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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

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Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Sloe Healing Dental Surgery

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    • Peter's Mom
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        Hello! I joined just now because I am in need of some help.

        First, background, my bun is a rescue. He showed up in my yard in October 2017 and I didn’t plan on keeping him. But no rescue had room and I do know how to care for a rabbit and had space so he stayed. I got him neutered and set up a space for him. He was originally estimated to be about a year old but two other vets estimated him between 6 and 10 years old in 2019 so we think he is 7 to 12 years old at this point. He was 4 pounds when I found him and now 6 pound, not fat he was severally malnutrition with no muscle tone and has deformities to his hips from both the malnutrition and (what a vet thinks) was a lack of movement prior to my home. I am severally allergic to rabbits so he is not a house rabbit, he has a shaded space in the yard about 100 square feet with tunnels and bushes with a custom made seven foot long  two story hutch for evenings. He gets fresh lettuce, parsley and cilantro daily plus in season fruits (we have several berry plants and citrus trees, so all without chemicals and half his greens are home grown too). I do talk with him and give him attention so he’s not ignored or anything. I also clean his hutch weekly and he gets three separate hay piles in his potty spots that are replaced weekly (he is very picky and pulled wall holders off the wall so piles it is). He also sees his vet twice a year, get flea medicine and has the RHDV2 vaccine. He has gone into GI Statis twice but both times I caught it early and it was quickly treated with vet care. This year I started him on a mix of papaya, more frequent brushing and a herb blend from pampered rabbit that seemed to have helped.

        The situation, two weeks ago I noticed a weepy eye. Over a year before his vet has found a lump on his chin but she said not to worry about it just keep an eye out for tooth problem symptoms like weepy eyes. So I made an appointment, got him in and he needed his teeth ground down plus an abcess Lance and drain. $800 later and a few hours he is heading home with a pain medication and antibiotics. Just a note that his discharge nurse treated me like I was five telling me how to count lines on a syringe to get the right dose. He ate some lettuce when we got home but was pretty out of it. The next day he didn’t eat and there was no poop in his cage. He was drinking well and fairly active (or more active then when he’s been in statis before).

        Call the vet when they opened at 10am. Vets out and there is no other exotic vet in. The techs say to bring him in. When I get in I get questioned why I didn’t give the gut stimulant medication, which I wasn’t given. The vet sends home an aftercare sheet which lists medication and none of the techs believed me that I only got the two medications until I showed them the paper. My guess is the discharge nurse assumed since he was eating right after he was good without it, I know I won’t leave without it in the future though. So they take him back and kept him for five hours. Gave him an injection to stimulate his guts and hand fed him twice. Gave me some meds to take home. He didn’t poop at the vets office though so they told me to take him to an emergency vet if he didn’t poop by morning (but couldn’t tell me who had a bunny emergency vet afterhours other then one 200 miles away). I had originally put him in my large medical cage inside (a five foot long cage I have for emergencies) but he is a stubborn pooper and has held his poop for hours before when he’s uncomfortable/stressed. So after getting him home I put him back in his hutch. Which between that and the meds worked, he pooped the moment he got in his hutch. Wednesday and Thursday I left him in his hutch but not letting him out in the yard (remember the hutch is large he can stand, flop, and fully stretch out in his hutch. Bottom level is about 15 Sq ft and top level is 8 Sq ft). He got his medications (pain, antibiotic and gut mobility) plus syringe feedings Wednesday and Thursday. I did decrease syringe feedings some Thursday because he did eat some hay and some of the greens I put in (greens wetted) all through it he drinks well. After most syringe feedings he drinks water, I think to wash down the taste he hates apples and banana which is the flavor of his critical care.

        His surgery was Monday, Tuesday I took him back and Thursday the vet was supposed to call me. She didn’t and when I called they told me she would call me back but she never did. So we are now at Friday.  He is only eating and pooping about half his normal amount. He has eaten some leaves I picked from the yard (no chemicals ever used and bunny safe), some berries, a few bites of hay and a single snack/treat biscuit I reserve for a special treat usually. I am changing his hay daily right now so I can tell how much he is eating and potting. But he still isn’t at his normal level and it’s been four days.

