Senior rabbit?

[Amys Animals]

 So I have had Freddy here for a few hours now.  I have been observing him and he seems like he might be a senior bun despite the rescue saying they don’t think he is.  He moves slowly and can’t really get in and out of the litter box well.  He does have recovery sore hocks from being on a wire cage most of his life…I don’t know if that has anything to do with it?  

I know it’s not easy to tell the age of a rabbit but I am pretty positive he is a senior bunny.  Not sure how old… When I officially adopt him and take him for his examine at the vet I will ask how old she thinks he is.  I am thinking maybe 7 years old.  If he is 7 I feel terribly bad for him because he was part of a hoarding case and hardly had any contact with people and was neglected and on a wire bottom cage.  

 

If he’s not an older bun he just may have some issues going on, which god forbid that is the case.  Let’s just hope he’s older and pretty healthy for the most part.  

 

Anyone know how to really tell if he is a senior bunny?  

[BinkyBunny]

Coming from a  hoarding case, he could have been malnourished, not enough exercise, injured, etc which could all lead to mobility issues which may make him seem like a senior bunny even if he is not. Sometimes you can tell via teeth if they are yellow as that can indicate a bunny older than five — HOWEVER, that is not always the case as a bunny that has been in a situation like Freddy has, teeth can be yellow even for a younger bunny. Ironically, even though my bunny was estimated around 6 when I got her and her teeth were dingy, but over time her teeth whitened a bit.

It is already difficult to to age bunnies, but when a bunny comes from a situation like poor Freddy has, it can even be more difficult because some of his symptoms may not be related to age, they may very well be due to where he came from. In time, with loving care, his movement and strength may improve quite a bit.  If the bunny wasn’t able to move around much, his muscle strength will be quite poor, but that doesn’t mean that he can’t get stronger with better care with a new loving family.

I adopted a bunny who was originally in a neglect case. She was taken away from the owner by the Animal Care and Control. She had a funny walk because her spine was crooked. The vet said it could have been due to genetics, but if she was stuck in a small cage and didn’t move much and didn’t have good nutrition, it could have been due to that as well.

There also might be old injury or something else that is causing this, so it will be good to have the vet check Freddy over. Keep us updated!

[Author]

Messages