Rabbit not eating / dental / abscess

[Bethanyc]

Hi, my 11 year old Lionhead has stopped eating normally.

In July she was taken to vets 1 as she had not been playing or eating hay, we thought this could be arthritis so she was on loxicom 0.32ml x 2 daily for a week to trial. She progressively got worse so I took her in again, they checked her teeth again and said there's small spurs so it could be that.
On 13th July she went in for a dental, the burred her spurs and she came home, she started eating better for a few days but not 100%, I kept with the loxicom for a week while her mouth lacerations healed.

She then stopped eating anything but greens again and this got less and less. I took her to vet 2 who did bloods (no issues found), and abdomen x-ray (looks good) and a dental x-ray which found an abscess, the vet removed the abscess and 2 teeth. She recovered well and started eating greens and dried leaves that same night, she's been on 5 days of baytril then penicillin injections every day for a week with 0.32ml of loxicom x 2 daily.

A week after her dental she'd been eating lots of greens, this has started to reduce to now where she will not eat any. Her poo never got beyond small and black, the other day she had small black poos almost glued together with a clear dried mucus, I mentioned this to the vet who didn't seem overly concerned.

I have been syringe feeding her throughout.

Does anybody have any suggestions to what ot could be please as I feel I'm just taking her for appointments every day to no avail.

She has been spayed. Currently weights 1.58kg.

Thank you!

 

[InspectorMorse]

Sorry to hear that your Rabbit has severe dental problems Dental abscesses can be extremely challenging to treat. Did the Vet say if the skull radiographs revealed any osteomyelitis (infection in the bone)? If so then just Loxicom for pain relief is unlikely to be sufficient. Osteomyelitis is very painful.

Did the mucus in poo issue start when the Penicillin injections started? If so I am surprised that the Vet wasn’t concerned. Penicillin injections are in the high risk category for causing gut problems in Rabbits.

What is your Rabbit’s general demeanour like? Is he behaving normally or is he very quiet/ depressed?

With Rabbit abscesses they can quickly recur, especially if any diseased tissue or bone has remained after surgery. Did the Vet give you a full explanation of the location of the abscess and the exact things that were done during surgery?

 

[Bethanyc]

Hi, thank you.

I did ask if the bone was infected and they said it didn't look to be, they have checked the site every other day and have said her teeth look good and there's no pus present.

They did inject her with Vetergesic as a stronger pain killer but this just knocked her out and didn't encourage her to eat anything.

After the op she was happy and pretty much back to normal (probably a little more tired though still). Now since yesterday she's become depressed, sitting in one spot, stretching then face the other way.

All I was told is her teeth are very old and worn out, but they had been good up until 10 years old when the age has got to them. In March she had 2 teeth removed from vet 1 as they were loose apparently and then she bounced back to her normal self within days.
During this abscess removal it just says extracted 2 cheek teeth (410, 411 abscessed). I forgot to ask where it was etc but have another appointment today so will ask for more details.

Her poo has been small and black throughout, it's only yesterday 17.08.23 that the gluey poo was present. I asked for gut stimulants after seeing the poo and they gave me some emeprid, is it better to have ranitidine?

Depending on today's consultation I'm thinking of change her to a 3rd vets, this time an exotic specialist called Holly House.

Her last penicillin injection was on 17.08.23.

 

[Bethanyc]

Sorry to reply twice!

Is there anything you would advise asking the vet too? Are there any drugs you'd recommend me ask about too please?

 

[InspectorMorse]

Personally I would want to be consulting the specialist Vet, Sarah Brown maybe

https://www.hollyhousevets.co.uk/about-us/meet-the-team/veterinary-surgeons/sarah-brown

My concern is more the guts at the moment. Especially as you say she’s now depressed. I would certainly question the Vet about the risks v benefits of continuing the penicillin injections given what, to me, sounds like symptoms of *possible* enteritis.

There are other stronger analgesics that can be given that are less likely to cause marked sedation. These include Paracetamol or Tramadol.

If you do consult the Specialist Vet I’d want her to take a look at the X-rays.

 

[bunny momma]

No advice, just sending positive vibes that a vet can determine cause of your bynny's issue and she can recover.

 

[Shimmer]

Holly House has a good reputation.
I hope that bunny perks up soon.

 

[Shimmer]

If the abscesses are still present (they tend to take months to treat), it's likely that she will need eg penicilin injections long term / for life. You can do them at home - a vet nurse will show you how to do it. It is less stressful than travelling daily. She does need assessing for her gut issues and additional pain relief as well, though, as a matter of urgency.

The vet who took the original X-rays may be able to forward then to your specialist vet - which saves taking any more, including the stress, an extra sedation and the cost of it all.

If she's still taking syringe feeds, I would keep up with those and increase the amount if she will take it.

 

[Bethanyc]

Hi all, thank you so much for the thoughts and advice!

She's back now from the vets and I saw the vet who did the extraction which is good (the other vet there is good too but doesn't seem as knowledgeable about rabbits as this vet is as she's had rabbits before) there's no blockage so I'm continuing to syringe feed.

I've been given 1.5ml of Emeprid twice a day, and to double her loxicom dose to 0.6ml twice a day. I've asked about paracetamol and the vet has said I can do this but to see how she gets on with double loxicom overnight. The vet's going to ring me tomorrow morning (even though it's her day off) to see if she needs to go in for fluids, she has given her a good dose of fluids today too.

In terms of the abscess, it is at the back right of her mouth. She said there wasn't an obvious abscess (no lumps or bumps could be felt or seen) and that when she extracted the problem teeth there was pus under in the socket, she had scooped it all out. Today it looked clear but she couldn't be certain it was gone without sedating her and has advised that this, at the moment, is not in her best interest with her being unwell.

