• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.
  • Please Note - Medical Advice

    Please keep in mind that posts on this forum are from members of the public sharing personal opinions. It is not a replacement for qualified medical advice from a veterinarian. Many illnesses share similar symptoms but require different treatments. A medical exam is necessary for an accurate diagnosis, without which appropriate treatment cannot be given.

    You should always consult your vet before following any suggestions for medication or treatment you have read about. The wrong treatment could make your rabbit worse or mean your vet is unable to give the correct treatment because of drug interactions. Even non prescription drugs can do harm if given inappropriately.

    We are very grateful to members who take time to answer other members questions, but please do be clear in your replies that you are sharing personal experience and not giving instructions on what must be done.

    Urgent Medical Advice: If you need, or think you might need, urgent medical advice you should contact a vet. If it is out of working hours phone your vet's normal number and there should be an answer phone message with instructions on what to do.

Tina's problems

CraigBunny

New Kit
Hi. So just about a week ago our 2 year old mini lop Tina was looking a bit depressed and lethargic, I was worried about her so I started feeding her separate to her partner, Craig. I then noticed she wasn't eating as much as normal. Over that week she was not eating anything other than porridge and mashed pellets, she wasn't even eating alot of that. We assumed (and the vet agreed) she probably had overgrown back/cheek teeth. We got her to the vets on Wednesday so the vet could check her teeth and file them down if needed. It was then the vet noticed she had a very wobbly back tooth, he pulled the tooth out and discovered a huge abscess underneath it which was causing her a lot of pain. He drained the abscess and put her on pain killers and antibiotics. He said that there was a chance that the abscess has spread under her other teeth, if it has the only option would be to have her pts sadly.
On Friday Tina still wasn't eating barely anything so we phoned the vet again, he said she probably had gut stasis from the anesthetic so we needed to give her critical care every hour (which we did) and if she wasn't even attempting to eat by the morning to bring her in.
Saturday morning we took Tina back to the vets. He had a feel of her and said her gut feels fine but gave her a fluid injection anyway. He looked in her mouth and said there was a small amount of puss on her gum and that was not a good sign. He said it might not have spread but tbh I think he knows it has :( He upped her pain killer dose to the highest possible amount and said to keep giving her critical care and phone on Tuesday morning if she's still not eating.
I am so stressed about it. Tina won't even attempt to eat anything (even less than before she had the abscess drained!) She takes her critical care and meds okay but I can't keep her on it forever.
I may be being pessimistic but I really can't see her suddenly starting to eat again.
She is still quite depressed looking most of the time but sometimes she'll just be hopping around the bunny avairy like a normal healthy bunny. I am so worried, how do I know when it's time? (to have her pts :( ) She seems ok in herself but only because she's on alot of pain killers, antibiotics, fluid stuff, and hourly critical care.
 
Can you ask your vet to refer you to a rabbit specialist?
Have you had any skull x-rays done?

You may be able to get an opinion from the specialist without seeing them, if your vet sends the notes and x-rays across. There are treatment options, but it depends on the cause of the problem. There are surgical procedure to remove the abscess and deal with misaligned teeth, different antibiotics (commonly injectable penicillin based ones), and different combinations of pain relief. Getting the pain under control and getting enough food in are key. Monitoring weight weekly is a good way to see if she is getting enough food.

Even if the condition has no permanent cure, a rabbit can maintain a good quality of life with ongoing treatment - but there are lots of variables for you at the moment. Cost is another consideration. The specialist mine went to cost about the same as my regular vet, although I had to travel further to see her.Both my dental bunnies had severe jaw abscesses and lived about another 18 months of quality time with ongoing care after major surgery (depocillin injections daily at home, oral pain relief, modified food that they could eat for themselves, and the odd extra dental at my vet).
 
I agree that a referral to a Specialist would be a good idea,although due to Covid 19 restrictions things are a bit more complicated with regards to referrals they are still possible. Without skull radiographs to determine the exact extent of the Dental disease it's a bit early to say that PTS now is the only other option. As Shimmer has mentioned, it depends on the precise nature of the condition amongst other factors.

With regards to pain relief, Tina may need a higher dose and/or additional types of analgesia to manage the pain.

These links would be useful to have a look at :

https://www.dvm360.com/view/managing-dental-abscesses-rabbits-proceedings

https://avianandexoticvets.com/management-of-dental-abscesses-in-rabbits

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Dental_diseases/Differential/Rabbit_dentistry.pdf
 
No advice on this particular issue, just sending some positive vibes that with appropriate pain management and supportive care she will improve enough to stay with you as long as possible. It is a good sign that sometimes she is still hopping around like a normal bunny.
 
No I have no experience either, but want to add by vibes and good wishes for a way forward for your little bun x
 
Hi CraigBunny

I'm so sorry to hear about Tina's problem.

Dex is also a mini-lop and a couple of months back stopped eating etc we found that it was a tooth abscess. The thing with rabbits is that the abscess doesn't drain away the way it does with dogs for example. They had to cut a hole under his chin where the abscess was in order to drain the pus. I had to administer some form of saline (we used eye drops) and I had to clean the pus with a cotton bud - this had to be done twice a day.

He was also on a cocktail of drugs - one to stimulate his gut, metacam for the pain/inflammation, depocillen injections which were the antibiotics. I also had to syringe feed him copious amounts per day

After about 2 weeks of this, he finally pulled through and improved. So I know how tough it is for you at the moment, but I would keep at it. I feared I would lose him at some point and had the same feelings that you probably currently have.

I'm no expert, but how are you draining the abscess? It says that the vet drained it but from what I understand it doesn't drain like it does in dogs, it needs to slowly come out and be cleaned.

I am happy to help if you have any questions. I don't know the vets you use but I use Medivet hospital in Hendon NW London, and if you speak to them they definitely have experience in this. They are open 24/7 and their vets are extremely helpful.
 
Back
Top