Tooth Extraction - Slow Recovery

[Aliena]

Hi,

My 3yr old male mini lop had two teeth extracted and some filed down a few days ago as he had suddenly stopped eating and was grinding his teeth. He has had his teeth filed before and he recovered from the anaesthetic really well. This time the vets had to keep him overnight until the following afternoon as he was not eating on his own.

Now he is home with me and he seems to be eating pretty well but he seems pretty sullen. His poo's are not the normal shape (although he is doing lots) and there are lots of mushy ones (I think uneaten cecotropes - although I did see him eating some from his bum). He has a bit of a runny eye which is normal for him but this morning he has a really snotty nose (and his breathing was really loud last night, probably becausehis nose isblocked). He is on anti-biotics (trimethoprim-sulfa), does anybody know if these anti-biotics will cover his nose too? I'm thinking maybe his immune system has taken a knock and the surgery was probably stressful which is probably why he has got the snotty nose but I can't call the vet until tomorrow (as it is the weekend) so was hoping someone on here might have gone through a similar experience?

Thanks.

 

[Maureen Las]

Having the teeth pulled probably stressed him out quite a bit and this may have caused a flare-up of bacteria that usually his body can suppress. I wonder if he was prescibed pain medication? it seems that hecould be uncomfortable and may need some pain relief.

Trimethoprim sulfa is not theideal antibiotic for any rabbit as it can upset the GI tract and there are so many newer antibiotics that are more potent.

Right now you want himpain free and more relaxed.
You may want to ask your vet for a stronger antibiotic on Mon ( Zithromax , Convenia injectable, oral chlorampencial (or even injectable baytril) is a better option than Trimethoprim sulfa.

Also ask for a pain med for him.

Some of the symptoms may reside after a few days on their own; make sure that youprepare foods that he is able to eat and make them available to him in the meantime.

Iwould also give a probiotic like benebac to help reestablish the gut flora

Some discomfort is normal after extractions but you want to minimize the impact of it as much as possible.

if he is still experienceing chest sounds on Mon I would take him back to the vet for a recheck.

 

[Aliena]

Thanks for that info.

He is on Metacam for pain and he is no longer grinding his teeth so I guess it must be working. The trimethoprim-sulpha is what he was given before when he had his teeth filed. Unfortunately I don't think we have Benebac in NZ, I have tried looking for it before and couldn't find anywhere that sold it, would something like acidophilus be of any help do you think?

He has been eating lots of greens and I gave him a bit of banana today to try and cheer him up.

Hopefully I will be able to talk to the vet tomorrow and maybe they can give me some different antibiotics. He has started sneezing now too but his chest sounds clear, just a stuffy nose that makes a lot of noise when he's breathing whilst sleeping.

I hate that I can't do much to make him feel better! His bunny-friend is busy grooming him so hopefully he is enjoying her company at least.

 

[aurora369]

Yes, acidophilus will do just fine for a bunny. You can mix it with a bit of water or natural juice and syringe it. Or if he's eating, then sprinkle it on the food.

-Dawn

 

[Aliena]

Great, I will grab some tomorrow and get him started on that. Thanks.

 

[ra7751]

I would have a discussion with the vet about discontinuing the sulfa. Not an ideal drug under most situations (especially with rabbits). Many oral antibiotics can lead to some issues. The key is if the benefit outweighs the potential risks....and with sulfa, there are few, if any, benefits. If there is a confirmed infection, an injectable like Convenia would be a much better choice (dosing protocol for this drug in rabbits is different than for other species).

Dental extractions are quite painful....not so much the lower arcade but the root on the uppers are quite long. Metacam is insufficient. No problem with using Metacam but with major surgeries (including dental extractions) it should be used with a narcotic (or narcotic like drug) such as Buprenorphine or Tramadol.

Make sure hydration is up to par.

And a one time injection of B Comp (a vitamin) will usually perk them up quite a bit post-op.

Randy

 

[Sweetie]

I had to take Prince, my male rabbit in to the vet to get his teeth trimmed as they were spurred. He was in pain and given metacam for 5 days, he was on .25mL. Before that he was on .1mL for 10 days because he was in so much pain.

Like Randy said, hydration is very important. Make sure your rabbit stays hydrated.

I had to syringe fluids to Prince, then when he fought me he still wasn't drinking very much, I had to give him sub-q fluids right up to his appointment.

After his appointment to get his teeth trimmed (grinded down) he felt so much better, and I only had to syringe him food once, then he was eating and drinking on his own.

Prince had gunk in his eyes every couple of days or so, he does not have that problem anymore.

Your bunny sounds like he could have an infection, like an upper respiratory infection. Check with your vet on this.

Hope your bunny feels better.

 

[Aliena]

Thanks for all that info. Am taking my bunny back to the vet this afternoon so will mention what's been said. He seems to be feeling better now, is eating really well and drinking lots. His breathing also isn't so noisy anymore.

Hopefully all will turn out well in the end.

 

[Aliena]

Vet said that Kuta must have had an abscess at the base of the teeth which were extracted(which wasn't visible when the teeth were extracted) and now it has burst through into the nasal cavity and is coming out his nose. Had a look in his mouth and a small amount is draining into there too.

Because it is draining well nothing has to be done except more antibiotics, so now he is on metronidazole as well as the other one. I just have to keep cleaning his nose so it doesn't go crusty and if there is no improvement in a few days take him back.

He seems pretty happy. He has been in my room at night and in his hutch with his girlfriend during the day. I brought her in to be with him tonight since they like each others company so much but she started tearing the place apart and wouldn't stop stamping so I've had to put her back in her hutch, silly girl. Meanwhile Kuta is sprawled out on the floor enjoying the indoor life very much!

Thanks for all the advice!

 

[tonyshuman]

Ouch! Poor guy. I am not really happy with your vet's choice of antibiotics, since there are some that are a bit stronger out there, particularly for abscesses. Here in the US we often use bicillin, which is a combination of penicillin G procaine and benzathine. It sounds like a really large abscess so I'm not sure if anything special needs to be done.
http://www-unix.oit.umass.edu/~jwmoore/bicillin/bicillin.htm

 

[Aliena]

Well, I had a long discussion with the vet about what the best treatment options are and he has explained his choices to me as well as where he gets his information and training from so I am happy that he is doing what is best for my rabbit.

 

[tonyshuman]

OK, sounds good. Just let us know if you need more info on different antibiotics, in case these don't work. Also we'd love to hear how he's doing.

 

[Aliena]

Thanks for all your help. I have been back to the vet today for a recheck, Kuta is doing ok but has lost a bit of weight so I now have to give him critical care twice a day - does anybody know how to do it without it jamming up the syringe???

The vet also gave me some probiotics because his poo's are soft and sticky. The probiotics aren't licensed for use on rabbits (we don't have any here that are) but the vet said they have used it on rabbits before and it has been good. It is something called protexin.

 

[tonyshuman]

I would use at least twice as much water as it says on the instructions for the critical care, and allow it to sit for several minutes to absorb the water. That stuff can be really thick. If she'll eat it out of a dish, that could be an even less stressful option.

I looked up the protexin and it's probably fine. They make a lot of different products, for everything from horses to people, so I wasn't sure which it was. As long as it doesn't contain milk products it's probably good.

I'm still a bit concerned about the sulfa drug--they can cause GI issues as has already been mentioned and I'm worried that it's causing him to have the problems with the poo. Metronidazole is better than the sulfa because it's anti-inflammatory in the GI.

There are a lot of good dental disease links here in case you want to read more:
http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/rabrefs.html