Not eating after dental

Hello,

I posted on here a few days ago about my rabbit who was going to have a dental as he'd stopped eating. He had his dental on Thursday and the vet said his teeth were fine. They filed down his back teeth slightly as they were a little long and they also did an x-ray. The x-ray showed he has a bit of a blockage as there was a large amount of stuff in his tummy. I was given metacam to give and he also had a pain relief injection and an injection to get his gut moving.

That was on Thursday and he still hasn't really eaten much. He will nibble a bit of hay and a few leaves of spinach, and he is using his litter tray. He went back for some more pain relief on Friday and they syringed some liquid into him. I've been feeding him pinapple juice every few hours.

He doesn't seem unwell, he is quite bright and will run about its just he wont eat much by himself.

How long does it usually take for rabbits to get back to normal eating habbits after a dental? I'm a bit worried because he still doesn't seem himself two days after. I think he probably still has a bit of a blockage but if he is using his litter tray and eating a bit, is it wise for me to syringe baby food or recovery into him? I don't want to make his blockage any worse.
Any advice would be appreciated... thank you.

Did he come home with any pain relief? If not he might need some.
If he's eating anything I wouldn't syringe feed him as it can put them off eating on the own. I would also be wary of giving too much pineapple juice as the sugar in it can upset his gut flora and that's the last thing you want.
Keep him warm and try tempting him with lots of moist leafy herbs and dandelions, grass etc.
If he stops eating/pooing altogether I think your only option may be to take to your emergency vet.

Try soft food. Either his pellets with warm water or a little weetabix with water. Just to see if hell eat it may be that it feels uncomfortable/strange to him at mo.

awww bless, usually after a dental they are eating within the day,, it sounds like stasis,, sometimes vets get their teeth done when there not sure which can put the bunny under extra stress,,, i had a bunny once who had statsis a week and she had to have an enenema in the end sadly she wasnt well all the way throuhg her short little life,, but jsut keep taking to the vets and make sure hes drinking, is he using the tray normally.. is their hair in the poos or are they misshaped or not enough

His poos seem quite small, round and black. There is no hair.

He has two drops of metacam a day. The vet said i could give him up to 4 drops but he doesn't seem to be in any pain at the minute.

I've given him some rocket which he has taken. He seems to take a long time to use his litter tray but at least he is passing some droppings. I was just wondering if its normal to take this long to get back to eating properly as the vet said he should be back eating normally within 24 hours... :?

cazh said:

His poos seem quite small, round and black. There is no hair.

He has two drops of metacam a day. The vet said i could give him up to 4 drops but he doesn't seem to be in any pain at the minute.

I've given him some rocket which he has taken. He seems to take a long time to use his litter tray but at least he is passing some droppings. I was just wondering if its normal to take this long to get back to eating properly as the vet said he should be back eating normally within 24 hours... :?

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Two drops of metacam isn't going to do much. Your vet needs to update his knowledge.

Has he been examined by the Vet again since his Xray ?
If he has ' a bit of a blockage' the Vet should review him at least every 24 hours.
The Dental does not appear to be the cause of his anorexia as he had stopped eating before the Dental was done and you say the Vet found no significant Dental problems.
From what I can make out from your posts I'd say Bun needs more treatment to try to get his GI tract working. He would definately benefit from fluid therapy, preferably IV but if not at least subcutaneous.

I would try to encourage him to drink as its important to keep any gut contents well hydrtated, otherwise the ingesta will just continue to build up.
Without knowing exactly where the 'slight blockage' is its hard to advise re the syringe feeds. If its his actual stomach that is not emptying then syringe feeds will make things worse.

I would get him reviewed by a Vet again ASAP. In the meantime continue to offer foods that he will eat, maximise fluid intake and encourage him to take exercise.

I agree with Lilbun re the Metacam. 2 drops is not a therapeutic dose.

small and black suggests dehydration and not enough fibre, what food are u feeding and are u giving lots of hay/grass and is he drinking well ? if u feed veg make sure they are washed and left with some water on so he gets extra water

Yes he had his dental/x-rays on Thursday and he was back at the vet on Friday for more pain relief/fluids and injection to help the gut move. They said to assess how he was today and if he was still not right to bring him back, if not they'd see him on Sunday. As he has been eating a little and seems to be quite active i have left it today and will take him there tomorrow.

The vet felt his stomach yesterday and said he felt some formed poos in there but also some impacted stuff that is obviously not moving. He has been eating on his own this evening but i haven't seen him use his water bottle for a while. Should I syringe some water into his mouth rather than lots of pinapple (which i've been giving him every few hours)?

yeah i would or offer in a bowl see if hell take it that way ,, iusually check mine every couple of hours when they have been upset like that

He has been getting a bit of water from the veg i've given him. When i offer it to him he nibbles the edges and licks it so at least he's licking the water off it. He's in his litter tray at the moment... fingers crossed he'll actually use it!! Hay and grass is pretty much the only thing he will eat at the moment.

cazh said:

Yes he had his dental/x-rays on Thursday and he was back at the vet on Friday for more pain relief/fluids and injection to help the gut move. They said to assess how he was today and if he was still not right to bring him back, if not they'd see him on Sunday. As he has been eating a little and seems to be quite active i have left it today and will take him there tomorrow.

The vet felt his stomach yesterday and said he felt some formed poos in there but also some impacted stuff that is obviously not moving. He has been eating on his own this evening but i haven't seen him use his water bottle for a while. Should I syringe some water into his mouth rather than lots of pinapple (which i've been giving him every few hours)?

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Put a bowl of water down for him first.
If he still wont drink from that then yes, syringe some water into him. He'll need about 10ml/kg every couple of hours.
It'd be better if he will drink from a bowl as it'll be less stressful for him

Great! He's drinking the water from the bowl like a cat lapping up milk! :lol:

that's good news

cazh said:

Great! He's drinking the water from the bowl like a cat lapping up milk! :lol:

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You only need to worry if he starts meowing !!!!!!!!! :lol:

Hopefully getting his gut contents well hydrated will help it pass through

the minor blockage is some degree of GI stasis. So your bun should be on metacam and follow the link below on the step by step:

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=124510