6 year old rabiit, dental work and strange growth/calcium deposit. Vet not sure.

Hi,

Wondered if anyone can help? One of my rabbits was taken into the vet 4 days ago (she's home now), with a suspected ulcer in her mouth. Her face had swollen up on one side and was loosing a bit of weight. As this had happened previously 2 years ago, (she was given antibiotics then), they wanted to X-Ray her. This indicated she had to have one of her molars removed, as it had spurs growing along the gum line. The X-Ray also displayed a strange calcium deposit in the V shaped bone, under her chin. The vet isn't sure what it is, but thinks it may be a tumour? He said tumours can behave like this? But he really isn't sure what to make of it. The thing that is concerning him most is that her teeth are loose? And also that on the same side he took the tooth out, there was next to no teeth? She has normal teeth on the good side. This is making him think they may have fallen out? I haven't noticed any falling out or in her droppings, she is always keen to eat. This is also making him think that something is destroying the gum tissue? And he is worried that she won't be able to grind her food to wear down her teeth, which will cause her problems later on. We've left it as watching her for now and taking things as they come. He said he could send her to a specialist but they will want to knock her out again to look into things further, which we think isn't the best thing for her just now, given what she has just been through. Her appetite seems to be coming back after being knocked out and I'm not needing to use critical care feed any more. She is only eating soft foods like kale, spinach, greens and grass, but I'm assuming this is because her mouth will feel delicate. I have kept up the metacam to help with any swelling or pain. I'm really looking for advice or if anyone has been through something similar. Also if anyone has any idea on what to feed her. Right now I'm giving her what I mentioned above, plus foraging mix. Just don't want her guts to slow down due to the protein in the kale and spinach. Anything soft that is high in fibre would be great to know about.

I'm wondering if this has been going on for some time, as about 3 years ago she started sneezing and having a runny nose. The runny nose is still there a bit but she stopped sneezing. Haven't noticed a decline in health until the other day or loss of appetite until after the op. I'm wondering if she may never of had teeth there? Or they fell out a long time ago?

She is a house rabbit, always has been and lives with 3 other rabbits. No trauma (she's been in a few fights), she had a litter or babies (accidently) when she was 4 months and changed a bit after that (not as cuddly, more nervous, kept having phantom pregnancies). She developed a hernia after being neutered, that was operated on and hasn't been a problem since. She moved house the once, don't know if that would have made any difference, just trying to give as much info as possible.

We're all really stumped as to what could be wrong with her. Any help or advice would be really appreciated.

Thanks for any help you can give me.

It does sound like there is a lot going on in your rabbit's mouth and that a referral to a rabbit specialist would be a really good idea. My suspicions would be that there is an abscess affecting the mouth / jaw. Spurs are normally treated by burring them off whenever they cause a problem, rather than removing the tooth. The loss of teeth and signs of something else on the x-ray would get me running to FHB (bunny specialist in Harrogate). Your vet or someone else on here may know of a suitable specialist in your area.

Meanwhile, it is good that she is eating reasonably normally. The more fibre she can manage on her own, the better eg grass. Grass is always good. Bramble leaves are good and available all year round. At the moment, there is plenty of natural bunny forage that you can slowly introduce eg willow / raspberry / blackcurrant / apple leaves and twigs, dandelion leaves, herbs, leaves from the top of radish / carrot / beetroot, etc. If she struggles to eat, then you may have to offer grated or finely chopped food of the type she normally has. Moistened rabbit pellets and critical care are the next step. It's best to monitor her weight weekly - that way you know if she is eating enough or is struggling.

I have had 2 rabbits with very major dental / jaw issues. They had any relevant surgery to remove as much of the infection as possible (rabbit abscesses are capsules of quite stodgy white gunk) and then had regular injections of a depocillin based antibiotic (daily or twice weekly - I learned to do it at home), and daily oral metacam for the rest of their lives. They were both quite active and otherwise healthy rabbits who loved having the run of the front garden. It is amazing just how bad their mouths can get but they carry on as usual if they get the right support.

Thank you Shimmer. This has really helped me! I'll contact the vet