change in habits

[jamesedwardwaller]

here we go again/when it rains it pours.//.our house rabbit has declining eating habits,seems to prefer soft foods,,despite my efforts to keep hay around him,others throw junk food his way,,now i am afraid that his grinding of teeth periodically might be due to a tooth spur or misalignment,,he has just been treated with advantage/fleas/.his poops have become fewer,and his weight has dropped slightly,,all i can do is monitor his weight/critical care/,and watch his behavior/habits,,and monitor the tummy,,dental pain.???..sincerely james waller:scared::?:whistling

 

[Pipp]

How old is he? What breed?

Did he seem to want to eat certain things but changed his mind when it was in his mouth? Does he like eating the Critical Care? If so, it could be molar spurs. They certainly seems common these days. A good rabbit vet should be able to see spurs with a scope.

Mind you, my first vet said Pipp's teeth weren't the problem after her first 'not eating' exam, I had to request an x-ray, it was a very minor spur putting the little diva off her food. My new vet sees bad teeth on 9 out of 10 bunnies he sees. So you never know.

If he's an older rabbit, then you have to watch for tooth root issues which may show up more as a eye or nose discharge or jaw lumps if they're infected, but assessing tooth roots will likely take an x-ray.

Was he the only rabbit with fleas?


sas :clover:

 

[jcottonl02]

The grinding of the teeth has me a little concerned, alongside the suddeny change in eating habits.

I would definately suggest taking him to the vet- they should be able to see any molar spurs (as Pipp said), without diving straight to an x-ray that may be unneeded.

Are his eyes watery at all? Can you feel any bumps along one side of his mouth that aren't mirrored on the other?

As he is losing weight, and appears to be in pain, and a quite dramatic change in eating habits, I would suggest strongly to take him to a rabbit-savvy vet for analysis.

Without ruling out dental problems, it is then hard to try other methods, and see what the underlying problem is.

Jen

 

[Maureen Las]

Do you have a rabbit vet who is knowledgeable, James?

Years ago I took my bun Beau to 3 different vets in my somewhat rural area and they all told me Beau's molars were fine.

They attempted to exam his teeth with a scope visually with no sedation.

Later on after seeing the dentist I learned that a visual exam (as I described) isvirtually no tool at all
Beau 's teeth needed major work

Radiographs must be done to visualize the tooth roots. Even a visual examunder anesthesia can only tell you part of the story.


I hope that you have a vet who is willing to do this.

 

[tonyshuman]

Pipp mentioned another really good sign of a bunny having tooth problems--approaching food, appearing to want it, but not taking it or not eating it. Sometimes a bunny will even pick up a piece of food and put it back down because they can't chew it. Sometimes they run toward the food dish when it gets filled, then stop, look at it for a while, and walk away.

Anyway, a vet and x-rays will help if you think that's what's going on.

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

Pipp wrote:

How old is he? What breed?

Did he seem to want to eat certain things but changed his mind when it was in his mouth? Does he like eating the Critical Care? If so, it could be molar spurs. They certainly seems common these days. A good rabbit vet should be able to see spurs with a scope.

Mind you, my first vet said Pipp's teeth weren't the problem after her first 'not eating' exam, I had to request an x-ray, it was a very minor spur putting the little diva off her food. My new vet sees bad teeth on 9 out of 10 bunnies he sees. So you never know.

If he's an older rabbit, then you have to watch for tooth root issues which may show up more as a eye or nose discharge or jaw lumps if they're infected, but assessing tooth roots will likely take an x-ray.

Was he the only rabbit with fleas?


sas :clover:

howdy pipp--the three indoor cats and-the two indoor rabbits were treated with advantage because i found flea and eggs on the 2nd rabbit,(who is doing good).//.#-1-rabbit(raisin)- is a 5 yr.old havana,,he is getting critical care,for water,etc-.though he eats,drinks only a little,/.he is peeing,,only a little poop--so i have been trying to get him to chew on timothy/grasses/dandylions/clover/blk-berry vines,,etc./less-no- pellets,,--does seem like a tooth spur,-not constant tooth grinding,but a change in behavior--,,no nasal,,eye drainage-as of yet,./.his dvm was booked into next week,,may have to utilize the a back up dvm--if the situation don,t stablize.//.i am weighing him also,,a little metacam for pain,,studying his gi tract with a stethascope.//.doesn,t seem to be any blockage,..sincerely james waller

 

[Sweetie]

Hi James: I have had this same problem, similar problem, with Prince. He wasn't drinking or eating. Here is what you can do for your bunny:

1. Make appointment to see the vet. If you can't get in for 2 weeks or more, there is a vet in Kirkland named Dr. DeLany, she is a really good vet, she will be able to help you.

