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Fiver's Dental U/D post #50 doing better :)

MimzMum

Wise Old Thumper
I've finally gotten to a point where I think something is going on with Fiver that needs to be addressed. I had been worried a bit ago that he might be thinning out to a dangerous level, but after posting some photos here I was reassured he was okay.

However, over the last week (at least) he has been shunning his water bottle. This usually means that his teeth are needing burring. :(

He doesn't do very well with the surgery, he is usually in a lot of pain afterwards and it takes him a while to get eating again. He is currently packing hay away as if it's on fire and he still drinks from his bowl, but if I watch him for a few hours, he does seem in some discomfort while resting.

After making his appointment for this coming Thursday (the earliest I could get with his vet) I realize it sounds like Pip might also be grinding her teeth a bit, so I'll likely have to find some way to fit her in too. Sheesh...they all have to line up at the door at once! :(

After the trouble she had with her liver enzymes being off this summer, I am not eager to put her under GA, but if it needs doing there's no alternative.

They are all getting older...Mimzy in particular is looking very bent and fragile these days...I know he will likely need a burr as well but I don't know if he'd cope well in his current condition...the last time he went under the knife was for his fatty lump on his shoulder and it took him forever to heal from that. I fear his next anesthetic procedure will be his last. :cry:
As it is, Jenna still needs her teeth cleaned but her vet put it off till January. It is no fun taking her 30 miles to town in the dead of winter. And my pocketbook is still reeling from Griff's surprise visits this summer as well. (He is still having trouble with his stomach and I fear he may not see Christmas.)

For now I'm just hoping for better news than I am anticipating, plus decent driving weather. After that freak storm last week that knocked our power out for 34 hours, I am not wanting to deal with any of the wicked white stuff if I have to drive bunnies to town. :evil:

Could I maybe ask for a few spare vibes to be sent our way? It's been so stressful lately and I know I haven't been on the forum much, but sometimes I need to unplug and at those times I'm worse than useless with a good word anyway. :cry:

Many thanks for reading and I hope you are all having a lovely Sunday. xxxxxxx
 
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Oh no, it is so often the case that everything seems to happen at once when it comes to our Pets. Then of course you have the added stress of the dreadful weather to contend with. I dont have that and I also have the luxury of C seeing my Rabbits at my home unless of course any of them require a surgical procedure.

I do hope that all your furry family will cope with whatever treatment they may need. It is such a worry when our Pets are all ageing and becoming more frail.

Sending millions of vibes for all of you xx
 
Thank you for answering, Jane. :love:
Well, Fiver and I will be off to the vets in a few hours. I dread this trip as I just don't know what's going to be found (unless there's nothing, then I might relax a bit) but OH found a nail in one of the car's tires this week and is busily repairing it as we speak. I just hope the old thing holds out for this trip and that nothing huge is amiss with my wee lad. :(
Will update as soon as I know what is causing Fiver not to drink from his bottle. Please just let it be teeth and please let it be an easy fix if he needs a dental. :(
 
Oh no, so much worry with your furries. Must have been dreadful having no electricity for 36 hours. Sending hugs and best of luck at the vets. Xxx
 
Thanks Amanda :) I'm so tired I'm falling asleep every few minutes. :shock: So far he's been weighed and he's gone from 1.67 kg (?) To 1.52 kg...that seems like a lot for a minirex...but he was last seen about 6 months ago. :(

Vet is taking him back for bloods now after a brief examination.

Hoping it's nothing serious. :(
 
I'm sorry they're all struggling. I'm in the same boat at the moment with one or the other of them always ill - I feel like all I do in my spare time is 'watch rabbits'!
I hope all goes well at the vets - sending vibes your way.
 
Thanks very much everyone...only now have a moment to update as I've been running since we got home.

Vet had no success getting blood from Fiver's jugular because he is just NOT a hands on bunny. So the doc used a butterfly needle and took some from each of his hind legs. He's going to see how the test runs this way and if it doesn't work out he'll take bloods under sedation when Fiver comes in for a dental. I don't like the idea of him being under GA before we know just how his kidneys and liver are doing so I may have to argue with the doctor a bit here.

I was shocked the look of Fiver's heels and toes...they are all sore and red. :( There is an ulcer on one hind heel but it looks healed over and is not infected. I just cut his nails last week and the toes didn't look this bad, (the heels I am used to seeing a bit of skin but they definitely seem more irritated than usual), so I am at a loss as to explain it. It could be we haven't had his soft hay to pack his litterbox with lately, it only came in this week and we're using that now, but previously he was on second cut timothy or orchard grass...both rather coarse. I'm also going to get him softer bedding and see if that helps. I have ointment here I can use, but this vet doesn't want me doing that because he says it causes the fur to clump up and not cover the sore spots. :? I'm totally confused, I've always been told to at least put neosporin on them to help them heal...this vet is the exact opposite opinion.

