Ebony's losing weight/Appt for Ebony- merged

[Pipp]

Well, Pipp's vet said her molars weren't verybad at all, he didn't think that's why she had stopped eating, but itwas. It took herawhile to get intoeatingthings like grated carrot and pumpkin, and the secondtime around she only ate it after getting pain meds.

She was supposed to get her molars done every couple of months, butthis last time, it was a long weekend so I gave her pain meds beforethe surgery (usually it's after), and it started her eating again, andit seems that in turn caused the spurs to grind themselves down (orsomething) because she's still eating!

Good luck with Ebony. ray:

sas

 

[Haley]

How's Ebony doing? Any luck with getting some weight back on her?

 

[Robin123]

Ebony is getting her teeth done today.I took her downyesterday and they checked her overagain. The vet and I were hoping she would gain more weightbut instead she lost a little. She's 1kg now. Ithought they were going to do her teeth yesterday but they said theycouldn't do it until today. They said they'd keep her overnight and do her teeth in the morning. I wished they had saidthat last time because I could have just taken her down this morningrather than her having to spend the night there. They saidthey'd let me know how it went. I hope she'll be ok.

How long after she has it done would she start eating again if herteeth is the reason she's not eating? Should she be eatingtimothy or alfalfa based pellets until her weight gets back up tonormal. She is almost 2 andshe wasontimothypellets and hay. I'll ask thevet but I wanted your opinions as well.

 

[Haley]

I dont have much experience with molar problems,but just make sure they give you pain meds to keepon hand,just in case.

As pipp said, her bunny wont eat unless she has pain meds. Just be sureto keep her hydrated with extra fluids if shes on pain meds. Also, itwould be bet to keep some pumkin on hand in case you have to syringefeed her.

Best wishes..Im praying for your little girl!

 

[Michaela]

Robin I hope Ebony is ok!:goodluck

I have an Ebony too, she's in my av!

 

[Robin123]

I just called the vet. They told me tocall around 2 if I didn't hear from them by then. They'redoing her teeth right now and said they'll call me when they'refinished. The vet didn't say anything about pain meds.yesterday but I'll ask aboutthem when they phoneback. Are there any other questions I should ask them?

 

[Robin123]

They just phoned. She's just waking upnow. It was her teeth. I just got to talk to thereceptionist but she said they were a lot worse than theythought. They were sobad thay had really sharppointsthat were digging into her tongue. She saidthey gave her something for pain but wasn't sure if the dr. was goingto send any home with her. I'llask when I go pickher up tonight.

I feel so bad. She hasn't been able to eat normal food for awhile now. I wish I had asked them try it sooner but thevetnever thoughtthey were that bad. Shehad even suggested that they do exploritory surgery to find out whatthe problem was.

Hopefullynow she'll be back to eating normally again. I'm so glad she'll be ok!

 

[Haley]

Im so happy to hear that! Well, not happy thather teeth were bad, but happy that you guys found out what was wrongbefore she got a lot worse.

I would really try and get pain meds, my vet gave me metacam (alsocalled meloxicam) I know Pipp gets that too. What I did was get themeds just in case, and then only give them if you think shes in pain(like if she wont eat).

Other than that, the only thing I can think of it so be ready to feedher soft foods for the next day or so in case she cant really chew..

Keep us posted!

 

[Michaela]

What a relief! Thank goodness she didn't have to have unnecessay surgery.

 

[Robin123]

Ebony's home now. So hasn't ate ordrank anything yet. I gave her some Critical Care but shedidn't want that either. The vet didn't give heranypain meds. to take home with her. She was given somethingthere and they said it should last the rest of the day and to call ifthere were any problems. I'll see if she wants any cannedpumpkin or something. What do I do if I can't get her to eatany of it? I know she can't go without food or water for toolong.

 

[Pipp]

Blech. They should have given her someMetacam. Her mouth will be sore for a week. It'snot just the ulcer from the spurand the grinding process,they stretched her poor little mouthin a brace and held itthere for an hour, your mouth would hurt too!

Nutrical may be your best bet as long asshe feels like grooming herself and will lick it off of her foot.

I've hadgood luck with room temperature diluted carrot juicefed from a syringe. (It's a goodidea to make thesyringe her friend, deliveringtreats that she'll takewillingly).

Some thingsare going to hurt the ulcer, others will hurt herjaw, so it's just a matter of trying to convince her to eat anythingyou can. Critical Care is the best, andshe's eatenit in the past, so worth it to keep trying that.

Probably worth a call to the vet to discuss pain meds.Metacam (and all other NSAIDS) have to be taken with food and water andI know Metacam takes a good 8 to 12 hours to kick in, and they reallycan't go more than 24 hours without eating. If youcan't get back to the vet, I'd ask them about Ibuprofen, I think Motrinor Baby Motrin has been prescribed for bunnies, I'd have to check thatthough.

As always, let us know how she's doing.

sas

 

[naturestee]

I'd definately call the vet about painmeds. If they still don't want to prescribe anything talk tothem about using liquid over-the-counter meds, like the babyforms. Aspirin, Tylenol, and Ibuprofen are all safe in theproper dosages (although some rabbits do have problems from them,nothing is perfect). I'd probably go with Ibuprofen frompersonal experience.

If you do have to go the over-the-counter route, use this to help youdetermine the right dose. It's better to err on the side ofcaution and give her a low dose just in case.
http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/rx/drugcalc.html

Keep us updated! ray:

 

[Robin123]

Ebony ate a little bit of apple thismorning. I haven't seen her eat anything elsethough. It doesn't look like she has. My mom and Itried syringe feedingher but it didn't really work.I don't think muchwent in her mouth. Some ended upon her fur and shelicked it off but thats about it.I asked the vetabout pain meds. and she said they did giveher metacam yesterday and that they can give her more today but we'dhave to bring her in so they can give it to her. Hopefullyher mouth will feel better in a few days so she'll feel like eatingagain.

 

[naturestee]

What, they won't let you give hermetacam? That's bull. It only works for 12-24 hoursso you'd have to bring her back 1-2 times per day!:shock:It's an oral medicine so it's not like it's that hard togive. Could you talk to them about over-the-counter pain meds?

 

[Robin123]

Ebony'sfeeling better. She'seating hay this morning. I was going to take her back to thevet to get her some more pain medication but she started eating more sowe decided not to. I don't know why the vet wont just give usthe medication. I gave her some critical care this morning aswell and she ate some of that too. I'm so glad she's feelingbetter.

 

[Haley]

Im glad to hear things are looking up! Keep us posted