Rabbit Losing Weight

[Bunnies]

So I had this the bun who had stasis last December his weight was 2.2 original then dropped to 1.6 more or less since it’s a digital scale not accurate as the “kinda manual” when you see actual pointer thingy I don’t see any parasites on the poop though it’s looking normal more or less his leg kinda weaker now though. Should I increase pellets little by little I do increase his hay. If for some reason it’s parasites any cheap safe as possible. Intestinal to be exact.

[Bunnies]

As I know he only did not eat normally for 5-6 days the rest the same as what I give him to maintain his weight I reduce his pellets since he had stasis. My two other buns are 4 years old 2.4kilos male and female 2.8 kilos is this normal for them they do look has fat and not skinny though you can feel the spine has a curve but not to deep compare to there papa bun ⁵ years old the one I’m talking about on the first comment.

 

[Wick & Fable]

If your rabbit is losing weight or having trouble maintaining a healthy a weight despite a healthy, age and size-appropriate diet (https://binkybunny.com/infocategory/healthy-diet/), then you should take your rabbit to a rabbit-experienced exotic vet for assessment. At-home treatments are not recommended for rabbits. Medication administration and dosing should be informed by veterinary assessment to actually figure out what’s going on.

Each rabbit can be different in terms of their healthy weight, regardless if they are the same breed/age. Here is a link with guidance on how to better assess whether your rabbit is of healthy weight: https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Weight_management

You can feed your rabbit a little bit more pellets to help with weight gain for a time as long as it’s not impacting hay appetite. What is “healthy weight” for this rabbit may differ from others, so use the resources linked and veterinary assessment.

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.

[DanaNM]

A drop from 2.2 kg to 1.6 kg is a huge weight loss (if I read your post correctly). If that is what the weight loss was, you should have him checked out at the vet to see what’s going on.

If the vet rules out other undiagnosed medical causes, they may have you supplement his diet with critical care to help him put back on the weight in a healthy way.

He should have unlimited hay regardless.

. . . 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.  

[ParsleyBun]

Yes, if your rabbit lost that much weight, you should definitely see a vet. But something nobody has  mentioned yet is feeding a little bit of oats to help gain weight. Don’t give very much, because that is unhealthy. That is NOT a replacement for vet care, but it could help your bun gain weight. Also, feed some hay cubes, those are great.

[Bam]

I’d have his teeth looked into, unless you have. A proper dental exam during full anesthesia plus dental x-rays. If a bun can’t chew properly it cant make proper use of the food it eats and it cant eat as much as it needs due to dental or jaw pain.

There are more sinister causes for drastic weight loss, and a full blood panel might give insights into what might be going on. A blood panel shows red blood cell count  white blood cells, platelets,  immunoglobulines and (other) inflammatory markers, blood glucose, liver enzymes, kidney function markers and more. Its a great diagnostic tool for rabbits.

Leg weakness is probably due to wasting (loss of muscle mass). It could also be neurological in origin, in which case E cuniculi should be suspected (e cuniculi is an intracellular parasite that commonly attacks the nervous system and/or the kidneys).

Rolled oats as ParsleyBun says are easy on the tummy, very tasty and can help the bun gain or at least keep weight on. You can also give a small amount of sunflower seeds and/or pumpkin seeds. Obviously start with really small amounts so as not to cause tummy upset.

 

 

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