Sydney Lester

Rabbit owners need to educate themselves about this rapidly spreading disease.

About rabbit haemorrhagic disease and its variants (Lagoviruses) — Frances Harcourt-Brown Contents Rabbit haemorrhagic disease Vaccination against new variant RHD Images of post-mortem signs of RHD Confirmation of diagnosis

It's time for a Friday Lagojoke: A rabbit hops into a bar. The barman looks at the rabbit and asks "would you like the same as last night?" The rabbit looks in horror and says "No, no, no, no... tonight, I'll have a pint of good ol' Scrumpy instead". So, the barman inquires "what's so wrong about the same drink as last night?" The rabbit looks at him and sighs and replies "I never, ever have the 'hair of the dog', it sends me into a right tizz!"

Wiffle to all... I haven't posted anything in such a long time as life has been very busy. To start with, I had my bladder stones out in September, then in early October, my bunny parents got married and I had the BIG task of looking after the rings for them... and then, in December, I met Delyth, my new wifebun. She's been poorly a couple of times, but the nice vet has fixed her. Here she is, my darling Delyth (Dilly).

An absolute must!!

Rabbits are prey animals, they hide illness well. Be vigilant, and make sure you have a rabbit savvy vet.

http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/resources/index.php?section=15things.html

Myxi & VHD UK Myxi & VHD UK

Did you know that a wild rabbit’s territory is equivalent to 30 tennis courts?

Don't disturb me, I'm chillaxing!

My bunny mummy made this for me. It's an old cotton pillow case, stuffed with recycled paper bedding. Great thing is that I can take this with me into boarding or hospital, making the situation less stressful. I can dig it, chew it, smooth it out and sleep on it.

Too true!! I even get in my mummy's breakfast bowl if she doesn't give me a treat before she starts eating!

Can anyone recommend a good rabbit behaviour book?

It is time for my next Wiffle in honour of my 35 day post Panacur treatment blood test for the E. cuniculi (EC) antibodies (IgG and IgM). The presence of IgG antibodies indicates a chronic infection. A study of domestic rabbits, which was undertaken at the University of Edinburgh in 2004, showed that 52% of all pet and laboratory rabbits have likely been exposed to EC at some point in their life. This means that they are carriers and/or have had the active/acute form of the disease, which some rabbits can recover from without medical intervention (Varga, 2013). However, it may be the case that the actual number of infected rabbits is much larger, and a study of 500 pet rabbits in the Czech Republic showed a positive IgG in 68% of their total study group, but in one group, infection was found in 86% (Jekolva et al., 2010). I can expect to have a positive IgG test result, but the one that hangs in the balance is the IgM antibody. The detection of this antibody indicates that the infection is still acute (active) and I hope that this isn't the case. Two months ago, I fell into the category of being one of the ~6% of rabbits in the UK with an acute EC infection.

What is EC? It is a single celled parasite. It is classed as zoonotic - in other words, it can pass between species to humans. However, the only documented cases of human infection have been where (two) individuals have been extremely immunocompromised, and their symptoms of infection have been atypical. Being a parasite, EC needs host cells to survive. Once absorbed through the intestines, the parasite finds these host cells in the brain/central nervous system, kidneys and eyes. The infected cells rupture, forming lesions and granulomas. It is thought that many rabbits can live with EC with only minor, or even no symptoms. However, as in the case of myself, an outside trigger in and older rabbit can suddenly cause a dramatic onset, and for me, the EC manifested itself in neurological complications due to lesions in the brain.

