Ariel, Miranda, dental work & a stressful weekend!

[boogercj]

Hi! Long time since I’ve posted on here but I’m always check in from time to time to see how everyone’s bunnies are getting on. 

Ariel and Miranda, our 2 female house “lions” are 3 now; I can’t believe it! 

I thought I’d share our experiences this weekend, as our buns (and our nerves) have been through the ringer over the last couple of days. Both are recovering really well though, and I’m certain they’ll be up to their usual cheeky antics very soon. I’m very tired, so apologies of a lot of this is jibberish!

On Thursday, we noticed Ariel wasn’t quite her normal, cheeky self and seemed lethargic. She refused pellets, which is very odd for her. She accepted a raisin, but we noticed it was taking her ages to chew. She was still eating hay and a few veggies, but nowhere near the amount I’d expect. They sometimes have “off” days, and they are at the end of a moult too which sometimes causes them to be a bit off their game. Even so, we booked an appointment with our vet first thing in the morning to check Ariel over. 

We took them both to the vets, since they’re strongly bonded. We got them both checked over, just in case and Miranda had a slightly red tongue due to some spurs at the back. Their last dental checkup was fine, 6 months ago but I guess their teeth do grow at a very fast rate (4mm per month). Ariel was slightly worse though; her molars weren’t in great shape and she has “wavy” teeth which will require more work when they grow back in a month or so. Both bunnies were anesthetized and they burred the spurs down. Ariel had some remedial work done and had to have a fair bit more anesthetic; we asked for her to be x-rayed too, just to make sure nothing else was going on. Turns out she was fine, but because of the tongue pain her got motility had definitely slowed down. 

We picked up the bunnies at 6pm on Friday; poor little things were quite shaken up, as were we. The vet prescribed Metacam for pain relief, 7.5 kg dose, once a day for a week for Ariel, and for Miranda if she showed signs of pain. She also gave us some digestive stimulant to give to her twice a day, until she’s eating properly and some Recovery Plus (it’s a Critical Care equivalent by Supreme Petfoods) to give to her every 3 hours via a syringe until eating properly. 

So, this is where it got really stressful for us. I’ve read so much about rabbit health over the last couple of years and I really didn’t want either of them to go into GI stasis. I also am well aware how stubborn our rabbits are. This was going to be a mission! 

Ariel really doesn’t like being syringe fed. It took me quite a while to get the angle right, and when I did she spat probably half of the mixture out! It must have taken about an hour to do her first feed at 9pm. We stayed up, fed her again at 12am and eventually went to bed at about 4am. Got up at 7am and administered meds and more Recovery Plus. They went to see the vet again, who gave us some stronger painkiller (the type that is absorbed through the gum). We syringe fed her all day yesterday and she eventually ate a few bits of parsley and some hay, last thing yesterday, much to our relief. 

This morning, we syringe fed Ariel again and gave her the meds. Miranda was getting a little aggressive too, which we thought might be associated with a little pain, so we gave her some Metacam too. Seems to have done the trick. Come “dinner” time today, both bunnies are much happier. They’re both eating loads of hay and greens and a few pellets; both have flopped out tonight and are much more relaxed. There is a nice healthy pile of poos in and around both litter trays and we’re much happier bunny parents tonight. The vet wants to see them again tomorrow morning, and then again in a week.

It’s been quite a stressful time over the last 3 days but the bunnies have been amazingly resilient, albeit stubborn! I’m really glad we took them to the vets, who are a fantastic, rabbit savvy practice. The treatment has been spot on for them, and we seem to have avoided the dreaded GI stasis with Ariel. Miranda has been a bit stroppy; she’s a bit of a diva and I’m sure she’ll be fine in a day or so once everything goes back to business as usual. 

Conculsion: If in doubt, get your rabbit to the vet. it may save their life. 

[DUSTBUNNY-CLYDE]

so sorry for your stressful weekend!! I’m glad you took them and that they’ll be on their way to recovery!! good luck with your babies!!

[Sarita]

I agree and dental problems are usually a leading cause of stasis. And it will most likely be an on-going issue for your rabbits.

[boogercj]

Cheers guys. The vet said the same thing; it can be a genetic problem with “short nosed” rabbits due to years of inbreeding. Still, we adore our bunnies, and they will always receive the best of care from us.

They’re doing much better today. Eating and pooping loads, so we’re very pleased with them. Ariel has got some of her attitude back; shoving Miranda’s nose out of their little pellet bowl so she could get stuck in! You’d never know she’s the subordinate bunny. Lots of mutual grooming, flopping, chewing and all that good stuff. No binkies yet, but I’m sure they will soon.

We’re back at the vets in a week for another checkup and weigh in. Ariel had lost 200g since her last weigh in, which is about 10% of her body weight. The vet has instructed us to keep carrot to an absolute minimum; one small slice every other day, as opposed to “half a thumb” every day. She also advised us to gradually reduce their pellets to zero, which will encourage them to eat more hay, and minimise the effect of their dental problems. It won’t completely solve it, but may mean less frequent dental work to keep the spurs in check.

The one thing I’d say out of all of this, is I’m much more confident as a bunny carer now; it really stressed me out as I hate seeing any animal suffer, especially when it’s my little guys. However, this has shown that given the right and advice and support (thanks largely to this forum, too), we’ve managed to nurse Ariels back to almost full health in just a couple of days. Syringe feeding worked, which was the thing I was most worried about. Meds are comparatively easy, although I have a feeling Ariel loves the taste of Metacam. I’ll have to watch her!

[LittlePuffyTail]

There is no stress like unwell bunny stress! I can certainly relate. Glad you got your bun’s teeth done before they were too bad. My lop also had dental problems. We pay the price for those adorable, squishy faces, I guess.

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