Weight loss happening to any animals can be an indication of something bad, including rabbits. Rabbits are supposed to remain roughly the same weight throughout their adult years.
If they suddenly lose weight, especially a very sudden and rapid weight loss, then you should start to get worried. There must be a problem with their health. Make sure you also read the causes of loose weight drastically on rabbit.
Rapid weight loss in rabbits can be a symptom of a chronic underlying disease or condition, such as parasitic infestation, congestive heart failure, or environment. Let’s get to know about the 5 common causes of rapid weight loss in rabbits.
- Digestive Issues
The first common causes of rapid weight loss in rabbits is digestive issue. If your pet rabbit is losing weight and it has diarrhea as well, then it may experience digestive issues.
Diarrhea is mainly caused by the food it eats, either it is too high in carbohydrates or there is no enough fiber in its food. It can be simply solved by adjusting their diet with fiber until the stool returns to normal.
If you’re planning your rabbit to gain weight, feed them these food that are beneficial for gaining your rabbit’s weight.
Another cause of diarrhea is the presence of virus in its digestive system. This mainly happens after the rabbit is left to roam the backyard often. It may ingest parasites as it digests grass, flowers, and other plants. If this case happens, bring your rabbit immediately to the vet.
- Dental Issues
Besides digestive issues, your rabbit may also lose weight due to dental issues. This is what will make it eat less and as a result it starts to lose weight.
Check its mouth for any soreness, swelling around the jaws or any abscesses around the teeth. It is also possible that it has some overgrown incisors or molars. All of these conditions will cause discomfort every time it eats. Also spend time reading about how to trim your pet rabbit’s teeth.
You can also suspect that your rabbit is having dental issue if it starts to become aggressive when you try to open its mouth. If this happens, bring it to the vet and never force to open its mouth as it may cause serious injury to your hands and fingers.
- Stress
Stress is the silent cause of any diseases, all diseases can be rooted from stress. Stress can be coming from any things around them, such as the environment. If you have another pet, such as cat or dog at home, then they may cause the rabbit to become stress.
Dogs and cats are curious creatures, so they tend to hang around the rabbit’s cage often and it makes your rabbit stressed. Your rabbit will see these two animals as threat to it.
Another cause of stress can be coming from children. They may go to the rabbit’s cage and start hitting the cage and making noises. The rabbit may get startled and this condition will stress it out as well. Get to know these signs your rabbit is depressed too!
- Old Age
As the rabbits are aging, they start to lose weight. This is usually caused by decreased appetite, however, it is considered as normal part of the process of aging.
If your rabbit experiences weight loss but does not experience any of the above symptoms, you can give it extra food which is more than normal. If it doesn’t get interested in eating, then you can try giving it supplements.
You can also try extruded nuggets, which are specially made for senior habits. They are intended to be fed to older rabbits so that they can meet their dietary needs.
- Cachexia
Cachexia is a health condition of rabbit where it loses weight along with its muscles. So, your rabbit does not only lose weight, but it also loses muscles mass.
There are some symptoms associated with cachexia in rabbits, such as bad breath smell, erratic breathing, stomach bloating, drooling from the mouth, bad breath smell, and teeth grinding.
As you see, rapid weight loss in rabbits is not a normal condition. Instead, it can lead to serious health problems and even death. Whenever you realize that your rabbit loses weight, try to find out the causes and take your rabbit to the vet to be examined.
Spend time reading some about rabbits in the following articles forbidden foods for rabbit to eat and how to treat ringworm in rabbits so your pet could be healthier.