a while for the sludge. One evening, there was a lot, not a drop or two, but puddle after puddle of sludge so he was xrayed and it revealed an entirely white bladder. So came more fluids, ever day since bunny stopped drinking water again. Recheck a week later showed no change. It seems as though the bladder is encased in the calcium. It reminds me of when you are cooking something sticky. It stays on the sides of the pot but doesn’t effect anything within the middle of the pot. In addition to this, his potty droplets have slowed down. He’s still going and eating like normal but they have diminished in quantity.

During this last year, I have followed the CA guideline and kept every single item under 1.5. I have been giving watery red/green leaf lettuces, cucumber, and celery. He was on 1/4c of Oxbow Adult pellets but is now on half of that to cut out calcium even more. I have mixed his water with cucumbers, pineapple, and apple. I have also moved around from faucet, spring, and purified waters to no avail. He will barely nibble at it. Once every few days, he’ll drink some water but not even close to make his daily need. I have been giving sq fluids to keep up the requirement while still trying to encourage the water. He just will not do it.

The Possible Partner: As I said, my Moo is now seven as of May first and it has almost been a year since Princess Jellee Queen passed away. I am not sure if the reasoning for this is behavioral because of the loss of her or if he is simply predisposed to the sludge and not drinking water. I have a feeling it is a mixture of both. My concerns for getting another mate are in two parts. One, what if I were to get another mate and it passed away before Moo? It would leave him in the same spot but possibly worse off as he would be older by then. Then there is the flip to that, the new partner could be alone like he was if he was to go first. I feel as though the cycle would never end, that someone would always end up alone and that I would never stop getting another rabbit. I am concerned about bringing in a new bunny as he is going through this as well but also feel like it may be a piece of the answer key. Just not incredibly sure on this  one and I have received mixed input from various professionals, veterinarians, etc. so it was time to bring the question to the parents of other bunnies.

Thank you for reading and I hope to hear from you all soon!

[Hive-n-Honeycomb]

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