        I had to go back to work today and don’t have anyone who can check on him. So I decided to let him out in the full space. He does have sutures but they are the bottom of the jaw line and I can only see them when he’s looking up so I don’t think they will get dirty. My worry today was the heat and in the yard he has bushes and a burrow to cool down in but his hutch has less cool spots. I am also hoping the exercise/movement will help his system move better. Plus he will have his grass and bunny safe plants he normally eats which might encourage him to eat.

        I really don’t know what to do. I feel totally unsupported by my vet. The only other small animal vet in a 1 hour drive (which is the max I feel comfortable taking him because stress) can’t see him until August. I plan on syringe feeding through the weekend and continuing his meds for gut mobility unless he starts eating and pooping normally.

        I guess all this to say….. Anyone have any suggestions or see something I am missing?


      • DanaNM
        Moderator
        8901 posts Send Private Message

          OOoh that is soooo frustrating that you were treated like that by your vet!! 😡

          OK with that out of my system, first I’d like to say thank you for rescuing this bun and giving him a wonderful home! It sounds like he has a great set up!

          Dental surgery healing can take time. Their teeth can be sensitive from the filing itself, plus something more invasive like the abscess treatment might have made him more sore. Which antibiotics did they give you? Usually the course for abscesses is pen-g injections, oral antiobiotics usually don’t help because the abscess capsule is really thick.  Did they do x-rays of his head? Usually eye issues related to teeth have to do with overgrown tooth roots, rather than molar points. There are also other causes of weepy eyes, and sometimes senior buns do seem to get unexplained weepy eyes.

          For now I think the important thing is to keep up with his pain meds and syringe feed him if he’s not eating enough on his own (and finish the course of antibiotics they gave you). I think giving him his normal space and set-up was a good move, since movement stimulates the gut and will likely help him feel better. I would just keep an eye on his sutures to make sure they are staying clean.  Some bunnies also take a while to recover from anesthesia in general, it’s pretty variable bun to bun. I def know of other buns who literally hold in their poop while at the vet!

          I think if I was in your shoes, I’d continue with the supportive care and see how he does. If he is still showing symptoms of dental issues or other issues by the time you finish the course of meds that you were given, I would give the other vet a shot if they are very rabbit savvy. 1 hour seems like a lot, but I think it would be worth it to have a better vet (and better technicians!).  Is the other vet well reviewed for rabbits?

          . . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  


        • Peter's Mom
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            Thanks for the response.

            Originally I was given:

            Meloxicam 0.55ml once a day

            Enronfloxacin 0.98ml 2x a day

            They added on:

            Metoclopramide 1.4 ml 3x a day

            I’ll keep on doing what I am doing and hope for the best. He is supposed to get his RHDV2 booster next month with the other vet. I’ll talk to them and bring his records when I go. Really considering just switching vets at that point. My regular vet doesn’t do the vaccine so Peter saw a different vet for his first vaccine. This new new vet just started carrying the vaccine in December.

            I just got home from work and he seems to be doing good. He’s really leery of me right now, he’s not used to being held or picked up so the last week has not been fun. But he did eat some of the greens I had torn up and his poop pile looks a little more normal. I am a little worried about getting him for his medications with him being out, I’ll do them before letting him out and after putting him in but not sure how easy putting him in will be. Normally, he just goes in because it’s where his main food is and I refresh his greens in the evening. He actually rations his greens and any treats to last the full day so I can do one drop a day and just pick up whatever leftovers he has. But today? I don’t know.

