Seeking info on Molar Spurs

[SunnieBunnie Rabbitry]

One of my customers just called saying that Claudio (a 4 month old Mini Rex buck) hasn't been acting right since last night.

She said he typically does cage races & Binky's when they come home, but last night he was just sitting in the corner & didn't look right. Her Fiance let him out to play (they keep a close eye on him during "out" time) but he just sat there.

They tried offering him treats, he made some attempts at eating but lost interest quickly & returned to just sitting there. She said that his poops looked normal, so just in case she changed the bedding about 10pm last night to be sure... as of this morning he still hasn't touched his food, no poops at all, and she noticed a little "sore" on the corner of his mouth - she said kind of like a "cold sore".

I told her to check around the house for any chewed cords & suggested she bring him by for a good look over before heading to the vet (maybe it's just something simple thatI could determine:?).

Well.... the reason for my question on Molar spurs is that theDam to this little buck has thrownMalocclusion before - in several offspring. She would have been retired a loooong time ago, but I use her asa testbreeder for a certain color gene, and I rarely sell anything out of thisdoe unless their teeth look perfectly even & then it is only to pet homes with a Spay/Neuter contract.

Anyways - When she brings him over (and as a precaution), what specifically should I check for when looking for Molar spurs? Is it possible that it's visible? or is it something only diagnosed by X-ray? I'm going to palpate him to check for any abdominal abnormalities (blockage, tumor, Cyst, etc.)... I just want to make sure that I at least try to rule out as much as I can for her while she's here.

Thanks for any & all advice - I'll let you know any results on little Claudio.

~Sunshine

 

[naturestee]

Xrays are a good idea, and a thorough check. I think molar spurs can be seen with a scope, although it's very difficult to get a good look at the back teeth without having the rabbit under anesthesia.

I know spurs can cause sores on the cheeks and tongue, and may also cause difficulty eating certain foods (depending on the individual) and saliva running out of the mouth.

Pipp would know more because the bun Pipp has quickly-regrowing molar spurs.

This is a good article on both types of dental problems in rabbits:
http://www.rabbit.org/chapters/san-diego/health/dental_disease.html

This is another good article too.
http://vrra.org/dental.htm

I hope Claudio will be okay! Do his owners have a good rabbit-savvy vet?

 

[SunnieBunnie Rabbitry]

She just left w/Claudio...

He's such a sweetie! He let me poke around his mouth & I was able to stick my pinkie finger in the sides to feel his molars- all feel's normal. He let me open his mouth wide - tongue & cheeks look good. An all this without so much as a wiggle or squirm from him!

While he was flippedover, examined genitals -looked healthy & normal (although did note that his testicles are descended and out of balance - oO - as example, she's going to get him neutered soon anyways). No matted fur, no poopy butt. Eyes looked Clear, Ears were clean.

I palpated him to feel any abnormalities. I first noticed he had a very full bladder, behind that I could feel good, firm, well formed poops. Moving up - Intestines & Cecum felt normal, Stomach felt normal, but rather small.

The only thing I could see out of sorts was some small scabs under his nose just above his mouth. I asked if she checked for accessible cords - she found 1 cord, chewed - that was plugged in :?. 1/2 of the Mystery solved.

The other 1/2 was that she recently bought a new cage for him about 2 weeks ago& some Alfalfa hay came with the cage. For the last 2 weeks she's noticed he hasn't been eating nearly as much as he was before & he's leaving a lot of food left over & hardly any hay is being touched. Before that, she would feed Timothy hay & he'd regularly clean the hay bin out and finish the food in his dish by morning. I suggested she switch back to Timothy & watch his water consumption (remembering the very full bladder).

As I was about to hand him over to her... he decided to hop out of my arms and onto my exam/grooming table - dug a little at the carpet, turned around & pee'd! LOL! I asked if he ate very much since yesterday... she said he didn't touch his food or hay since yesterday morning... so I gave him a little Nutri-Cal, to which he responded by leaving me a nice pile of poops while he was cleaning himself up.

Claudio looks to be on the road to recovery - I think he just wanted to visit me .

~Sunshine

 

[Pipp]

Pipp pretty suddenly got quiet and stopped eating. She'd try eating for a second or two and then drop it and go all quiet.

She showed none of the classic symptoms, no drooling, no tongue or cheek abrasions, and a scope exam couldn't see anything. The Vet didn't think that was the problem, but I could tell the was interested in food but unable to eat it, and feeling pain when she tried, so I told them to xray her head, and yes, her very back molars had spurs.

They used a sedative to knock her out very briefly, and they charged me about $100 for the filing.

She was in a tonofpain when she came home, she got Medicam, which doesn't kick in for12 hours or so. She stayed in pain for ages, I think more from having her mouth stetched, but she really is a wimp. The vet said all she hadwere the spurs and they hadn't impacted on anything else, but she still folded. I'm sure a 'suck it up' bunny would have beenover it in a few days.

Let us know the outcome!

sas and the gang :bunnydance::bunnydance::bunnydance::bunnydance::bunnydance:

EDIT: Really need to havecoffee :caffeinebefore replying, didn't read the LAST part, :biggrin, typedthis for nothing..:baghead :imstupid