Fiver was rather distressed at all the traveling today and very high strung and unhappy at the vets. The doctor didn't seem to notice but as I corrected him he said I should know best what Fiver's temperament is. Poor wee lad also has dry patches on the insides of his ears, but the vet didn't find any mites. It is really dry and hot in our house since we're trying to combat the cold outside so I expect there to be a bit of dry skin on all of us (mine is terrible currently) but I've never seen flakes on Fiver's ears like this. He has been scratching them but the vet took a long look down his ears and didn't see anything untoward.
I think I should've asked him to be certain I had his nails short enough, they grow at a fantastic rate and they are a bit longer yet than I wanted them when I trimmed them. :( That would really explain the sore hocks and toes. Poor Fiver, he still has fur coming off him from his latest moult-a-thon and every time I take him to the vet he loses some more just from stress. :(

I may have been mistaken about the weights also...looking at the invoice, his last recorded weight was 1.62 kg in April of this year...so that means I transposed the numbers and he is currently 1.57 kg. Still...not a good loss, imo. :(
I will get a call tomorrow if the blood test came out, otherwise I am none the wiser as to why Fiver is not drinking from his bottle. :? I wish I had better news. :(
 
It is so frustrating when you cannot find something definite. Mr B has times of dry flaky skin and always moulting, no rhyme or reason for the flaky skin on his back, comes and goes. Hope the blood he did take comes back normal. Xxx
 
I really would not worry about the very small amount of weight loss. It is no more than the difference between being weighed with a full bladder and being weighed with an empty bladder really.

I agree with the Vet about not putting any creams on the sore hocks as in many cases it can actually exacerbate problems by flattening any protective fur that still remains around the effected area. There are times when applying a topical treatment is appropriate, but not always.

It is stressful when we cannot find answers as to what may be causing a Rabbit to exhibit symptoms that concern us, I completely empathise with you on that one xx
 
Sorry, i missed this.... I hope Fiver picks up and sore hocks improve....

Lots of hugs for you too...

Fee xxx
 
Sorry for not updating yesterday.
I did get a call from the vet. Ironically, Fiver's protein is low and one of his liver enzymes is up....but this was the reading on Pip earlier in the year on two occasions, so vet is beginning to think this is just how their machine shows the results. It disconcerts me a bit, but we've scheduled Fiver for first thing Monday the 19th for his dental. Doctor will also take an xray of his head and see how his tooth roots are doing.

However, we've had rain and sleet all last night and today...and more is forecast for Sunday night. This might make the road too dangerous to navigate. My daughter needs her blood test for her thyroid too and it's been put off for a few weeks as it is, I was hoping to get that done before I went to pick Fiver up after his dental. So now I'm up in the air about the whole thing. :(

Gah...why can't anything be simple??? :(
 
The weather over there sure does make everything even more stressful than it already is does't it.

I hope that you may be able to get to the Vet Hospital, but if it would be unsafe to travel I would not risk it. I hope C can get her bloods done soon too xx
 
Thanks Jane :love:
Well we have VERY dense fog tonight with a little freezing rain. Not at all sure if Fiver is going tomorrow, but I'm going to bed early and have the carrier ready just in case. OH would drive him in first thing and I may go in to pick him up in the afternoon. If we can't drive in, I can cancel the op and reschedule it for next Monday, which is forecast to be clear.
Oddly enough, he was drinking from his bottle this evening! :shock: Is it possible it was just the coarser hay and his poorly feet that were keeping him from using it before? He still moves his mouth a bit oddly after drinking, but it's not stopping him from stuffing his face! :lol: He's already ploughed through the pile of hay I left for him just a few hours ago. :?
I'm honestly scared to death to put him under as well. I fear every GA, thinking the next one will be their last. I despise anesthetic and how it affects them all. :(
Daughter is not comfy with having to go in either. The whole day may be a wash! :roll:
 
Just thought I'd update...when I woke at 6 this morning it was pitch black outside, still foggy as far as you could see (which was about 6 feet) and sleet coming down in buckets. The dental has been shifted to next Monday (the vet only does surgeries on Mondays) and I'll also be taking Jenna in that afternoon to see her vet as she has some nasty calculus forming on her own teeth and I don't want her to lose any more. She also has had an odd wee lump just ahead of her right foreleg on her chest that I want looked at. I don't think it's anything to worry about because I can move it with the skin, but best be safe than sorry.

Someday I might get ahead of all this worry about poorly animals, but today is not the day. :( Still...kind of glad I didn't have to drive in this nasty weather and that the vets were very understanding about it all. :) I was actually quite upset last night thinking about taking Fiver in, I'm still so worried he might have a problem with his dental this time. :(

Needless to say, didn't take daughter in for her bloods either. Have to hope for better weather than this! :shock:
 
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