Hyperthyroidism in Rabbits

When my feisty, fun, silly (usually) sweet little lionhead/hotot bunny named Lucy Bunbun the Chewy Furby Bunny turned into an inactive, depressed, grumpy, hormonal little mess of a bald bunny, I tried to explain away the symptoms. I blamed the balding on a big fur shed. She was always a big shedder but, admittedly, this wasn’t a normal shed. Her fur came out in huge gobs or clumps (like when a mother bun pulls her dewlap hair to create a nest). Then, there was the behavioral changes, there were moments I thought she really was possessed and other moments everyone feared for their lives and limbs (she may have been 2.5 pounds, but she was a force to be reckoned with). I realized it happened every afternoon around 1-2 pm and often, she would lunge or launch herself at me, set for blood. Lucy was always curious, always exploring and getting into something and suddenly, she was tired a lot more often, lazier, her hop and spice of life was replaced with disinterest but at four years old, she was too young to really blame old age. The changes started right after a small hurricane resulted in a full house remodel, so I blamed some of it on the stress of the remodel (carpets changing to wood floors, people coming in and out, a lot of scary noises). When I looked at her one day morning (after a particularly major hair loss night), I realized she was pretty bald, okay she was nekkid, she was very un-furry. She became the rabbit equivelant of a naked mole rat. A call into my adviser at our local rabbit rescue and Lucy’s vet resulted (of course) in an appointment.

They ran some blood work which came back showing she had hypothyroidism. We were sent off to LSU Vet hospital where they ran scans and more tests. Lucy had to stay a few nights because the radiology tests made her urine dangerous to me. During this time, my girl was in solitary confinement and only interacted with those in full hazmat gear. For this always-social, extremely snuggly bunny, this was a traumatic experience but the students and faculty spent a lot of time in there working with her and soothing her. When I returned, I was presented with two options. One was treating her with something almost eqivelant to chemo, it would have been one treatment and done. But it was never done on a bunny (it was used to treat cats) and it would have meant two full weeks in isolation. I knew she couldn’t take that, she would have died from sadness, missing me, and stress. The other option (again, not really done in buns at the time) was a daily dose of medication twice a day forever. FORRREVERRRRR. It was a bitter medicine that wasn’t pleasant and I couldn’t use pumpkin or treats to mask the flavor. I chose the latter because I felt it was the less evil of the two. We didn’t know the long term effects or if it would even work, but it was the path I chose.

Though medicating was difficult because she truly hated it (twice a day she would kick, claw, and fight me but I would get it in her), the hormones calmed down and her fur started regrowing in just two weeks. She was more active and slept less, though she never returned to the full energy of her pre-thyroid issue days. She lived another four years on the medication and though it was something we both hated, I still feel like it was the best decision for Lucy. If I had a bunny who was shy or not as social, I probably would have chosen the radiology route.

If your rabbit exhibits any of the symptoms listed, please get her thyroid checked. It is not routine and because it is uncommon, most vets don’t even consider it. But if all of the other tests come back normal, this may be your answer.