How did I get EC? Sadly, I contracted EC from my late wife, who didn't make it through a routine spay. I know this since, 63 days ago, I had a strongly positive IgM result, but a negative IgG, indicating infection within the previous 35 days. My wife was born at an adoption centre, and had an eye removed due to ongoing corneal irritation and deformation, before I met her (**Alarm Bell One**). She used to urinate lots and lots (**Alarm Bell Two**), and would sometimes drink the water bowl dry. However, the vets didn't think this was anything to worry about. EC is a cunning, clever parasite, which I'm sure has been very opportunistic in its method of transmission. What do rabbits do on meeting? Well, we can't help it, as gross as you humans think it is, we p*e on each other and we lick the other rabbit's wee too. EC is shed in urine and infects the next host rabbit when they ingest it, and hey, it forms granulomas in the kidneys too, causing excessive weeing - oh dear, a recipe for rapid cross infection within a colony.

How did I know that I was ill? The first sign was when I kept missing a step or two on the stairs (**Alarm Bell Three**). My bunny parents had noticed this, but didn't think it was significant. They'd heard to be worried if your rabbit has a head tilt. I didn't, nor did Ffion, so they dismissed this as being unimportant. After two months of having Ffion in our lives, I suddenly went into complete gut stasis after having had a seizure, and I had a tremor (**Huge, Massive Alarm Bells with extra bells on**). The OOH vet sent me back home, but then I became really, really ill and I ended up in hospital for a couple of days. The vets found a trichobezoar (a hairball for normal bunny folks - more on this one in another Wiffle) and looked to cure the common cause - dental disease, which I didn't have. Eventually (and a few vets later - time at this stage was not measured in days, but in vet surgeries), thinking that my trichobezoar was gut related, I was referred to have CT scan. Unfortunately, I didn't make it since the stress of a fairly warm car journey suddenly brought on the EC symptoms (**Final, big, huge Alarm Bell**). At the half way point of the journey, my bunny parents let me have a break and a run in my travel cage. But, I kept stumbling as if I was drunk. Luckily, they were straight onto this, and rushed me to the nearest vet who treated me for heat stroke (which it could have been), but I didn't improve. So, a few phonecalls later, I was on my way to be seen by the most super duper rabbit savvy group of vets. As the trichobezoar (I love that word) was so impacted and large, we had one prognosis, which was that it was a tumour, which had metastasised, causing a brain tumour. The other was EC and the bloods were taken, and treatment started. For a few days we nervously waited as test results came in in dribs and drabs, ruling out this and that. During this time at home, I could barely walk, I couldn't drink without help, I wasn't eating properly and my bunny parents were collecting greenery from the garden every hour to keep me going, and I kept having seizures (my bunny mummy said that these were really difficult to watch). In those few days, I lost coordination and couldn't clean my face standing up, and certainly struggled eating hay - I was flicking my head back to do so, and promptly falling over. We hoped for a result of EC, and after an ultrasound of my stomach ruled out cancer, the high IgG and IgM was confirmed.

I now wait.. I still have seizures and I've been told these may continue. If you believe your bunny is dreaming, it is true, some do, but as a prey species, only 6-8% of a rabbit's sleep time is taken up by REM... Before the EC, I never 'dreamed' and certainly not within a couple of minutes of lying down around the house. I have what is known as partial seizures. These are not as extreme as full tonic clonic seizures where you fit, lose consciousness and control, as with my first seizure. During my partial seizures, I am still aware of my surroundings. My bunny mummy was hoping to catch a video of my seizures to help educate others, but I haven't had one recently - which is a mighty good thing indeed. So, what do they look like? For me, it starts with a flicking of my lips and tooth-grinding, followed by flicking of eyeballs and ear twitching, then a backward and forward, jerking movement of the head, before spasms in my lower body, quite often with me suddenly coming round startled. My mummy was shocked, but not surprised, by the number of cute 'my bunny is dreaming' videos there are on the internet... as these rabbits' heads contort in different directions...

