My Boys lost Weight- Update

[LittlePuffyTail]

I’m concerned about Bindi and Stormy. Bindi’s lost a chunk of weight while dealing with his abscess a couple of months ago and he hasn’t gotten back up to his previous weight. He just keeps going up and down. He was always around 5 lbs which is a good weight, solid but not overweight. Last night we went to the vet because she wanted to re-weigh him and he was down from his weight from 3 weeks ago.

Im even more concerned about Stormy. He’s been gradually losing weight. For years, he’s always been 3lbs, 6 oz. Hes always been a good solid little guy but lately his weight has been decreasing by a couple of ounces. He’s at 3,3 now and he just feels way too bony, like there’s nothing to him. He’s 8 but he’s still eating and pooping lots. Seems a bit less active though lately. I took him in May for a senior wellness check and she said his teeth look fine, heart, lungs, everything was good. Last night we did some bloodwork. I’m really worried that I’m going to find out something is wrong. I will probably get the results Monday.

Im so tempted to just give them lots of pellets, but I know better. Stormy has had a couple of mild gas episodes the last few weeks.

Please send them some good health/weight gain vibes. I love my little guys so much.

[CinnabunMom]

Vibes for Bindi and Stormy!

[Sarita]

Check the teeth – my seniors have been having dental problems and it’s not always noticeable as far as habits.

[RabbitPam]

{{{{{{{Pudgy bunny vibes}}}}}}}}

I wonder if some more mushy healthy food would be appealing and pack on a few ounces. Like ground up hay in pumpkin, something like that. Just some tasty fruit slurries.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

VIBES!!

Are they eating well-could this be due to an intestinal parasite maybe?

[LittlePuffyTail]

Thanks, everyone.

Bindi had his teeth done in April and the vet said they hardly had any points at all so I doubt its a teeth issue with him. She checked Storms teeth with the scope during his exam and said they looked good. The next step, if the bloodwork is normal, will probably be to for her to check his teeth while he’s under just to make sure there’s nothing that she couldn’t see.

They are both eating and pooping lots. I’ve increased their veggies a bit and they always have as much hay as they can eat. They beg for treats all the time. That hasn’t changed.

Olivia is still pretty bootilicsious.

[Sarita]

Even little points may be a problem – just depends on how sensitive the rabbit is.

I know with Peppermint, there was an obvious point and you can only see so much with the otoscope. Once she had him under anesthesia she could see his teeth were uneven.

[MimzMum]

Meganommyvibes for your dear boys! I’ll be keeping them in my prayers.
Pip is the same way. She is massive though and eats whatever gets in her way. The lads are the two fussiest eaters I’ve ever dealt with…and I’ve had KIDS. 0_o
I hope they are both feeling better soon!

[LittlePuffyTail]

So, the good news is I got the results back from the vet and they were normal. His kidney, liver and blood count were just fine. The bad news is now we have to find out what else could be causing the weight loss.

My vet is on vacation right now but Stormy is scheduled for her first day back, on July 24th. She’s going to put him under and do a thorough dental exam. I’m super nervous because of his age. I’m trying to calm down because we know his blood work is healthy but he hasnt had anesthetic since his neuter and he was just a baby so a long time ago.

Anyone have any experience with elderly bunnies being put under? Sarita, I’m sure you do, any advice?

I’m going to weigh my boys every 2 weeks now instead of every month to make sure they don’t lose more. Just weighed Stormy at 3,3 and Bindi at 4,12. I’m going to talk to her about Bindi too when I go in. For now, I’ve upped their pellets a bit.

[Sarita]

LPT, my rabbit Toffee who is 9 or 10 is getting her teeth done ever 2 months now with no problem.

Peppermint who is 9 just recently had a dental and no problem.

Before this neither had been under anesthesia either other than their spay/neuter.

Now that being said, I wonder if she doesn’t see any dental problems if she might consider doing a head radiograph. I had my vet do that on Toffee and it showed some gum infection and we used baytril to help with that. My vet did not see it but the radiologist she uses saw it. It’s a shot in the dark but perhaps as the vet about doing that if she is still at a loss for what the problem could be.

Of course Toffee has lost no weight but I now give her pellets daily. Peppermint did lose a significant amount of weight but he won’t eat pellets. He seems to be doing better now. I don’t weigh him and I rarely pick him up because he is one stressed out bun, but I am going to try to pat him down this weekend to see how he feels.

[Sarita]

As far as weighing them are you weighing them at the same time each time you weigh them? I imagine that a few ounces can be due to drinking, eating, pooping, etc…

I know Bobby’s weight fluctuates between 1.5 to 2 pounds whenever the vet weighs him and he’s perfectly fine (except for the dental problems).

[LittlePuffyTail]

Thanks, Sarita.

Yes, I pretty much always weigh them at the same time; in the evening after run-time. It’s not just the scale though, I can feel they are too bony.

With Stormy, it’s also that I’m concerned about his lack of energy. Until very recently he was always super active during run time. Now he mostly just sits around and washes, I havent seen one of his famous couch zooms in quite a while. He’s lost his spunk and that makes me sad.

[RabbitPam]

I know how you feel about the lack of spunk. Sammy won’t come out of her habitat here (hates tile floors) and I am very worried that the long term effect of lack of exercise will be bad for her health.

Glad to hear that the test results were OK, but do you think he needs closer examination, or are you going to wait until some stronger symptom manifests next? I’m inclined to blame it on age at this point.

One thought: if he’s eating well now, he may have been overweight before and now he is digesting better so slimmed down because all is working well and wasn’t previously.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Ricky seems to think its age too but I don’t, because it seemed to happen so suddenly. Not a steady decline. Although he’s my first senior so I’m not really sure.

Getting his teeth checked is the first step and then if they turn out to be fine, I will discuss other things like X-rays. Gotta figure out what’s wrong with my boy.

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