Sorry this is such a long post, my wife is crying in the shower right now and I don’t really know what else to do.

My wife’s 9 year old holland lop rabbit has had a gunky eye for about 6 months. At first she did not think anything about it because it was just a little watery with the occasional eye boogers. After trying to deal with the issue herself for several months, she took him to the vet about 2 months ago. The vet put him on antibiotics but said he was not sure if it would help because it could be a sinus problem.

She gave him the antibiotics for about a week, but transparently stopped early because he started to avoid eating. he is not a bunny that enjoys human interaction at all, and he hated taking antibiotics 3 x’s a day so he would run, hide, and just get pissed.
The vet also suggested changing his litter box pellets from cedar pellets to paper bedding, which she did. after changing his bedding (and honestly not seeing any improvement from the antibiotics even tho it was only a week)

She took him back to the vet, about 3 weeks from
the first visit. Vet said we could try another antibiotic, and to try changing his hay from timothy to orchard. he also expressed concerns with weight loss. She thinks it could be because he kept hiding from her when trying to give him the antibiotics and that he wasn’t eating as much.
They both agreed this could likely be the issue but to keep an eye on him just in case. the vet also said that if it is sinus issues he would likely need x-rays and possibly surgery.. but also proceeded to say “but he is 9 and that’s already a longer life expectancy that most”.

She decided to try giving him the new antibiotic only once a day in hopes this would be less traumatizing for him and wouldn’t prevent him from eating. i also changed his hay to orchard hay. the antibiotics did not seem to work… again.. although he did gain his weight back! we then went on vacation a week ago, and when we returned we noticed his eye looked very irritated. by my 2nd day home it was fully infected.
She’s been giving him the same antibiotics the vet originally gave her and has been trying to manage it herself knowing there’s not much more the vet can do.
Today he seems disoriented :(
She will call vet tomorrow, but she thinks he won’t be much help.
We feel like we are at a loss with the little guy and don’t know what to do to help him.. He looks pretty rough..

Sorry if there is lack of information/ everything is all over the place, this is my first serious reddit post and have been typing based off of what she has been telling me, I don’t have the full story.

Has anyone had a rabbit with a uterine stump issue? I have a female rabbit with a plethora of health issues that are leaving vets stumped. I have seen 5 different exotic vets over the last few months and the most recent one explained to me that there is a possibility of a uterine stump issue occurring but we won’t be able to know until we can see a radiologist for a proper ultrasound. I was told an issue like this may mean euthanasia. If anyone has had a rabbit with this issue or any type of uterine problem and they have lived, I would really appreciate if you could share your experience on how you discovered this diagnosis and how your rabbit was afterwards. I’d like to be prepared if this is a real issue and if she needs to be euthanized or if she has a fighting chance.

I love that he feels this safe with me ❤️

pls wish her luck

I was finally able to get Ruby spayed, everything looked great and she seemed to be recovering really well, until one day she stopped eating and was cold to the touch. We rushed her to the ER and found out she (likely) had a kidney stone totally unrelated to the spay that caused her kidneys to crash. We tried fluids for a day in case it was extreme dehydration but she just kept declining so we opted for euthanasia.

Her bond, Edward, was also diagnosed with probable cancer, he has a mass on his arm that the doctor is not able to fully diagnose unless we do a biopsy, since i already had to spend nearly $2000 on Ruby between er care and spay, the $400-$800 cost of a biopsy is not possible for me. Our plan now is to just keep an eye on him until his quality of life declines, especially now that his bond has passed.

Its been a hard week, she was at least 5 and I rescued her off the street 3 years ago. He is also around 5, also rescued from the street (ive had him for 5 years). Going through her euthanasia was hard and knowing I will have to go through it again probably in the near future, im struggling with it. Im also feeling guilty that he is alone though he hasnt shown depression symptoms, I brought her home before and after the euth so he could have an understanding of what was happening.

I really thought she was in the clear after her spay so for her to decline so quick, im still reeling a bit. Its been a hard week

Rabbit with a slight head tilt, sneezing/nasal discharge, and suddenly eating less and losing weight – what should I discuss with the vet?

I’m worried about my rabbit Nowie and would really appreciate hearing your experiences and advice so I can prepare for my next conversation with the vet.