            My cat is worried about “his” bunny too. I have three cats but one of them always sits next to the fence to talk to Peter and pats Peters head through the fence (which is what he does with the other cats to indicate he wants to play, and Peter will either ignore him or start playing with him too). He also will yell at me if I don’t put Peter in first at night and will check on him in the mornings. Since I put Peter back outside, that cat keeps going to check on him and looks at Peter then at me like “Mom, make him better.”


          • DanaNM
            Moderator
            8901 posts Send Private Message

              How’s he doing now that it’s been a few more days?

              . . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  


            • Peter's Mom
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                Thank you for your concern.

                He seems to be doing better. He’s still isn’t back to 100% but he’s at least heading that direction. Today’s the last day of medications so we will see how he does off them. He only had enough pain medicine for a half dose this morning and I’ve reduced the Metoclopramide to once a day (figure weaning him off it to make sure his poop/eating doesn’t decrease as he comes off). His poop pile seemed about normal this morning if a little less peep then I’d like. He’s always been a very particular bunny and with fireworks last night he may have held it at times. But there was enough that he had some.

                I have been tearing up his greens and have been doing a quick on pulse of his pellets with some water and critical care (makes it a clumpy crumble that he’s eating over regular pellets). Not that his diet has ever been high in pellets or anything. Usually a cup of pellets will last him an entire week before I have to top it off and most of the time there is a good amount left in the bowl. I also got him two sacraficial raspberry bushes from the local garden center (about 8 inches round each, throneless and hosed off well even though the center said they don’t use pesticides). I read raspberry leaves have antiseptic properties and are a good fiber source, so a fresh baby bush should be good for a sick bun. A little high in acidity but short term to make sure his gut is moving without sacrificing my existing bush (which is a little too small plus this way it stays fresh until he eats them). Hes been running over and nibbling on them when he decides to run around his space. I saw him eating some of the grass in his area today.

                Energy wise, he’s moving around good. This morning when my cat was checking in him, Peter kept dashing to the fence and out of range to signal he wanted to play. Him and my cat ended up playing chase around the fence for a few minutes. I keep the fence between them because 1) prey and predator lines can blur and even friends can have accidents (especially with a 16 pound cat who doesn’t know his strength playing with a 6 pound rabbit) and 2) one of my other cats (ironically the smallest one only a pound bigger then Peter) does think Peter should be eaten.


              • DanaNM
                Moderator
                8901 posts Send Private Message

                  That’s good to hear he’s improving!

                  . . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  


                • Peter's Mom
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                    Update for anyone who stumbles across this.

                     

                    I wasn’t happy with the first vet and took Peter to a second vet for a second opinion. The other vet reviewed the records and looked Peter over. They said it appeared the infection had spread to his lungs and recommended a CT scan to get better imaging of his mouth. In doing the scan and physical exam, they said that all the teeth on his left side were basically destroyed and the right was not far behind. The infection had eaten away the entirety of his lower jaw on the left side as well. The first surgery also released the bacteria and combined with a bad antibiotic choice it had spread to his lungs.

                    Peter was looking at a tough surgery with low chances of recovery. Multiple infections that had seeded to other areas. And he would need another surgery to repeat it on the right if/when he recovered on the left. The vet recommended letting him go and that she wouldn’t put any of her rabbit through it.

                    So I made the choice to let Peter go.


                  • Bam
                    Moderator
                    16836 posts Send Private Message

                      I’m so very sorry you had to make this tough decision. I completely agree that it was the only kind thing to do.

                      Teeth are a weak spot with rabbits. Thanks to good living conditions, nutrition and vet care, many pet rabbits “outlive” their teeth. It’s very sad. I went through something similar with my bun Vilde.

                      Thank you for letting us know. It’s very valuable.

                      Binky free, Peter 💔


                    • Wick & Fable
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                      5770 posts Send Private Message

                        I’m so sorry. It seems like it was the best choice, though heart-breaking. I really appreciate you sharing this story and it will really help others in the future.

                        Binky free Peter — you had such a wonderful, caring owner.

                        The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

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                    Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Sloe Healing Dental Surgery