2. Keep rabbit hydrated by syringing fluids or doing sub-q fluids. If rabbit will eat greens, go for that. But keep rabbit hydrated

3. You can syringe food to rabbit. If you have Critical Care, syringe that to rabbit. If not, you can mix pellets with water, and syringe that when they are soft to rabbit.

4. Keep an eye on rabbit


Do these things until your appointment with the vet.

Dr. DeLany took really good care of Prince. He is now better and eating and drinking on his own.

PM me if you would like further information.

 

[Sweetie]

Another thing to do is get pedilyte and syringe that to rabbit also to keep rabbit hydrated.

Also there could be a small blockage that you cannot detect. Syringe pineapple juice, freshly squeezed, to rabbit. This will help if there is any kind of blockage. Some blockages may be harder to detect than others.

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

Sweetie wrote:

Another thing to do is get pedilyte and syringe that to rabbit also to keep rabbit hydrated.

Also there could be a small blockage that you cannot detect. Syringe pineapple juice, freshly squeezed, to rabbit. This will help if there is any kind of blockage. Some blockages may be harder to detect than others.

howdy,,kirkland,eh./well thank you-sweetie,..the worse may be over.//.raisin has been treated for fleas(advantage)-,he has been hydrated with very watery critical care,,plus being weighed every 12 hours,,we feel the tooth grinding maybe due to somekinda blockage.//.he has been taking watered down c.c.very well,,with metacam, ciproand monitoring the gi tract with a stethascope,,so far so good.//.no bumps,abscesses,mouth or body...were are watching for his first good poops yet only pee,,hopefully i won,t have to induce pooping with meds....sincerely james waller:biggrin::whistling

 

[Sweetie]

Yeah, Dr. Delany has helped Prince with his teeth because Dr Crawford didn't have the tools to do it. She is really nice! I would still make an appointment to make sure it isn't the teeth.

Poor rabbit must be in a lot of pain. I hope that he/she feels better soon.

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

update on raisin.//.well we got our exam,today,very thourough//,nothing found//,no reason for not eating.//.in just the last 24 hours he has started producing fecals,,and eating selective weeds,,dandylions,clover,grasses--my job is to keep feeding critical care,,keep hydrating--no sub,q--stuff more grasses down him..with a 0.3ml metacam daily.//.--i had to insist there was something wrong,,dvm must think i,m nuts--oh-well..raisin was very well behaved,,as usual,,but seemed to be huffing,,were are going to give him till thursday for habits to pick up,,or blood tests,etc.---sincerely james waller

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

james waller wrote:

here we go again/when it rains it pours.//.our house rabbit has declining eating habits,seems to prefer soft foods,,despite my efforts to keep hay around him,others throw junk food his way,,now i am afraid that his grinding of teeth periodically might be due to a tooth spur or misalignment,,he has just been treated with advantage/fleas/.his poops have become fewer,and his weight has dropped slightly,,all i can do is monitor his weight/critical care/,and watch his behavior/habits,,and monitor the tummy,,dental pain.???..sincerely james waller:scared::?:whistling

rasin,,our house rabbit went in today for radiograghs and blood tests find out thurs.5-5-10,,whats up.??ray:

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

update on -(raisin)-mon.05-10-10,7:30pm,new exam by dr.kemper-snowood-animal hospital,woodinville,wa././facial and gitract radiograghs--showing two spurs right lower jaw,,and an-empty stomach and enlarged cecum-(inflamation)-after teeth grinding,,and waking up from anathesia,,is now on cathoder/sub-q fluids/antibiotics and pain meds--no poops yet--spending the night at the hospital,est $800,,plus what i got soaked for earlier equals about $1200.--but this is what i do,,no regrets-$$-dr.kemper is a special friend,,her expertise is unsurpassed//--poop tests will be done to check for bad bacteria,,parasitic,coccidia,,etc..this has been a nightmare for the rabbit and ouselves,,i have said it before and i continue to say:.few and far between are dedicated exotic-dvm-specialists--they do not all come out of the same mold.//.we have experienced one such a vet that our rabbit died-the heartbreak is still lingureing when something like this happens,,dejavu...sincerely james waller

 

[tonyshuman]

Oh dear. I'm sorry it ended up being so serious. I'm glad you have such a good vet and are willing to do everything for Raisin. I hope she does ok tonight and comes home to you tomorrow! I would bet that the tooth spurs were the cause of the whole thing. Rabbit teeth can be such a pain.