How it started:
Monday evening: Nowie suddenly developed a very slight head tilt (around 10 degrees) and was a little quieter than usual. He was still eating normally at that point.

That evening, I started Meranox (25 mg/ml) as a precaution against E. cuniculi (EC). He weighs around 2 kg, and I’m currently giving him 1.5 ml per dose. Initially, I wasn’t sure what dose he needed.
Tuesday: I took him to the vet. They couldn’t find anything unusual at the time. His teeth looked fine, and the vet also examined his abdomen by feeling it. He was still eating normally then and was even hopping around the floor at the clinic.

However, Nowie has been sneezing regularly through one nostril for weeks. On Tuesday, this suddenly became much worse, and he had noticeably more nasal discharge. The vet said they would prefer not to prescribe antibiotics without a clear reason, as the symptoms often return afterwards.

How he is doing now:
Since today, I feel that he has genuinely taken a turn for the worse. He’s much quieter and spends long periods sitting in his tunnel or hiding in his little house. Because he’s been so inactive, I also started keeping a closer eye on how often he uses his litter tray today.

Nowie really hasn’t been himself since Tuesday. Normally, he enthusiastically comes over to me in the morning for his food and even jumps onto the sofa. Now, he no longer comes over for food or treats on his own. I have to hold the food right under his nose, and even then, he only eats small amounts.

For example, he normally eats an entire three-cornered flaxseed treat in one go, but now he only eats a small part of it. He usually gets the whole treat into his mouth at once. He will still eat a few dried pea flakes, though.

Other symptoms I’ve noticed:
He’s lost around 100 g in two days.
I haven’t seen him drink. Normally, his water bowl is empty by the end of the day, but today he hadn’t finished all of it.
He has only used his litter tray twice today, as far as I’ve been able to keep track.
Thankfully, I’ve still seen him produce droppings, but he’s clearly eating much less than usual.
His temperature is 38.2°C (100.8°F).
I only started properly monitoring his litter tray visits today, so I’m not sure whether he’s also been urinating and passing droppings less frequently over the past few days.

What I’m worried about and what I’d like to ask:
Could the chronic sneezing and discharge from one nostril indicate an infection or another problem that could also be causing his current symptoms?

Would it be worth investigating this further or discussing antibiotics with the vet?

Could he still have molar or tooth-root problems despite the normal dental check? Could this explain why he’s eating so little?

Could the slight head tilt and change in behaviour indicate an ear infection, E. cuniculi, or another neurological problem? Today, his head actually seemed less tilted than before.

What tests or investigations would you recommend discussing with the vet in this situation?

Has anyone experienced a rabbit that initially seemed to be eating relatively normally but then deteriorated quickly, despite nothing being found during the first veterinary examination?

I’m going to contact the vet again, but I’m worried because Nowie has genuinely seemed to deteriorate since today, and I don’t want to overlook anything important.

I’ve attached a couple of photos from today. He does still go over to his food, but he stops eating very quickly (for example, he only ate four pellets from his evening meal). He’s spent almost the entire day sitting in his tunnel or little house.

Any experiences or advice would be greatly appreciated! ❤️

he just sits up even when he's sleeping or relaxed, he was abused pretty badly and kept in a small wire hutch before he was rescued a few months ago, so I'm guessing it might have to do with that?

I want him to be more comfortable so I was wondering how I could teach him to lay down, or if it's even possible to.

I've tried gently pushing him down while petting him but he won't even loaf.

He's picked up a couple of things from observing my first bunny like grooming/eating out of a hay feeder/using a litterbox, but I don't think he gets the concept of laying down even though she flops/sploots near his pen pretty much all the time.

(we're in the process of bonding so they're in separate pens and haven't properly met yet, I'm hoping maybe he'll pick up more once they're in the same pen and closer together?)

any advice would help!