Lessons that my owners have learnt and would like to pass on to all to save other bunnies like me:

- Know you rabbit and know what is normal behaviour. If your bunny becomes depressed, changes their eating habbits or shows any other abnormal signs, please take them to your vet.
- Even if your bunny has the chronic form of EC (maybe slightly or asymptomatic), the parasite can still be potentially shed in, and transmitted by, urine, and so can infect other members of the group.
- Discuss with your vet Panacur treatment on bonding any new rabbit within your colony.
- Be aware of the signs and symptoms (head tilt, tremors, eye and kidney disease, seizures etc., etc. - see RWAF 'Hop to It' info), and remember it just takes a simple stress trigger for the disease to become very acute and dangerous for your bunny. Ask yourself whether the trip up the stair, or the tumble whilst cleaning, or the 'dreaming' as soon as your bunny lies down, are normal. Especially be aware of your bunny's normal eating habits. I suddenly became a massive hay eater and hated my dry pellets - the reason was I was craving indigestible fibre as my gut motility was slowing. NB: Intestinal hypo(low)motility can result from a multitude of illnesses and stresses - One bunny in a study didn't poo for 10 days because their routine was disrupted due to a light being switched on (Varga, 2013, and reference therein) - we can be sensitive souls, but our poos say so much about how we're feeling. KEEP SOME CRITICAL CARE AT HAND AT ALL TIMES.
- Don't be afraid of getting a second opinion from a bunny-savvy vet - trust your gut instinct (no pun intended).

Disclaimer: I am a rabbit and not a vet. I speak from my personal experience and any information provided is gained from reputable, and generally, p*er-reviewed or expert sources. If you are at all concerned about your rabbit, please seek professional veterinary advice asap.

I visited the nice vet again yesterday, this time for my 35 day blood test to see if the EC is out of its acute phase. There is a high chance that the parasite will never completely disappear. They kept on talking about my bladder stones too and mum has now learnt where my bladder is. No idea what she was squeezing the other day!

Here's a second one: A hare hops up to a bar and realises he doesn't have enough money for a drink. So, he says to the bartender, 'if I tell you a really good joke, will you give me a drink for free?' and the bartender replied 'no, you're just not bunny'.

My Friday joke: A rabbit binkies into a bar and asks the bartender for a beer. The bartender hands the rabbit a tiny glass with next to no beer in it. Disappointed by the lack of beer, the rabbit asks where the rest of his pint is, to which the bartender replied "ah well, it's because this is a rabbit measure". The rabbit stared on inquisitively and the bartender answered "well, it's three hops".

Tonight, I am perfecting my sideways binky. I've also worked really hard to get my owners' faces clean.

Really, really terrifying!! Haha!

There Is Nothing More Terrifying Than A Bunny Yawning Sweet baby Jesus.

My Friday joke - Why do rabbits never run in semi-circles?.. Because then they'd be rabbit pi!

I think that this is lovely .....

Rabbits are intelligent and inquisitive. If they’re bored, they may suffer so they'll need daily exercise!

So sad, and yet so true. A very good article indeed.

Dealing with the Loss of a Rabbit | Burgess Pet Care We bring pets into our lives for companionship and love. When it’s time for them to go, we feel the loss incredibly strongly. Although there will be those that

This is me cuddled up to mum this morning. I must be feeling a wee bit poorly. Anyone who says that animals can't communicate... fooey!!

Oh dear, back to the vets tomorrow as I have two new abscesses, possibly three. :-(

My Weekend Wiffle, with the help of the Textbook of Rabbit Medicine by M. Varga: My owners often grimace and pull faces when I eat my caecotrophs (soft faeces or night feaces - a misnomer, since wild rabbits produce these whilst resting in their burrows during the day), especially when I do so in the dining room and they accuse me of eating my own poo. But, they are wrong! Some strange animals do eat their own faeces. This is known as coprophagia. However, hear me humans when I tell you that this is not what I am doing. I am eating my caecotrophs, which are nutritionally rich and needed in my diet. Therefore, these do not conform to the definition of faeces, which is 'body waste'. Furthermore, the action of eating one's own ceacal material directly from one's a**s has its own term, known as ceacotrophy, so it must be special. I have to say the stinking chewy ones are definitely the best and they make me so happy, I love to lick your faces afterwards. I don't know why you have a problem with this, I'm just trying to spread some bunny love.

