Well, it looks like Jolene’s eye situation is related to an even bigger problem. The vet thinks she has an abscessed tooth and she’s scheduled to go under anesthesia on Tuesday morning.

The eye is affected because of whatever’s going on with her tooth. Also, the vet pointed out to me where Jolene’s chin and neck were scraped raw from digging. It’s turned into a rash. I swear that I spent time with her every day and never noticed it–she has a substantial dewlap. Apparently, the dewlap makes it worse because it traps bacteria against her neck. This morning, I saw that the bald patch had started creeping up toward her mouth.

She’s had her eye partially stuck since last Saturday night. I didn’t start getting concerned until Mon, when it hadn’t changed. I followed some website advice and tried using solution to rinse out her eye starting Tues. By the time I was able to get an appointment on Fri., her eye had been wonky for almost a full week.

The vet diagnosed her without taking any Xrays or trying to look in her mouth. I was suspicious about this, and wanted a second opinion (the vet I prefer was unavailable; apparently a lot of them are going to a conference). I ended up calling a HRS-approved vet and an assistant said that although she hadn’t examined Jolene, it did sound a lot like a tooth problem.

I feel guilty as h3ll and want to cry. I don’t know if I haven’t been feeding her enough hay, or if I’m giving her too much fruit. I’m really scared too. I’ve read trabbits living in chronic pain the rest of their lives because of tooth problems.

Posted By jerseygirl on 07/31/2010 07:49 PM

(((Jolene & Billie))) It’s not necessarily anything you have or have not done. Dental abscesses are common unfortunately. I had read rabbit often don’t have pain from abscesses unless it starts to impinge on nerves. Has she been showing any discomfort?

My feeling here is get a second opinion. Or get this vet to do xrays before scheduling surgery. I would want to know for sure there is an abscess and the extent of it before embarking on surgery.

 

Also, the vet pointed out to me where Jolene’s chin and neck were scraped raw from digging.

?From digging outside? Or from diggind/scratching at her chest? Seems odd…
There can be bacterial infection that causes fur loss though. It can get humid near the skin when there’s a large dewlap. Jolene is young isn’t she? Is she spayed? I’m surprised she has a large dewlap.

She was a little touchy/less active, but I had chalked that up to not being able to see all that well.

The vet said she will put Jolene under anesthesia to check in her mouth. If she sees a problem tooth, she’ll extract it. After watching Jolene worsen this weekend, it seems to make sense that it’s a tooth problem. Now she’s started drooling uncontrollably.

I think the rash may have been from scratching at her neck. Then, the bacteria from under her dewlap turned what was a bald spot into a rash. It’s been creeping toward her mouth–I think due to the drooling. She’s 9 months old, the age when Flemish Giants are supposed to start breeding so that might be why she has a sizable dewlap already. 

Posted By RabbitPam on 08/01/2010 12:04 PM
Don’t beat yourself up. You are getting her the help she needs, although I would agree that a second opinion would make me feel reassured too since I am surprised the vet didn’t examine the teeth more closely. But you don’t want to prolong her situation. When is the vet you like coming back?

Unfortunately, the HRS vet I’ve used before isn’t coming back until this Thursday. Another HRS vet is out until the following week.

I think I would have insisted on the X-ray if it weren’t for the fact that Jolene got worse over the weekend. 

Posted By Sarita on 08/02/2010 11:17 AM
Most likely putting her under anesthesia to check the mouth is the best way to see the dental problems. This is usually the very best way to examine a rabbits mouth more closely.

That is in fact what happened. Jolene went in on Tuesday to have her mouth checked. She didn’t  require surgery. The vet did end up filing down some points that she said might have been bothering Jolene. They’ll might need it done annually. The weird eye and rash under the neck were probably from her scratching at her face.

I packed a lunch full of her favorite things so she’d be tempted to eat when she woke up: cilantro, basil, banana, apple and pellets. I felt like a mom!

The vet recommended I feed Jolene yogurt since she’s on antibiotics. I bought some pricey organic yogurt full of live cultures, but it’s pretty funny how much she hates it. I smeared some on her mouth and chin once and she freaked out trying to fling it off. I’ve had to create a special mash with pellets, apple juice, water and banana to hide it.

The damage to my wallet for a visit, anesthesia and prescriptions? $400. I’m really happy that she didn’t have any infected teeth though, so the cost doesn’t sting that much.

Thanks for all the advice/concern.

Posted By mrmac on 08/05/2010 06:05 PM

Feel better Billie and Jolene! I hope she starts feeling better and that rash goes away! If it wasn’t the tooth causing the eyelid to show did they have any inclination as to what ws causing that?

The vet said she thinks Jolene injured her eye while scratching with her back foot. After watching her do this, I could see how that might easily happen. She has been scratching herself a lot lately, though she doesn’t have any ear problems (vet checked down to the eardrum) and I don’t see evidence of fleas.

Posted By Moonlight_Wolf on 08/06/2010 08:35 AM
I thought that rabbits weren’t supposed to eat yogurt. My rabbit vet said to never feed your bunny yogurt, even the receptionist knew to tell me this. Because once a different vet told me to feed Fern yogurt after he gave her antibiotics (this was before we found a vet we liked), but then the HRS recommended one said otherwise.

Hmm. I had checked on the HRS website before feeding it to her, and they also recommend yogurt when a rabbit is on antiobiotics to help replenish good bacateria, same as people. However, I do know that many rabbit owners advise against giving yogurt drops as a treat because of the sugar.

Posted By Sarita on 08/09/2010 05:48 PM
The HRS website is very contradictory concerning yogurt. It is dairy though and that’s definitely not in a rabbit’s natural diet once they are weaned.

I just read another part of their website in which they caution against yogurt. This drives me nuts. I defer to HRS in most instances, thinking of them as the rabbit authority so to speak, so I don’t like not having a consistent answer.

So far, Jolene has had yogurt twice. I mixed a teaspoon in with some pellets, a slice of banana and some water. She will only eat it if I spoonfeed it to her. So spoiled. Anyway, I think I’ll look into getting the bacteria in another form since the yogurt is now questionable. I guess you can buy dried acidophilus at health food stores.

Thanks for the tip! I think I will actually give the HRS vet a call tomorrow and ask her if I can use the Benebac sold at the pet store.

I’m not going to be taking Jolene to the vet who did her tooth filing anymore. This is the second time I’ve gotten inaccurate/unreliable info from that office (the other being the diagnosis that Jolene had grass tetany, which a Google search indicates only occurs in cattle/ruminant animals). And she is billed as a rabbit specialist!