Drooling please help

[Ivana]

This happened literally over night. I noticed it yesterday and I read pretty scary things on the internet. I’m taking her to the vet on Monday. She’s totally fine and relaxed and doesn’t have changes in behavior. I don’t know what might be da cause for this, but i don’t think it’s dental problem because she had her teeth checked last time at the vet and i checked them again today they look great. I don’t know what to do please can somebody share their experience with drooling? 

[Bam]

A tooth can get fractured. Something can get stuck between two teeth. Something can get stuck inside the mouth (this happened to one of my dogs, a piece of a stick got lodged from one side to the other, above the tongue. She drooled profusely. I couldnt see what was wrong, but when I stuck my hand in her mouth I of course found the twig and could pull it out. This is NOT sth a person can do with a bun. Buns are small and the structures are delicate. You need a vet to look inside the mouth with an otoscope).

Another possibility is that the bun has hurt it’s jawbone. There are also toxins that can cause drooling, but since your bun doesnt show any behavioral changes, that seems a lot less likely.

It’s great that you’re taking her to the vet. They can look deep in the mouth with an otoscope. Try to find a rabbit savvy vet, cat-and-dog vets are as a rule not knowledgeable about rabbit teeth.

[Ivana]

She stopped eating this morning. She hasn’t eaten anything all day only drank some water and she seems like she’s in a lot of pain. I’m panicking and I’m so nervous that vets don’t work on Sundays. She’s been hiding all day, i tried to give her lettuce and pellets but she pushes my hand. I don’t understand how this happened so fast because yesterday (Saturday) before we went to sleep she was so happy and running for food and jumping on me for cuddles and this morning when i woke up she looked so bad sitting in the corner. I hope she will make it until Monday morning. I’m just so sad i don’t know what to do. It hurts me so much that i couldn’t take her to the ambulance today. It looks like GI stasis with drooling with i don’t know what else and it’s devastating. I hope the vet can help her tomorrow morning.

[LBJ10]

Years ago, one of my buns had a piece of willow stuck in the back of his throat. This is rare, but obviously can happen. Has your bunny been chewing on anything that could possibly create a piece that has the potential to get stuck? Willow? Apple sticks?

[Bam]

If its something thats gotten stuck or trauma to teeth or the jaw, it can of course happen very fast. Then, after several hours, it gets worse due to swelling,  which causes pain and discomfort.

You must keep her warm. If she hasnt eaten in 8-12 hours you should syringe feed some really really sloppy CC or pellet mush. She does need to see a vet asap. Idk if you could find a cat and dog vet that could give her fluids sub q and some meloxicam for the pain, to tie her over til Monday. Rabbits get dog meloxicam (1.5 mg/ml strenght) so any cat-and-dog vet could give that.

[LBJ10]

Bam makes a good point. An emergency vet may be able to stabilize things by providing fluids and pain medication until you can see a rabbit vet. Are you in the US? Monday (today) is a holiday. Bunnies can’t go for days without eating, so you have to get something in her.

[Ivana]

No I’m from Europe:) I took her today and they gave her the same 2 injections from the last time she had GI stasis (pain relief and something to get her metabolism working) and she seems better not great but better than yesterday. She eats from my hand only. I’m taking her again tomorrow and they will be examining a sample of her poo for any bacterial issues. There are some little white dots in her poo I hope everything will be fine.

[Ivana]

And regarding the teeth and the drooling the vet said she doesn’t think that something is stuck in her mouth she opened her mouth but she can’t see anything without x-ray so if the drooling continues I’m taking her to the other ambulance for x-ray.

[Bam]

Im glad you took her so she got a painkiller and GI meds! I think the GI is due to some sort of dental or facial issue, so if the drooling persists, it needs to be checked out. Is she still drooling?

[LBJ10]

I’m glad you were able to get some pain meds. Did they say anything about her possibly choking on something? I thought about that too since there appears to be a green tint, as if food was mixed in there.