This is very pertinent for me right now, since I have a collection of bladder stones. Passing them is very painful (it actually made me scream/whimper) and potentially dangerous, especially for a male rabbit due to the longer and narrower urethra. If the stone complete blocks the passage of urine, then the bladder will continue to fill until it reaches its elastic limit. Within a few hours, it is an emergency situation. So what are the warning signs that you rabbit is finding it difficult to p*e? Classic pain signals - hunched position, teeth grinding etc. Repeated attempts to p*e and visible straining, along with circling and not much produced. I also get really cross with the litter tray and start shredding the paper. Disclaimer: I am a rabbit, not a vet. If you're worried about your rabbit, you should take them to your bunny-savvy vet asap. These are just useful tips from my experience - every rabbit is different.

Calcium and rabbit food — Frances Harcourt-Brown Calcium deficiency Calcium deficiency is linked with thin bones and dental disease. This can be seen in the above skull in comparison with a skull from a rabbit with healthy teeth and bones (below)

I'm glad that I'm not just left in a cage all day. This is also my hutch. I have no idea what I was trying to do though. Am I a dog? NB: apologies for the re-posting, but this one seemed to vanish.

A Hutch is Not Enough Pet rabbits face many problems - sold on-line, incorrect care advice, incorrect diet, lack of exercise, lack of companionship - our A Hutch is Not Enough campaign is trying to address all of these problems and more. Please support us.

Hahahaha!!... and then there are the revenge attacks... Wallpaper - mine, plaster - mine, skirting board - mine, chairs - I lick, I don't know why, but they taste so good, table legs - mine, wires - oh yeah baby, definitely mine, window sill...now there's a strange one, it's mine but only because I like to lie on it. I would never eat it, just do huge caecotrophs on it and lie on them and after about 30 mins they are so hard baked that the only method of removal is with a scraper. They are seriously the best thing since Super Glue. I repeat - hahahaha!

Bunny Proofing Your House | Indoor Rabbits Pet rabbits love to chew and dig. Learn tips on bunny proofing your house or apartment so you can protect both your home and your pet rabbit.

Humans make me so sad sometimes. Why can't they see all creatures as being worthy of respect, love, care and attention? We weren't asked to be born to be used as a toy and then discarded as such. Even though I'm a rabbit and you're a reptile and reptiles and rabbits don't really get along, I wish you well dear chap, and hope that you find your forever home soon. X

This morning, when I haven't been grumpy, I've been licking floorboards. I do the strangest things sometimes.

Blood test results were back today, and they were all basically fine. My calcium levels were a bit high, so maybe I need to follow Harcourt-Brown Rabbits CPD's guide a bit closer (see post below).

Sydney's mum here today, posting on his behalf as he's not very well. He's in a lot of pain and I wish he could tell me where. Rabbits do try to communicate and he's been trying his best; tooth grinding, scrabbling, biting and licking when I've been paying him attention, and then quiet and withdrawn when I haven't been. The next step can be stasis, so it's a good idea to be mindful of the signs that will tell you when your bunny is in distress. His lesions on his back have become very pronounced and dark coloured today. I'm hoping that it is bruising and not necrosis in the deeper tissues. I'm currently waiting for the vet to call me back.

I feel so good, I've just done my first absolutely mad pleasure run since I said goodbye to Ffion. Round and round, and through the tunnel, and under the table, and round, over the chair struts, and a binky before splat. It's been a while so I'm slightly out of puff. I never really used to do this before, only on special occasions. To be frank, you look silly otherwise. Just not as silly as my male owner, who, last week, decided to lie on the floor in the vet consultation room to demonstrate one of my seizures. You couldn't see my blushes, but mum on the other hand... I think she wanted the floor to open up.