Rabbit dental problems :(

Hi, this is a bit long but i would really be grateful for any opinions from fellow bunny lovers.
about 3 months ago i took in a dwarf rabbit from a lady that was going to move and leave her rabbit in her garden hoping that it would survive ( idiot )
i knew straight away he was badly underweight so i took him straight to the vet and was told he had terrible dental problems , so he had some of the problem teeth removed and after that he was on medication and i was taking him back to the vet every 3 weeks for teeth burring ( he was delayed having the second dental surgery due to an eye infection) after his last burring he developed a mouth abscess which within a week he went rapidly down hill so the vet advised to do the second dental surgery as he wouldnt get better without it so i did now after the op they couldnt remove the abscess as it was at the back of his jaw and very difficult to get to. My problem is she says to try and remove the abscess with surgery could result in breaking his jaw and he also has a cataract in one eye which she said isnt the problem but they are worried about what is going on behind it and he tilts his head slightly to the side, she said he will never just be "right" he will have to have regular check ups and it will most likely be something else after all this and there is only so much he can take, now for a week we have been spoon feeding him and he`s been pretty quiet and even though its killing me to think it i was going to have him put to sleep as what i thought was best for him but even though i have only had him a short time i love him so much its painful, but now in the last 2 days hes seemed a bit perkier and today he has been eating by himself, lots aswell, so now i just feel confused about what is the right thing to do, he just keeps fighting and when you look at him you wouldnt know anything was wrong with him, its all internal, i would appreciate any thoughts on what you would do
Thankyou

If he has an abcess is he on antibiotics and pain relief?

What medication is he on and has he had any skull radiographs taken ?

he has been on antibiotics for a week and he had a penacillin ( not sure if i spelt that right ) injection 2 days ago, she said i could bring him in every other day 6 times for an injection but she didnt seem hopeful that it would get rid of the infection, and he hasnt had any x rays she spoke to a specialist and she said that she is very concerned what is behind the eye to be causing it to water and the head tilt, all they could do is operate and take the eye out and see whats going on behind there, which would meen 2 more operations in which the first could break his jaw ( i dont know if that would meen he would have to be put to sleep or whether it can heal? ) she made it sound like there would be nothing they could do and she gave me the impression i am trying to win a losing battle

Without further diagnostics-ie Skull radiographs- it's impossible to know the exact extent of the problem. If the infection is actually in the jawbone (osteomyelitis) then the prognosis is grave But as I have said, without further diagnostics it's not possible to know what is actually going on

I do hope that he is having regular pain relief ?

Jane always seems so say what is in my head but in a much clearer and eloquent way. Great advice, lots of things to ask your vet. An x-ray really is the way forward, without it you don't really know what you are dealing with.

with all the problems he has to face ahead of him, and he is between 5 - 6 what would you do if it was your bunny? is it fair of me to put him through so much pain just because i love him so much

kinnies said:

with all the problems he has to face ahead of him, and he is between 5 - 6 what would you do if it was your bunny? is it fair of me to put him through so much pain just because i love him so much

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This is why you need the x-rays. It will enable the vet to work out of the problem is fixable or not. If not the kindest thig is not to wake him up. If it is fixable then I would go ahead with treatment. 5-6 isn't that old for a normal sized bun. I have a 9 year old dwarf lop who had a tough life before I adopted her at 7.5. If she had tooth problems I would attempt to get it soted as long as the x-rays provided good news on her prognosis.

they said they cant take an x ray of behind the eye bacause the cataracts acts as a barrier apparently

kinnies said:

they said they cant take an x ray of behind the eye bacause the cataracts acts as a barrier apparently

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I think you may have misheard the Vet as that is certainly not the case :?

Is your Vet Rabbit Savvy ?

Could you request a referral to a specialist ?

I dont know f this is of any help to you but my bunny Flopsy who passed last week had an abcess behind her eye due to tooth roots. This had developed into osteomylitis (which seemingly is infection of the bone).

My last vet told me to take her home and make her comfortable as we wouldnt have her by the end of the week. I approached another vet after doing a lot of reading on internet. He prescribed Penicillin G by injection which we gave her at home. This didnt get rid of the abcess but we perserved for over a year. I had her tooth taken out last Tuesday and she passed away on the following Monday through not eating. I think the stress was just too much as she had other things going on too.

If I were you I would definately carry on treatment with your bunny cause like I said we had another year from ours. Perhaps if i had her tooth taken out at the start she might still be here, but I couldnt find a vet to do it. I changed vets 3 times to give the best chance.

Needless to say that now I have lost Flopsy I am devasteated and feel guilty for not having acted sooner....so my advice as a fellow rabbit lover is dont give up on her.

I have attached some info which you might find useful.

http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/rabrefs.html#abs

Hope some of this helps

Susan xx