[Ivana]

She stopped drooling on Sunday the same day she got GI. I don’t know what was with the drooling maybe there was something toxic in the hay but I’ve always used that hay so i don’t know what was the problem but the vet didn’t think it was something serious. And about the GI i think it happened because on Saturday i gave her a trim and that day she was perfectly fine and then on Sunday got GI because of furballs in her stomach. I think that was the same problem in April when she first got GI stasis. I’m brushing her regularly but every time she gets a trim she sheds for the other 2-3 days and i think she got so much fur in her stomach that a blockade was created. Thankfully she is getting better and more active and pooping hair connected poops so I know the hair is getting out of her system.

[Ivana]

Guys I also have to ask you something because I’m a little confused. Today the vet gave me some multivitamin syrup in syringe and she said it is used for dogs, cats, rabbits and i think parrots but I’m not sure. Then she also mentioned that the syrup contains honey, but I’ve read on google that you should not feed your rabbit honey. I gave Mrvica 3 drops of the syrup today as the vet said but I’m not sure if i should continue with it because of the honey (and also she’s recovering nice). The syrup had a dog cat and rabbit picture on it but I’m really confused because of what I’ve read. And i think it’s too sweet i mean it smells really sweet like some candy. I don’t have a picture of the syrup to show to you but I could really use your opinion on this. Thank you<3

[Bam]

I’m glad she’s doing better!
<p style=”padding-left: 40px;”>Three drops is a tiny amount, so I dont think it will do any harm. Since it’s in a formulation, it’s probably sterile honey. It’s correct that rabbits shouldnt eat honey or sugary treats, but a tiny little bit is not a problem. What vitamins does the supplement contain? Vitamin B is often given to rabbits that have decreased appetite.</p>

[Ivana]

I don’t know what vitamins I forgot to ask. She told me it’s given to animals when they are sick, something like a food supplement. I should feed her everyday 2-3 drops until the syringe is empty and now it has 4ml.

[Bam]

Such a tiny amount couldnt contain so much honey that it’d pose a problem. Fingers crossed she keeps improving!

If the drooling was due to aspiration of food, it could lead to aspiration pneumonia. This can be difficult to detect for the rabbit caretaker, so it’d be good if your vet could see your rabbit again in a couple of weeks and listen to her lungs, even if your bun seems fine.

To prevent accidentsl inhalation of food, it’s better to scatter the pellets around the bun’s area thsn to serve pellets in a bowl.

 

[Ivana]

I don’t serve her pellets in a bowl I give her one by one pellet from my hand while she runs around it’s a morning routine we have:) Thank you for everything, I really appreciate your help.

[Bam]

That is a very good method! It strenghtens the bond between the human and the rabbit 😊

[Ivana]

So I was wrong. The drooling continues, but something is weird. She only drools when she’s drinking water, it’s like she drinks but the water goes down her chin. I haven’t changed the water bowl and I’m calling her vet now. But I don’t think she will know what to do because if she was really drooling she would be doing that when eating and sitting and playing. And she doesn’t look in pain at all so it would be strange if it was a dental problem. She’s eating fine I am really confused right now. I’m thinking of getting back the water bottle only for a couple of days to see if there’s any improvement.

[Bam]

It could be wise to give her a water bottle as well as a bowl, if she cant keep the water from the bowl in her mouth long enough to swallow it.

Water leakage like this could mean she cant close her mouth properly. It doesnt sound like true drooling, more like she just csnt hold water in her mouth so it leaks out.

Is the leakage from both sides or more from one? If you look at her face, both on each side of it and straight ahead, can you see any difference in muscle tone between the sides of her face? Rabbits csn get facial hemiparesis, meaning one of the sides of the face becomes flaccid or, in some cases, rigid.

[Ivana]

Her face is the first thing i checked when she started drooling but it’s perfectly symmetrical. Also I’ve tried the water bottle but she refused to drink from it so we are back to the bowl. And i don’t know what miracle is happening but she suddenly stopped drooling. I think this all happened because 5 days ago she had hay stuck in her fur right under the mouth and i tried pulling the hay but didn’t success so i trimmed her fur on the chin making it thin and really short so maybe that’s the reason why her chin was so wet as she puts her whole head in the bowl 😅. And now as the fur grows back to its normal length she stopped drooling. I’ve contacted her vet she said i have nothing to worry about and I’m monitoring her for the next couple of days, so if the drooling comes back I’m taking her for x-ray.

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