Rabbit not eating after dental

Hello

My little boy Douglas (age and history not known as a rescue) has dental problems and blocked tear ducts that are unable to be flushed. He usually has a 6 month dental and just before his dental he usually exibits signs of needing a dental (he usually goes off his veg first).

On wednesday he ate his veg but when i put his nightly pellets down he just wasnt interested but ate a sugar free treat. The next morning he still hadnt eaten so I gave him some metacam and some gripe water (I run an unofficial rescue and have very good relationship with my vets and so have metacam/baytrill etc in the house).

I started syringe feeding and administered metroclopramide and that night he ate some watercress himself. Thursday morning no improvement and not eating again so again syringe fed him, gave him metacam/metroclopramide and that night he ate some carrot sticks but still not acting normal but suprisingly bright in himself. I rang my vets for some advice and mentioned that he is due his six month dental and could that be the problem with him not eating.

Friday morning my husband took Doug to the vets and he listened to his gut and said it was moving slowly and so he was not in full stasis and kept him in for a dental.

Friday night got him home and he is normally okay after his dental but was still not eating. I have been syringe feeding him every hour since then and he has had pain killer and gut stimulator and is still not eating himself, he is passing small pellets at intervals and is urinating. He has ate a couple of sultanas and i have witnessed him eating his litter (Megazorb)

Does anyone have any similar experiences they could share with me or any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

Is he still on metacam?

I'm guessing you've already tried soaked pellets, grated carrots etc, and dandelion leaves (if you can get them).

Hope he's better soon, my boy didn't eat for 2 days once after a dental - but he would eat pellets and grated carrot.

Hiya

Thank you for the reply

he did eat two soaked pellets yesterday but ive tried many times again with him and he just shows no interest, he seems fine in himself though and doesnt appear to be in stasis. He didnt want grated carrot and my vet nurse had said to try toast with butter and honey and again he just wasnt interested.

did your bunny not eat at all for two days?

Im worried sick and ecalated by the fact that I havent had much sleep the past few nights taking care of him.

Thank you x

He did eat some soaked pellets, and grated carrots so I knew he was getting something, but it wasn't anywhere near normal.

He was fine after a few days. If you can I'd try and get some different fresh veg (Alfred recently had surgery for a jaw abscess - and it was a nightmare getting him to eat), sprouts, brocolli, kale, spring greens, parsley. basically anything you think he might like. I found one day he'd have some spring greens, then wouldn't touch them as he wanted kale, I even offered him some of the baby foods - the apple & pear etc.

Hope he starts eating soon x

ps - sorry just noticed you are syringe feeding him, at least that should help keep his tummy moving.

I've had this a few times. Sometimes when the teeth are quite sharp they can rub on the inside of the mouth and tongue and cause ulcers. This can make it sore and it can take a few days to settle down. The other time I had it was when there was an underlying jaw abscess. I would say keep syringe feeding and offering soaked pellets. Fresh herbs also seem to be good at getting rabbits to eat. And then if you're not happy in a day or so go back to the vets.

You mentioned his tear ducts are blocked. My rabbit Grimlock has this and in his case it's caused by the molar roots which are deformed and elongated. This often causes him pain while eating so he is permanently on soggy pellets now and can't eat hay.

Thanks to you both for the advice, it is much appreciated.

Doug has never really eaten hay despite my best efforts so that could be related to his teeth as you said.

Im still feeding every hour and i have seperated him from his partner to keep an eye on his toilet but he hasnt passed anything for hours, he had a gut stimulant about two hours ago so im just checking his litter everytime i feed him. I am wondering if I am syringe feeding him incorrectly or if the paste isnt thick enough. I have a ready made paste from burgess but he keeps spitting it out. i have made my own paste consisting of critical care, mashed pellets and a probiotic and i have tried to thicken it up but its hard to make it really thick as the syringes arent great and block easily

marley1982 said:

Hiya

Thank you for the reply

he did eat two soaked pellets yesterday but ive tried many times again with him and he just shows no interest, he seems fine in himself though and doesnt appear to be in stasis. He didnt want grated carrot and my vet nurse had said to try toast with butter and honey and again he just wasnt interested.

did your bunny not eat at all for two days?

Im worried sick and ecalated by the fact that I havent had much sleep the past few nights taking care of him.

Thank you x

Click to expand...

:shock::? Dairy + Rabbits = BAD! Please don't give him butter, it could ruin any GI mobility he has left.

Has he started eating yet?! Is there any output now?

Is he continuing on pain relief?

Is the vet who did the op definately rabbit savvy, as perhaps the dental didn't quite get done right?

GrahamL said:

:shock::? Dairy + Rabbits = BAD! Please don't give him butter, it could ruin any GI mobility he has left.

Has he started eating yet?! Is there any output now?

Is he continuing on pain relief?

Is the vet who did the op definately rabbit savvy, as perhaps the dental didn't quite get done right?

Click to expand...

this is what i was going to say - recommending butter is very worrying :shock:

Does he have some twigs or willow toys to chew on? If he's eating megazorb that might be what he is craving.

still not eating on his own.....

hiya

Doug is still not eating on his own, although is very feisty and alert, keeps trying to bite me all the time when im feeding him (background unknown due to being a rescue but i dont think he had much human interaction and he has come a long way with us)

He is really responding to the syringe feeding tonight, I have tried adding a little baby food as recommended on various websites and he is actually starting to come towards the syringe for more food which is progress.

He has definitely passed poo's although limited and small in number, he is still on painkiller and i have given him his daily gut stimulant.

He is going in tomorrow for a check up and advice at the vets although i do not wish to cause him further stress this has been going on since last wed before his dental so i think it needs looked into further.

My vets are fab and as far as i know they are rabbit savvy, Doug is seeing another vet tomorrow and I always think thats a good thing as sometimes my vets have different opinions and ideas.

thanks regarding the butter, luckily he didnt want any.

he does have wooden toys to chew on but i will get him some new ones to try and catch his interest.

Its good that he's liking the syringe feeding, have you tried any dried grass like readigrass, that often tempts them or "herbal garden" which contains mint and other herbs often helps.

Hope he's ok soon.

Thanks so much... me too!

I havent tried readigrass.... i will look into that.. i did buy some herbs tonight parsley etc but he still wasnt tempted.

I will post tomorrow with an update after the vets

many thanks x

Dougie went to the vets this morning and he checked his mouth and said there were no cuts or sores and his teeth looked great.

He had a listen to his stomach and said it was quite quiet and he thinks he has a partial blockage. Gave him an injection of stimulant and some more to take home and said he should improve in a couple of days.

my friend who runs a rescue once said that you can put a little olive oil on the coat to help move a blockage.

He is now eating watercress!!! woohoo

Im over the moon

thanks to all for the advice

That's really good news