I've ordered Emeraid to come tomorrow, would you use this instead of critical care (currently on the Excell brand as it's the only one she likes) or as well as critical care?

I've not booked her in with the specialist at Holly House just yet, hoping to get her through what seems like a stasis episode first then will go to the specialist to assess the jaw further.

I think sometimes when you have an older rabbit they get written off almost, but before the dental issues she was full of life!

Thank you

 

[InspectorMorse]

Hi all, thank you so much for the thoughts and advice! ��

She's back now from the vets and I saw the vet who did the extraction which is good (the other vet there is good too but doesn't seem as knowledgeable about rabbits as this vet is as she's had rabbits before) there's no blockage so I'm continuing to syringe feed.

I've been given 1.5ml of Emeprid twice a day, and to double her loxicom dose to 0.6ml twice a day. I've asked about paracetamol and the vet has said I can do this but to see how she gets on with double loxicom overnight. The vet's going to ring me tomorrow morning (even though it's her day off) to see if she needs to go in for fluids, she has given her a good dose of fluids today too.

In terms of the abscess, it is at the back right of her mouth. She said there wasn't an obvious abscess (no lumps or bumps could be felt or seen) and that when she extracted the problem teeth there was pus under in the socket, she had scooped it all out. Today it looked clear but she couldn't be certain it was gone without sedating her and has advised that this, at the moment, is not in her best interest with her being unwell.

I've ordered Emeraid to come tomorrow, would you use this instead of critical care (currently on the Excell brand as it's the only one she likes) or as well as critical care?

I've not booked her in with the specialist at Holly House just yet, hoping to get her through what seems like a stasis episode first then will go to the specialist to assess the jaw further.

I think sometimes when you have an older rabbit they get written off almost, but before the dental issues she was full of life!

Thank you ��

I always use Emeraid, the Intensive Care version for very unwell Rabbits and the Sustain version for more general supportive feeds

I hope the increase in dose of Meloxicam helps

 

[Bethanyc]

I always use Emeraid, the Intensive Care version for very unwell Rabbits and the Sustain version for more general supportive feeds

I hope the increase in dose of Meloxicam helps

Thank you so much, I hope so too

That's good to know. I saw it recommended on another thread, it must've been yourself recommending it to someone else, thank you!

I've got the sustain coming, intensive won't get here until Wednesday so I'll order that one too.

 

[InspectorMorse]

Thank you so much, I hope so too ����

That's good to know. I saw it recommended on another thread, it must've been yourself recommending it to someone else, thank you!

I've got the sustain coming, intensive won't get here until Wednesday so I'll order that one too.

Really hoping that he will feel a lot better soon, brave old soldier

 

[bunny momma]

I am glad you were able to talk to the vet. Sending vibes the additional pain meds, motility meds, and syringe feeds will solve her issue with stasis.

 

[Bethanyc]

Thank you all, she's now nibbling bits of food and pooing really well. No hay yet but she hasn't been eating this since having her teeth removed (although she'll eat dried fruit leaves ����*). Hoping she'll start hay soon, but anything is good at the moment �� I'm still syringe feeding to maintain her appetite.

I found the vets injecting fluids there and then (her poo was like a porridge oat) made her immediately start nibbling when she got home, over night her poo had quadrupled in size. I've taken her in again today for extra fluids just in case and again she's come home and immediately started nibbling.

If anyone else has issues with stasis and comes across this thread, it might be worth asking for the fluids and 1.5ml of Emeprid twice a day as this has massively helped my rabbit, even the vet was impressed with how well she's doing ��

 

[InspectorMorse]

I always include SQ fluids as a.routine part of treatment for gut stasis ( as advised by my Vet). IV fluids if the Rabbit is very sick. IMO fluid therapy is as important as prokinetics and analgesia.

 

[Bethanyc]

I always include SQ fluids as a.routine part of treatment for gut stasis ( as advised by my Vet). IV fluids if the Rabbit is very sick. IMO fluid therapy is as important as prokinetics and analgesia.

Yeah, after how I've seen it impact her in less than an hour, I completely agree with you they're vital

 

[Bethanyc]

Hi all,

She's now stable and maintaining weight and is back to being her happy self. The vet has checked her mouth and thinks we might have caught the abscess early as there's not sign of it on the x-ray and you cannot feel any lumps or bumps on her. The only issue is she has lost 4 x molars on her bottom right jaw. She is struggling to chew hay and tends to avoid it but can eat leafy greens. She has never been bothered about pellets and doesn't care about these now either.
I'm currently syringe feeding her so she doesn't drop weight.

Is there anything you suggest that is caloric for her to eat longterm?

It's only been 3 weeks since her tooth removal so maybe I'm being impatient with the hay eating?

Thank you

 

[Bethanyc]

I've tried every type of hay I can think of, I have alfalfa coming tomorrow along with banana flavoured pellets too.

 

[InspectorMorse]

Fresh grass ?

 

[Shimmer]

My extreme dental buns used to like branches with leaves at about nose level - hanging down, poked through the bars, or in a heavy vase . They found it easier to pick off the leaves and munch them that way. There are lots of options at the moment - willow, apple, raspberry, blackcurrant, bramble, rose, etc. Hay or grass can also be cut up into very short lengths (like you would chop chives) so she can hoover them up from a saucer, or mix in a mush of pellets, recovery food, or veg based puree (ie baby food) if she will eat that on her own. Otherwise, I would continue to supplement with syringe feeding and assume it could be a long-term requirement.