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Forum DIET & CARE Vinnie is drooling….

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    • T-Bun
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        …first off, I’m going to get him to the Vet as soon as possible, of course, just looking for advice.  He had a checkup two weeks ago and the Vet didn’t see any problems with his teeth at that time, but he’s really drooling up a storm.   Still eating pellets, but won’t touch his veggies (except for carrots, but those might just be too good to resist.  I read on another site that greens might be the first thing a bun with tooth issues turns down, don’t know if that true or not).    Other than that he seems fine.  He’s 7 yrs old, and has had one abcessed tooth removed, so I know this is most likely more dental issues, but I’m not going to get to sleep tonight until I post!  Poor little bugger.  He’s only been with me 2 months so getting him to trust me is still a work in progress, and getting him into the carrier doesn’t help.


      • RabbitPam
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          I used to worry about getting Sammy into her carrier, but when there was a medical need she was much easier to handle, so he’ll be fine with that.
          It does sound like more dental issues. Is your vet experienced in tooth care in rabbits? Was this the vet that removed the abcessed one? If so, continue to see her. If not, you might get a second exotics specialist to see him in case you need someone with more experience in tooth treatment. Problems can happen fast, so he probably was OK during the check up, but something may have been missed. Perhaps the hole from the removed tooth is allowing saliva to escape more easily out of his mouth.


        • Beka27
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            The vet might want to sedate him to do a more complete dental check, and hopefully if there are any molar spurs, they can be removed at that time.

            I would let the vet know that you were just there and suddenly this drooling is happening.


          • T-Bun
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              Thanks for the replies. These are rescue buns, so the vet I see is not the one who removed the tooth. The practice specializes in exotics. The vet who examined him 2 weeks ago is really expert, but he won’t be there now (does a lot of traveling for vet work) so I’ll be seeing someone else. I always like to see the top guy, but he’s not there a whole lot, unfortunately.


            • Sarita
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                I agree, it’s most likely dental – definitely have the vet sedate him to do a more thorough exam of those molars.


              • T-Bun
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                  Hi again, thankfully I’ve gotten him an appointment later today with the other rabbit doc at the practice. I’ll update later afterwards, thanks for the hand holding!


                • T-Bun
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                    Ok, so the vet didn’t find anything wrong with his teeth. The molars were a little “jagged”, but he didn’t think they were the cause and/or warranted the risk of general anesthesia to file them down. He thinks it might be an infection of some sort (he even questioned if he was drooling or if his nose was really runny, which seems unlikely to me…), so we’re going with a 10 day course of a liquid antibiotic.


                  • LittlePuffyTail
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                      Sometimes even jagged molars can cause a bunny to show dental symptoms. Some bunnies are more sensitive than others.

                      What type of infection does the vet suspect?

                      Is he still eating hay?


                    • Sarita
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                        Hopefully the antibiotics work. However, never rule out that the jagged bits of teeth aren’t uncomfortable to him – like LPT mentioned some rabbits are more sensitive than others to these problems.

                        In my experience once one tooth is removed, it causes problems with the other teeth aligning and moving and this can cause molar spurs and ridging teeth as well.


                      • T-Bun
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                          Ok, so it’s been 7 days on the antibiotics, and he’s still drooling. Not as much, but still there. I don’t think the antibiotics really had anything to do with the improvement as it was right away (the next day) after starting them and I don’t think that’s enough time for them to have had an effect, but who knows. At any rate, he’s still drooling and still not eating normally (although I’m sure the meds could be rough on his tummy) so we’re going back to the vet this evening just to be safe.  We’ll see what the doc says.


                        • LittlePuffyTail
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                            Let us know what the vet says.


                          • T-Bun
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                              Ok, back from the vet…he was more concerned with his hydration level this time around, and Vinnie’s loss of appetite (which has been steadily decreasing over the last few days), so he did a blood panel, which thankfully came back normal for kidneys, liver, and glucose. He also gave him some sub-q fluids, told me to continue the antibiotics for the rest of the prescribed course (10 to 14 days total) and to keep an eye on his drooling and appetite. He also had me pick up some Bene-Bac, which I’ll start adminstering tomorrow. Poor little guy’s been through a lot today. If there’s no improvement by the weekend, he’ll go back in for an x-ray to check for gut stasis.


                            • Sarita
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                                I still have to think it’s the teeth since he’s had dental problems in the past. Drooling and loss of appetite or a change in eating habits are signs of dental problems and you mention jagged bits. Since baytril is safe for rabbits it really should not cause stomach upset.

                                If this were my rabbit I would want him sedated and have the vet do a very thorough dental exam.


                              • T-Bun
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                                  He keeps saying he doesn’t want to risk anesthesia because he doesn’t think the teeth are bad. The other vet looked at his teeth during their first “general” check up a couple of weeks ago and didn’t notice anything either. I really don’t know what to say at this point. I guess I could insist if things don’t improve.


                                • Sarita
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                                    I’ve had my vet many times look at my seniors teeth with an otoscope and feel it wasn’t so bad but when she sedated them and got a better look, she saw more problems. I’ve had my two 10 year old rabbits sedated quite regularly (which I don’t like to do either) for dental problems (bloodwork was done of course initially).

                                    My vet says my seniors all have the “wave” in their teeth which means they are growing all at uneven rates (hard to explain). I’ve had to take my female in every 2 to 3 months for the past year to have her teeth filed and if I remember correctly she has lost a tooth and has had some major gum problems.

                                    It’s just something to think about with our older rabbits who have had past dental problems – I think as well as rabbits age they lose alot of bone mass so this can have an affect on their teeth as well.


                                  • T-Bun
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                                      Ok, thanks for the info. We’ll be going back next week and I’ll talk to him about it (assuming no improvement).


                                    • LittlePuffyTail
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                                        I agree with Sarita. My vet looked with an otoscope and said the teeth “weren’t too bad” but after further dental-related symptoms we put him under and his teeth were really jagged and there was a lot of food impacted around his molars causing inflammation of the gums.

                                        With seniors, it’s always recommended that you do pre-anaesthetic blood work.


                                      • T-Bun
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                                          Thanks guys, still drooling and no improvement when it comes to eating his greens and carrot. He still gets “excited” at feeding time for the greens but won’t touch them when I put them in front of him. He still eats pellets and fruit, and is drinking plenty of water. Haven’t seen him eating any hay recently. He’s still pooping but they seem to be getting smaller, which may be a result of him not eating greens I guess.

                                          I know the vet said the next thing he would do is x-ray for gut stasis, but he’s not behaving like that’s the problem. I don’t have a whole of experience with buns other than my first, but Vinnie is still very active and still has an appetite for certain foods. Crystal, when she was experiencing tummy troubles, was the opposite of that.

                                          I’m really struggling with the idea of insisting on sedation and a full dental exam (we had a “cousin” bunny who didn’t come out of the anesthesia for her spaying, so I’m a little leery of it). With drooling being the primary symptom that started this all off, I also don’t understand why the vet is chasing zebras instead of horses. I guess I’d feel more comfortable if he made the call on putting him under, but I’ll do it if I have to.

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                                      Forum DIET & CARE Vinnie is drooling….