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

tonyshuman wrote:

Oh dear. I'm sorry it ended up being so serious. I'm glad you have such a good vet and are willing to do everything for Raisin. I hope she does ok tonight and comes home to you tomorrow! I would bet that the tooth spurs were the cause of the whole thing. Rabbit teeth can be such a pain.

thank you claire,.yes,i agree,..what a shame this happens alot,,it is classic text book/symptoms/dental/gistasis/-backed up at my insistance that the behavior change was worthy of investigating..poor little guy....when dr.kemper examined him she knew instinctively raisin was sick,..my hat is off to her--and she is only about 30 years old--i don,t think she could know much more--she is ahead of her time,wow...i hope raisin poops good for examination/testing,,the cecum is scarey--i believe he is on sulfadime/metacam,-iv,s-the works...i am-too estatic,to be angry-right now,,..sincerely james waller:big wink::innocentray:

 

[kirbyultra]

I sure hope it works out for you and Raisin. You are fortunate to have such a dedicated vet who knows her stuff. But the again, first credit goes to you for your diligence and knowing your rabbits so well. No amount of medical knowledge will do you bunnies good if the owner is not paying attention! Sometimes you just know in your gut you have to do something before it's gotten too serious. Kudos, and really hoping for a healthy bun soon.

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

kirbyultra wrote:

I sure hope it works out for you and Raisin. You are fortunate to have such a dedicated vet who knows her stuff. But the again, first credit goes to you for your diligence and knowing your rabbits so well. No amount of medical knowledge will do you bunnies good if the owner is not paying attention! Sometimes you just know in your gut you have to do something before it's gotten too serious. Kudos, and really hoping for a healthy bun soon.

thankyou helen.,,yes i am going to write a new chapter on gi-stasis/change in habits,,dvm says only a little cecotrope so far no fecals,//,we pick him up tonite about 6pm--he has joined the ranks ofmy many other rabbits --i call over the $1000.00 club....i have two cats with about $8,000 invested...i think i need a rehabb...sincerely james waller

 

[Sweetie]

james waller wrote:

kirbyultra wrote:

I sure hope it works out for you and Raisin. You are fortunate to have such a dedicated vet who knows her stuff. But the again, first credit goes to you for your diligence and knowing your rabbits so well. No amount of medical knowledge will do you bunnies good if the owner is not paying attention! Sometimes you just know in your gut you have to do something before it's gotten too serious. Kudos, and really hoping for a healthy bun soon.

thankyou helen.,,yes i am going to write a new chapter on gi-stasis/change in habits,,dvm says only a little cecotrope so far no fecals,//,we pick him up tonite about 6pm--he has joined the ranks ofmy many other rabbits --i call over the $1000.00 club....i have two cats with about $8,000 invested...i think i need a rehabb...sincerely james waller

James: My rabbit Prince is in that over the $1,000 club. Actually he is in the over $2,000 club right now. Rabbits can be expensive but well worth it.



I agree with you kirbyultra. Knowing our rabbits habits is a good thing. Because we will know what is wrong with them when it first shows up in the very early signs, before it gets very serious and too late. Many rabbits hide their illness and you have to know your rabbit to detect the illness right away.

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

well,,we have our baby home--and he pooped on the floor/yea--raisin,,good poops.//.we have meds and directions for a two week course in rehabbing from serious gi-stasis,,cause from tooth spurs/unknown/.all the blood tests were good,cecum will return to normal as the gi-tract recovers.//.we must have consumed an easy hour of the dvm,s time with a deluge,of questions and answers--this was her day off,too-,here is a link i found which best describes-raisins- behavioral changes http://www.rabbit.org/chapters/san-diego/health/dental_disease.html --listed symptoms under heading of dental disease .//.but bear in-mind,there is no dental disease only tooth grinding from two spurs on the right side--somehow--this i feel lead to severe gi-stasis.//.there was not alot-of symptoms to go on,,easily overlooked symptoms,,only enough to raise the red flag of concern--and again,yes,very serious problem--and i am always willing to help others try to understand their rabbit--because we are the first line of defence for these guys...,and believe it or not i do not feel smart enough,yet...sincerely james waller--i will try to give up dates but with 17 rabbits,,20-homers,12 cats--i am in demmand 24/7...

 

[Pipp]

arty0002: Yay for poops!!

And I know whatcha mean about no symptoms. Pipp's symptom was that she stopped eating. That of course made her sick. The vet couldn't find anything wrong, was just treating the symptoms.

After doing the research, I insisted on a head x-ray and sure enough, they found a tiny little tooth spur. They said it was too small to be causing her anorexia, it wasn't even rubbing on her cheek or tongue, but that was indeed the cause. My little diva can't have even a bit of a spur without shutting down.

Hope Raisin continues to improve.

Did the vet give him a gut motility drug? If so, he has to be weaned off of it slowly.


sas :clover: