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Netherland dwarf with wet chest, paws and excessive drinking

M

Mebs and her bunnies

Young Bun
Hi folks. Just as Jasper seems to be responding to his meds, Emily is acting strangely. She is my Netherland dwarf, aged 4. She suffers from bouts of pseudomonas but this seems to be under control. Emily has always drunk water well and is normally an immaculate bunny. Two days ago, she started getting a wet mouth and chest. Today it went as far as her paws. She seems to be drinking more and is now licking the outside of her water bowl. She now seems to be drinking in longer bouts too, but is eating and pooing as normal. I took her to the vet today( her normal one is away unfortunately). Emily’s heart and teeth were normal, both were checked. The vet said she may have a slight discolouration in her ears. She recommended a blood test. Anybody any thoughts. Thank you.
 
No thoughts but wanted to say I hope you find out and get the answers you need :wave:

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
 
Sending lots of vibes for Emily.

It sounds like she's drooling, which which normally indicate a dental problem. It's not really possible to see the back teeth properly in a conscious rabbit and it could be that there is a slight issue there.

Did the vet indicate what the blood test would be for? I think I would maybe try to get Emily seen again, perhaps by her usual vet when he/she is back.
 
Omi said:
Sending lots of vibes for Emily.

It sounds like she's drooling, which which normally indicate a dental problem. It's not really possible to see the back teeth properly in a conscious rabbit and it could be that there is a slight issue there.

Did the vet indicate what the blood test would be for? I think I would maybe try to get Emily seen again, perhaps by her usual vet when he/she is back.
Click to expand...

I agree with Omi :thumb: Sending lots of vibes for her :thumb:
 
Hi Folks. Emily didn’t-t have a good night. She went to the vet on an emergency this morning as she has also stopped eating. Her breathing doesn’t sound right and she keeps lifting her nose up. I know when she isn't right so I tried to get that point across too. One of the things mentioned was diabetes. So she is in having blood tests and I will ring later this morning. It is not a good time. My dog is going to the vet as well today as she has a lump on her shoulder.
 
Oh no I'm sorry to read this update. I hope the vets can establish what the cause is. Sending lots more vibes for her.

Also sending lots of vibes for your dog. What a stressful time for you! Let us know how they both get on.
 
Mebs and her bunnies said:
Hi folks. Just as Jasper seems to be responding to his meds, Emily is acting strangely. She is my Netherland dwarf, aged 4. She suffers from bouts of pseudomonas but this seems to be under control. Emily has always drunk water well and is normally an immaculate bunny. Two days ago, she started getting a wet mouth and chest. Today it went as far as her paws. She seems to be drinking more and is now licking the outside of her water bowl. She now seems to be drinking in longer bouts too, but is eating and pooing as normal. I took her to the vet today( her normal one is away unfortunately). Emily’s heart and teeth were normal, both were checked. The vet said she may have a slight discolouration in her ears. She recommended a blood test. Anybody any thoughts. Thank you.
Click to expand...


I am sorry to hear about Emily :(

If her breathing has worsened then something is going on there - perhaps a Respiratory Infection. I am guessing that at your first appointment the vet sounded her chest and found no issues and it's worsened since then?

Drooling can be an indication of dental pain. Unless your vet is able to do 'conscious dentals' then it's not possible to see to the back of the mouth accurately to check the cheek teeth.

Did the vet explain what he thought the discolouration in her ears could have been indicative of?

You might want to look here and see if anything rings a bell for you:

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Respiratory/Bacterial/URI.htm

http://www.veterinarywebinars.com/m...oads/2016/03/Study_Notes_Ear_Nose_Rabbits.pdf


I am sure you know all about gastric stasis, but I'll post this here anyway:

http://anyflip.com/dvpt/hzvv/basic

http://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/pdfs/ROWinter10p7.pdf


I really hope Emily can pull through.
Nethies are so small and can be fragile - I had one that was poorly for a while not so long ago.
 
She is still at the vet’s. we saw her yesterday when we went to pick the dog up. They said she was eating well and not drinking excessively, her chest was still wet though. All her blood tests have come back normal. But I know she wasn’t right. I swear you can tell when you know a bunny really well. I am ringing up at 11am and I reckon they will say she can come home. Our normal vet isn’t back until the 13th. She knows Emily so well, I am sure she would agree with me that she isn’t right. Whereas I think everybody else thinks I am imagining it. I can only hope she seems better when I see her.
 