He’s (5m old) gotten through the surgery no complications, given critical care at the vets as he wasn’t eating. As soon as he got home a couple hours ago he just laid down. Not too interested in pellets, but had a few nibbles of his hay and has pooped and peed also. I’m not too sure what else to do for him, trying to keep him warm with fleece blanket but he seems to prefer being pressed up by the wall despite his ears feeling a little cool. Any advice would be great, this is my first time so sharing your experience on the recovery would be helpful too. He has meds for gut and pain, as well as critical care. Thanks :)

I just came home and found this in a pile of otherwise normal poop. My rabbit is zooming, eating hay, just ate her cecotropes, following me around for food and has no behavioral changes. I did give her a leaf of radicchio last night. She is young (1 or 2 probably) and about 6 weeks post spay. I’m trying to understand if I need to go to the vet… we do have a great exotic vet.

CASE CRACKED!
Update: we have returned from exotic vet! Adult tapeworm confirmed - Drontal Plus given. It’s a rabbit-specific tapeworm and she most likely got it over the summer when she was stray before she landed in the shelter as this worm is contracted primarily through soil. Thanks for being kind and supportive. That scared me! I am mentally preparing for an influx of tapeworms in the litter box.

So. This might be long and maybe no one will read it, but I want to explain my bunny's health situation so that maybe it can help people give advice or i dont know, while we wait for the vet's answer. My baby, Salem, is a 6 years old female bunny.

When we first got her, we were badly advised by the people who gave her to us. We fed her pellets and hay, no greens. We were led to believe they were snacks, instead of the other way around. And they told us the only reason we would have to sterilize her was if we had a male one.

When she was two, we brought her to the vet for a check-up. She was obviously very overweight. We did out best to make her eat greens, tried to find out what worked for her and what didn't, and so on.

In a year and a half, she was of a decent weight again, though it kept fluctuating We started to ask about sterilization, but our vet seemed unsure (we later found out he treats bunnies but has no special qualification or anything, though he is competent for routine checks etc.), and the only actually specialized one was too far away so we were unsure of making her travel that long for a difficult operation. Between high temperatures that made her feel poorly (she was always kept in the only room with air conditioning), a small problem with sore hocks due to the flooring (we solved it), etc., she was four and still unspayed. She never missed a vet visit, and I always spent the biggest part of money on her. She had treats, a room entirely ful of toys and stuff, and she has always been very well loved. So, believe me when I say I wanted to spay her. But the words of our vet scared us off a bit: he told us it was our choice, and to wait off if she had any weird symptoms, because the chances of her dying during anesthesia were high. He repeatedly told us that bunnies are no cats or dogs, and that it was a very high risk procedure.

I kept feeling uneasy about it, but I belived it was best not to make her have surgery if the vet himself was not that sure.

Now she is six. She started having a teary eye, which led us to investigate for dental problems. Reluctantly we had to take her to the much further away yet specialized vet for a CT scan -she trembled a lot and scared us deeply, but she recovered from the anesthesia (and we found out they have a great protocol for anesthesia... that vet truly is great.) They removed two teeth, and emptied an abscess that was bothering her. We wanted to spay her next thing, as we were much more confident on her being able to go through anesthesia no problems.

Unfortunately, they found a mass, not on her utherus, but on her vagina. We are waiting for the vet to tell us if surgery is possible, but I am not so optimistic.

I can't stop crying honestly and I'm staying awake almost 24h everyday so she is never alone for a second (i am currently briefly unemployed). She is somewhat energetic, and a content bunny who loves cuddles, people singing, and arugula. But I know it will not last.

She is experiencing some signs she might not be well -she licks her privates a lot.

I know palliative care is an option... if some of you went through that, can you tell me how was it for your bunny?

I want to ve with her some more time, and cuddle and make her happy as we can. We have bought so many toys for her. But I have no idea if it's what's best.

Before the anesthesia (a week ago), she kept binkying, played like crazy, constantly had the zoomies. After, though, despite being cuddly, she is much more meek and less playful. Will palliative care help her be as energetic as she was before? Or is it better to let her go now that she is not suffering, if my vet tells me we can't operate her?

I want to do what's best for her. Money is not a problem, we can find a way. Any advice, no matter the cost, will do.

Thank you.

I think she likes her salad🥗

There names were timothy and Dimitri at the shelter

My beloved S'mores managed to wiggle her way to our modem and proceeded to enjoy a nice chewing session of cords. After taking the wifi out and having me drive 40 minutes to get everything replaced she celebrated her hard work with a good flop. (Ignore the mess it was clean this morning before two fat bunnies decided to spread their hay).