please help somthing is wrong with Pierre

Pierre my french lop has spent the last 36 hours in inesive care at the vets. i noticed that friday evening he appeared willing to eat greens etc..but unable to. instead he 'mouthed' them. he was producing very sticky droppings though stomach was not bloated , no lumps that could indicate blockages, nor did it feel 'sludgy' indicating a slowed digestive system but since i had not seen him eat for 8 hours he was administered at the vets. given pain relief, anti biotics (he recantly recovered from a neuter..after which he suffered a slight infection which left him with a reduced appatite. the vet thought it possibal that the infection had not completly cleared up), and an injection to get his gut going. he was syringe feed every hour.
i bought him home today since he was eating pellets on his own and was producing normal poo's but he is still reluctant to eat. he would take a piece of carrot in his mouth appear to chew it but then drop it untouched. when i checked his teeth the front teeth on the lower jaw protruded in front of the upper ones instead of being behind them. non of my other rabbits teeth look like this. the teeth do not have any cracks that i can see, and they dont look over grown. the gums show no inflamation or discharge.
i believe the reason for his reluctance to eat to be his teeth but the vet checked his teeth and said they were fine :?
im about to ring to get an appointment for a second opinion. Pierre is eating a pile of grated veg (he appeares to be able to eat if it is cut/ grated finely :? ) , grass and short hay.
if it is his teeth can anyone tell me what else i can give him that will be easy for him to eat or ever experianced somthing similar?
will changing his pellets from the normal burgess ones to the dwarf help? if i moisten them with water how long can you lweave them? can i leave them with him overnight or will they start to go off?

Sounds like it is his molar teeth that are the problem. Unless your Vet checked them under GA it is near on impossible to be CERTAIN the molar teeth are all ok.
Gratted Veg, softened pellets (they wont go off overnight) should be easier for him to eat. Do you have any Metacam? If so I would give him a dose of it as if he has a sore mouth he really wont want to eat
Also, has your Vet checked Pierres mandible? A tooth root abscess is a possibility, particularly if he has just had some sort of infection else-where.
Looks like its back to the Vets for Pierre. Hope he feels better very soon

Janex

she did feel under and around the jaw area and said she couldn't feel any lumps and he didn't appear to be in any pain when she was doing so.
i'l start him on the metacam though. and get the next vet to have a proper look.
i'm still worried as the problem appeared lituraly over night. he was fine in the morning crunching down his veg and then 8 hours later he cant eat at all :?
can teeth problems come on this quickly?

Yes, sometimes they do happen quickly or at least appear to. That happens to a friend's rabbit on another forum several times a year. One day she's fine, the next she's acting like her world is ending. It's always a teeny tiny molar spur and especially with the first one, the vet couldn't find it with a scope while the bun was awake or on xrays. She had to be put under anesthesia so the vet could get a really, really good look at the very last molars. The owner had to strongly insist the first time as the vet swore up and down that the teeth were fine.

Metacam does help this particular bun a lot as she's very touchy about pain.

Hope he feels better soon!

Just to add to the above posts, please do get your vet to look at Pierre under GA. My first rabbit was a 6yr rescue (from a very misinformed school) with no end of molar teeth problems and from looking at him, you won't have realised anything was wrong.

When he first arrived here he had an eye problem and my vet decided to check his teeth under GA, despite the fact that my bun acted as though he wasn't in pain, didn't respond to pressure on his teeth etc. Under GA they found that he had the worse teeth spurs they had seen, and his cheeks and tongue when all cut and sore He needed them burring very few months after that, as he was very fussy about eating hay.

Good luck and healing vibes for Pierre x

naturestee said:

Metacam does help this particular bun a lot as she's very touchy about pain.

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i wonder if this is why its come on so suddenly. he was neutered very recantly and suffered an infection..hence the antibiotics but the also vet put him on metacam to reduce the inflamation as his genitals were very sore...he only came of the metacam a day or so befor he stopped eating.
he has lost weight recantly but i assumed that was a result of the complications of his operation. maybe it was his teeth all along.

would he be able to go under anesthetic so soon after a neuter? (it was 11 days ago)

when linden was with me he was not eating properly. the vets checked his teeth and said that although he had a tiny spur, it was nothing to worry about.
after syringe feeding him and several courses of gut stimulant, i asked that they be checked/burred under GA. they were concerned about giving him a GA when they werent certain it was his teeth causing the lack of appetite. so i asked them to neuter him at the same time, to make the GA more 'worth while'. he came round and started eating he went to a new home with a vet nurse, and though is still picky with his food (prefers pet shop mix :roll: ) he has continued to eat

sometimes with vets you really have to insist, as others have said you cant always see the problem until they are asleep and a spur that one bunny may not even notice can be agony for another.
linden is a lionhead, and i am sure they are more sensitive to pain than other breeds.

maxxev said:

naturestee said:

Metacam does help this particular bun a lot as she's very touchy about pain.

Click to expand...

i wonder if this is why its come on so suddenly. he was neutered very recantly and suffered an infection..hence the antibiotics but the also vet put him on metacam to reduce the inflamation as his genitals were very sore...he only came of the metacam a day or so befor he stopped eating.
he has lost weight recantly but i assumed that was a result of the complications of his operation. maybe it was his teeth all along.

would he be able to go under anesthetic so soon after a neuter? (it was 11 days ago)

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Shame they didn't check his teeth when they neutered him...
What was the post op' infection he had?
Having another GA after just 11 days is not ideal but neither is not being able to eat.... :?
Maybe your Vet could just use Isofluorane (GA Gas) rather than the full anaesthetic?

Janex

Jack's-Jane said:

What was the post op' infection he had?
Having another GA after just 11 days is not ideal but neither is not being able to eat.... :?
Maybe your Vet could just use Isofluorane (GA Gas) rather than the full anaesthetic?

Janex

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thank you. i will ask my vet about the gas.
the infection around the stitches. theres was a slight discharge and he had a high temprature.

Maxxev, you are right about the teeth. The top front should cover the bottom front, but not the other way around. One of the breeder explained that to me. So if your vet said the above is fine, then fire him and it's time to get another vet who specialize in rabbit.

Did the vet actually look in his mouth with a scope (looks like the thing they use to look in ears)? If she just opened the mouth she's have only seen the front teeth. Feeling the jaw doesn't help much with seeing spurs either.

If he's interested in food but can't eat then I'd put bets on teeth too. It was probably the painkiller that got him eating and that's worn/wearing off.

I agree with metacam and a second opinion!

Hope the next vet is more helpful

Tam

my mum had to take Pierre to see the vet today. (checked his teeth but couldn't see any thing wrong...didn't use the scope thing :? )
the vet said she was very reluctant to put him under GA so soon after his gut had been in stasis. an appointment for this has been made for thursday. was told to continue feeding him the grated veg and mushed pellets, if he showed signs of deterrioration to take him straight back in.
he is eating well, continuing with the metacam. have also been offering recovery mix and baby food, he's soo good, bless him, he just licks it off a teaspoon.

Thinking of you

Sue
xx