You are right, if you know your bunny, you will know when she is poorly. If the vet is dismissive of your concerns and of her drooling, I personally would look for another rabbit savvy vet ASAP for a second opinion. You can find a rabbit vet on the rwaf page https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-care-advice/rabbit-friendly-vets/rabbit-friendly-vet-list/
Or you could post a thread on here entitled, ‘rabbit savvy vet wanted near - insert name of town’ and someone local might be able to recommend a vet for you.

Topping up the vibes for her.
 
Mebs and her bunnies said:
She is still at the vet’s. we saw her yesterday when we went to pick the dog up. They said she was eating well and not drinking excessively, her chest was still wet though. All her blood tests have come back normal. But I know she wasn’t right. I swear you can tell when you know a bunny really well. I am ringing up at 11am and I reckon they will say she can come home. Our normal vet isn’t back until the 13th. She knows Emily so well, I am sure she would agree with me that she isn’t right. Whereas I think everybody else thinks I am imagining it. I can only hope she seems better when I see her.
Click to expand...


It's really difficult when the vet you trust is away, isn't it? I'm at that point right now where I need a vet and there's none savvy enough around. I hope you can keep things on an even keel and find out what this problem of hers is. You are right to trust your gut instinct.

Would you seek a second opinion from another vet, or is that not possible? Just thinking of getting her seen sooner than the 13th
 
Emily was seen by another vet today. He noticed that one side of her tongue looked very sore so he put her under and filed her teeth down. He isn’t sure if this is definitely the cause as there was less to file down than he originally thought. but at least he acknowledges that the excessive wetness on her front is an issue. She is staying overnight so they can monitor if she eats or not. So we will see what happens tomorrow. Mighty Max I know exactly what you mean. It’s horrible when your trusted vet is away and it all goes wrong. I hope you find someone soon.
 
I'm pleased that Emily has seen another vet, who has operated on her teeth. I did sound very much like a dental issue with the drooling and I hope that it stops the behaviour.

Sending loads of vibes for her and I hope that by tomorrow she is eating and behaving normally again.
 
:( Poor Emily. Lets hope it was hertongue bothering her & the dental has sorted it out. Lots of vibes for her. Hoping tomorrow brings a positive update
 
I really hope she is feeling better after her dental, I’m glad the other vet noticed her tongue was sore. Topping up the vibes for her xx
 
Mebs and her bunnies said:
Emily was seen by another vet today. He noticed that one side of her tongue looked very sore so he put her under and filed her teeth down. He isn’t sure if this is definitely the cause as there was less to file down than he originally thought. but at least he acknowledges that the excessive wetness on her front is an issue. She is staying overnight so they can monitor if she eats or not. So we will see what happens tomorrow. Mighty Max I know exactly what you mean. It’s horrible when your trusted vet is away and it all goes wrong. I hope you find someone soon.
Click to expand...


I'm so glad she's been seen and I really hope she gets eating and can come home soon.

Did you have to see the emergency vet today?

Thank you for your good wishes. I am holding out until my vet comes back ... I am keeping in touch with the surgery! I am hopeful that given the circumstances I can make this work without any issues :)
 
I am glad the vet gave her a dental before she deteriorated further. A week ago my Raven, also a netherland dwarf rabbit, stopped eating and pooing. Based on my past experience; I scheduled a dental. He did not even have any sores like your Emily, just points that just began to rub his tongue and it was enough to have him go off food and then into stasis. After several days to recover from his dental, he is now eating and pooing normally and no long having discomfort. I am sending some positive vibes that your girl with have the same positive result from her dental.
She is so fortunate you know her so well and you persisted to get a vet who made an effort to improve her situation.
 
Last edited:
I have just spoken to the vet and Emily is pooing and eating. However she is now licking herself to the point that it is almost constant and she has made her chest and front paws sore. They are hoping to fit a small, cat collar to her to see if this will stop it and she is on antibiotics, anti inflammatories and cream. To say I am panicking is an understatement.
 
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