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Rabbit choking due to overgrown teeth?

bunny momma said:
I am sorry she chocked again. What is she eating, drinkng or doing when she chokes? Is she eating fast? Could it be coughing? What litter do you use? Does she have water bottle or bowl? If bottle perhaps water going down incorrectly? Sending positive vibes you and your vet can find a cause and treatment.
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I think she's not doing anything when she chokes. It's usually early am when I'm asleep that it happens or when I'm not looking so I don't know what she is doing. Next thing I know she is running around.
She uses a bowl water. And I use eco straw for litter. It's not coughing something is caught in the esophagus (esophageal choke) the spit backs up into her mouth and nose and I have to put my finger in her mouth as far back as I can and do a sweeping motion back and forth like you'd do for a person choking. I never find anything though.
Previous she wouldn't eat hay so ate lettuce and was choking but now she's eating oxbow Timothy hay and oxbow pellets and still choking. I don't think she's choking on the pellets, she's not a very big pellets fan.
 
If she's still choking after having her teeth done it might be something else entirely that's causing it. What has the vet said about the choking?
 
Orenoko said:
If she's still choking after having her teeth done it might be something else entirely that's causing it. What has the vet said about the choking?
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He's been out since he did the dental friday so I've not had a chance to talk with him. I'm worried it's megaesophagus or something like that.
Is it possible she's just in the habit of swallowing early from the overgrown teeth and the hay goes down wrong because of that?
 
She needs to go back to a Rabbit Savvy Vet straight away. If she keeps choking even after the Dental the problem is clearly not caused by overgrown teeth. Also, after a choking episode it’s essential that the lungs are repeatedly checked for 24 hours. Aspiration pneumonia can set in after a choke.
 
I agree she needs a follow up with a vet.
Are you sure it is spit backing up into her nose and not water she is aspirating?
Could she be having seizures?
 
How worrying :(

I can understand the difficulty for you, considering you need to be around to intervene. I have a duck who sometimes gets throat infections (possibly due to the abnormal extra tissue in his throat). When he has a throat infection, he chokes when drinking/eating and needs me there to hold and calm him as he really freaks out and seems like he's dying.

Since it doesn't seem to be a dental issue, I'd be looking into other things it could be. I don't know if throat infection would cause similar symptoms in rabbits but wanted to post this in case it could help.
 
I missed the call from the rabbit Savvy vet yesterday but hopefully he will call back today. It's upsetting because time is her health and possibly her life and we need to get a jump on it but I can't do anything till he calls..

We went to a new exotic vet in town yesterday and she seemed to imply it was the teeth and said from her records she needed metacam for teeth pain. I asked her if she'd read the rabbit savvy vets report on her dental/teeth and she said she hadn't because there were so much notes.

Thank you everyone for your replies I didn't see the notification that I had replies until just now and have been freaking out mostly over the weekend.
 
The rabbit savvy vet thinks it's a seizure disorder and we agreed to try phenobarbital. This is a doctor that only sees exotics that's been a vet over 35 years who always intended to be an exotics doctor.
What do you guys think?
 
William said:
How worrying :(

I can understand the difficulty for you, considering you need to be around to intervene. I have a duck who sometimes gets throat infections (possibly due to the abnormal extra tissue in his throat). When he has a throat infection, he chokes when drinking/eating and needs me there to hold and calm him as he really freaks out and seems like he's dying.

Since it doesn't seem to be a dental issue, I'd be looking into other things it could be. I don't know if throat infection would cause similar symptoms in rabbits but wanted to post this in case it could help.
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Thank you!
 
Sending you and your bunny positive vibes that her new meds will address her choking episodes.
It is always comforting when you have a vet you can trust.
 
Vibes desperately needed. I have her HALF the phenobarbital dose and she went from (finally)eating to out of it. And it's not going to get better for a while because the half life is something like 3 days,.and that's a lot of time for her not to eat. If I force feed her she doesn't swallow even if I use the tilt her head back trick.
Ive given everything I have for this bunny and I feel like I'm going to lose her anyway and there's no vets open on weekends..
 
I called the vet and the main vet wasn't in but the secondary vet said not to give her any more phenobarbetal. I am really starting to feel I've been led astray by the main vet and like I'm going to lose my bunny because of it see above.
 
I am sorry that your Rabbit has had an adverse reaction to the phenobarbitone. Did the Vet you spoke with not suggest they admit your Rabbit to the clinic for intensive care.ie prokinetic medication, IV fluids and NG feeding ?
 
InspectorMorse said:
I am sorry that your Rabbit has had an adverse reaction to the phenobarbitone. Did the Vet you spoke with not suggest they admit your Rabbit to the clinic for intensive care.ie prokinetic medication, IV fluids and NG feeding ?
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She seems to be coming out of it some. No they didn't. What's prokinetic medication and NG feeding?
 
Sending more vibes for your bunny.
I hope she will begin to eat on her own soon and the meds will wear off quicker since you only gave her a half dose. When syringe feeding, I never tilt the bunny's head back. I sometimes gently stroke the bunny's throat to encourage swallowing.
 
bunny momma said:
Sending more vibes for your bunny.
I hope she will begin to eat on her own soon and the meds will wear off quicker since you only gave her a half dose. When syringe feeding, I never tilt the bunny's head back. I sometimes gently stroke the bunny's throat to encourage swallowing.
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That "rabbit savvy vet" said to tilt the head up, not straight up but up ish when force feeding
 
bunny momma said:
Sending more vibes for your bunny.
I hope she will begin to eat on her own soon and the meds will wear off quicker since you only gave her a half dose. When syringe feeding, I never tilt the bunny's head back. I sometimes gently stroke the bunny's throat to encourage swallowing.
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Thank you for the vibes and well wishes
 
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