old rabbit?

Question
I have a male dwarf rabbit and he is about 6 years old. For a while now he's been behaving not like he used to.

First of all, he is always peeing, almost uncontrollably. We have to clean his cage about every 2 days (we used to do it about every 4 days). His bottom is always wet and the fur in that area is matted and untamed, so we have to wash his bottom with water about once a week. Poop and his bedding get stuck down there to and we clean it up when ever we pick him up. What's happening? Is it old age that's making him unable to clean himself down there or is he sick? I should add that he has always had a teeth condition that requires us to trim his front teeth (we've had vet direction and approval for this), but his teeth are at a good length.

Another problem is his walking. When we put him out(in the garage) he seems to wobble around and doesn't walk very well. He almost trips on his back legs. His nails are trimmed so we think it might be that most of the back half of him is irritated. Of course he's always been rather lazy, sitting in one place. But he used to explore much more than he does now. Is it that he doesn't like the garage? Is there any kind of flooring that he would like better to exercise on?

He's getting old and we're getting worried. Please help us to make our rabbit happier. Thank you for your time.

Answer
Dear Jackie,

At the age of six, your bunny is not at all old.  Many rabbits are now living well into their teens with good veterinary care that has improved immensely over the past ten years or so.  You will need an experienced rabbit vet to help you with this problem, and you can find one with the lists linked here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

However, he *is* at an age where he could be showing the signs of a lifelong infection with a parasite known as Encephalitozoon cuniculi, which infects both the kidneys and the central nervous system.  Please read:

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/3-2/e-cuniculi.html

and

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/paresis.html

It's extremely important that he begin treatment for this parasite if the vet thinks E. cuniculi is to blame.  Damage to the kidneys and nervous system are not reversible, but the parasite can be stopped from causing further damage with drugs such as Panacur (fenbendazole; do NOT use albendazole which is far more toxic to the bunny) and/or ponazuril.  The sooner treatment is started, the better his chances for full recovery, or at least an arresting of the damage before he can't walk.

Other urinary tract problems can cause incontinence:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/urinary.html

but his combination of incontinence with back end weakness are huge red flags for E. cuniculi.  I hope you can get him to a good vet and get his treatment started ASAP.

Hope this helps.

Dana