Senior Bun with Mobility Issues

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This topic has 2sd replies, 2 voices, and was last updated 5 years, 11 months ago by Patricia.

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- 12/07/2018 at 7:16 PM
  Patricia
  Participant
  2 posts
  Hello everyone,
  
  I am hoping that someone might have some ideas on how we can help to support our senior bunny. Lucy turned 12 in August. Her vet has diagnosed her with arthritis in her hips and possibly her back. She also has experienced some muscle loss as she has gotten older which the vet said is common for her age. The issue we are having is that she seems to be having occasional mobility issues. It doesn’t seem very frequent but a few times I have witnessed her being unable to get up from a lying down position. She will kick her hind legs really hard but seems to be unable to twist her hips to right herself. Luckily, Lucy is a very trusting rabbit so as soon as she feels my hand on her, she instantly calms down and lets me help her. So far these incidents haven’t seemed to really stress her out much as she immediately gets affectionate (she’s a licker ) and will accept and eat treats right after it happens, but I am worried about what would happen if I am not around and she is unable to get back up by herself.
  
  Any ideas on how we can help her?
- 12/07/2018 at 10:36 PM
  tobyluv
  Participant
  3310 posts
  Hello and welcome to Binky Bunny. Did your vet give any pain medication to Lucy? One of my past bunnies (a senior) started having motility issues due to arthritis, and the vet started him on Metacam. His motility was much improved after that, so apparently he had been in pain. As time went on and he got older, he began having problems again, but we were happy that he felt better and moved better for the time period when the Metacam was helping.
  
  There are alternative therapies to help rabbits with arthritis and pain. Here is one article about that. Not all vets are familiar with or perform these treatments.
  
  https://rabbit.org/alternative-therapies-to-treat-rabbit-pain-and-musculoskeletal-issues-and-to-stimulate-wound-healing/
  
  I hope that you will get some other advice here and that you find some ways to help Lucy.
- 12/08/2018 at 9:50 AM
  Patricia
  Participant
  2 posts
  Thanks for replying @tobyluv! The vet put her on metacam and she has seemed a bit perkier although she is still having issues with getting up. The funny thing is that she doesn’t seem to be in pain when it happens. It seems like she is just unable to twist and rather annoyed by it. Thanks for the article! I am going to try some of the ideas.
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