Friend is in need of some help!

I apologize if this is not allowed. A friend of mine is in need of some desperate help. Her rabbit has been sneezing and drinking a lot and has one longer tooth than the other in the front [the “buck teeth”] and shook their head as though there may be something going on with their ears.

She wants to take her poor rabbit to the vet however she has no money. She is on mental disability so she can’t get a job and she can’t get over $500-$750 or else it will be taken away from her.

 

Plus her parents are very stubborn and will not listen to her. Since they seen and heard her bun run around they say that they [the rabbit] is fine. They say that the reason for the rabbit shaking their head and excessively drinking has to do with the changing weather.

 

What can she do to earn money for a vet visit? What can she do to convince her parents to take her rabbit to the vet? Or are her parents right about the change of weather affecting her rabbit this way?

 

Please any information or suggestion is appreciated!

 

[kurottabun]

Sorry to hear about her troubles

It doesn’t sound like a weather problem to me. Sneezing is not normal and could indicate an Upper Respiratory Infection (URI), which can be fatal. While water consumption can increase in warmer weather, it is often also caused by dental issues because many rabbits with teeth issues would drink more to soothe the discomfort in their mouths. Since you mentioned that the bunny’s incisors are not even, that could indicate a teeth problem and the molars would also need to be checked (which can only be done at a vet’s).

If the bunny is shaking its ears excessively, this could indicate a mite problem or an ear infection, which would again, also need to be assessed by a rabbit savvy vet.

One way is to call up a rabbit savvy vet in the area and have them explain to her parents the need for a vet in this particular scenario. Lots of parents do not listen to their children because they think they know better, but a professional, rabbit savvy vet might be more convincing.

[Asriel and Bombur]

100% agree with Kurotta. A vet absolutely needs to be seen in this instance. The bunny definitely has dental issues. Buck teeth are not normal in a bunny and they need to be trimmed to prevent further growth and pain. If the bun’s teeth hurt so much, eventually he’ll stop eating and go into stasis which can be fatal. As also said above, he needs to get treatment for his UR issues no matter what the cause because bunnies breath through their noses and if they can’t it’s fatal. Also agree with the ears.

I’m not trying to sound rude, and I’m sorry if it comes across this way, but if your friend doesn’t make enough to really be able to help this bun when it really needs it and her family isn’t willing to help, she might need to rehome it. I say this because issues like the dental problem you describe take a while to form, which means that buck tooth didn’t just spring to life overnight. That bunny is really going to need hundreds of dollars worth of care.

[Bunny House]

I do agree with the others. A person who owns a bunny needs to have money on hand to treat them as a simple illness can cause thousands. Since it seems like her parents don’t care and she can’t pay for it, it really should be rehomed to someone who has finances to pay for the bun to go to the vet and have everything done it needs, and who can give them a good diet as it seems like the bun wasn’t having a good diet.

[Bam]

The rabbit does need to see a vet. He’ll probably need antibiotics for the URI. That doesn’t necessarily have to be extremely expensive. Antibiotics for a couple of weeks is the standard treatment. Baytril is often first choice. It should be treated now, esp since he’s shaking his head – that could mean he’s developping an ear infection. Bacteria from the nose and mouth can get into the middle ear via the ear trumpet.

The tooth should also be dealt with. Most vets and vet techs with some bunny experience can clip front teeth, its not something you should try at home though. The risk of splintering the teeth and making matters worse is very high if you try to clip teeth yourself. An unevenness in the front teeth can lead to a compromized bite and that in turn can cause problems with the inner teeth as well – and that’s much more difficult to deal with and a lot more expensive too.

[Author]

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