Reglan and Teeth Issues?

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Mariam+Theo

Mariam+Theo

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On Wednesday I took Theo to the vet suspecting GI stasis. It turned out that it was not stasis, but he had a very full belly. They gave me Reglan and told me to be giving that to him 3 times a day for 4 days. Yesterday was the last day and I didn't give him anymore today. While he was on Reglan he was happy, ate, drank, and pooped most of the day, but from like 12-5 P.M. he would sit hunched up in pain (no tooth grinding). After 5 P.M. he would go back to normal. Today I didn't give him any Reglan and he has been sitting hunched up all day, only sometimes playing. He ate his morning pellets and some hay, but I don't think he has pooped. I think I'm starting to hear a gurgling sound in his abdomen and it is really scaring me! He won't let me give him any tummy massages and I don't know what else to do. Should I go and buy some Gas Drops? I have a little bit of Reglan left, should I give it to him? I have already called the vet and they are going to get back to me, but I just don't have the money to take him in again.

And another problem, now he is only taking hay in from the side of his mouth, not from the front. I meant to get the vet to check his teeth when we were there on Wednesday but I was so worried and forgot to ask. Below is a picture of his teeth that I took on Tuesday the day before he got sick. I just checked his teeth again and the bottom ones are probably 1/4 centimeter long! They are so tiny where the tops one are probably 1/2 centimeter long.
2020-02-03 (2).jpg
Any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!
 
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The vet called me back and gave me some critical care fine grind. I am giving him a syringe full 4-6 times a day, but he hates it. Is there anything that I could use to get him to take it?
Also, I sent my dad to get the critical care and he didn't ask about the teeth issue. Should I be worried about his teeth? He barely has any bottom teeth because they are so tiny! He chews on his cage bars which I read could cause this. How could I stop him from chewing on them?
 
I had a foster rabbit that had teeth that grew long on the top and stayed very short on the bottom. The reason was because she had an overbite. Back in then, the vet suggested that I trim the teeth with a special wire cutter. I had no luck doing it, and so I would have to bring her to the vet for a teeth trim. I don't think using a wire cutter is a good method because it can crack the teeth. The vet finally pulled out her four front teeth. She did well without them, but died 3 years later from GI stasis.

If your rabbit chews his cage because he is bored, you can hang toys like they make for parrots in front of the bars. I have a rabbit that bites the bars on his cage door when he see me. He gets excited because he knows he is going to be fed. I should cover those bars, but I have not found a good way to cover them yet.
 
Thanks for the response! Should I ask the vet about this? And if the vet removes his front teeth will they grow back? I don't think he is bored, I think he just wants to run free! He hates any sort of cage, harness, etc.
 
Once the teeth are pulled, they do not grow back. It might work as a solution for you so it wouldn't hurt to ask your vet. I heard most rabbits do fine without their front teeth. You can also check out YouTube and look for videos on how to trim rabbit teeth, and see if that is something you would like to try. There are other ways to trim teeth without a wire cutter. You only have to trim the top teeth. The bottom teeth will always be short because of how they rub on the top teeth.
 
Would it hurt Theo if I continue to let his teeth grow like this or should I do something about it? Will they get too long and not wear down properly?
 
As someone previously mentioned, it's definitely best not to try anything on your own with teeth. Filing or trying to clip them on your own is more likely to cause more harm than good.

Someone mentioned the teeth pulled, but that's typically a last resort-- there are many rabbits with imperfect teeth alignment that do generally well as long as hay appetite is healthy, though sometimes veterinary intervention via teeth grinding (under anesthesia) may be needed to get back to a good baseline at times. For example, one of my rabbits has an underbite and his incisors don't line up either, so for a year, we had to bring him in for teeth filing every month (very extreme case; usually it's not that often): https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs1wpL0FN49/ ... fast forward to now, and we haven't had to take him in a very long time and his teeth are much longer, but in a healthy way (not because they were grinded down at the vet). A lot of this is because his hay diet was healthier.

Each case will be different, so make sure to talk with a rabbit-experienced vet who can speak competently about their opinion of how the teeth look. I think going to pulling immediately is a bit rushed, and maybe a teeth grinding and observation may be a more cautious approach instead. That being said, the teeth don't look too bad to me (understanding I only see not normal teeth with my rabbit, so who knows!). Rabbits use their incisors to pull in hay and they grind it down with their molars, so it is common for rabbits to have the hay fall on one side or the other of the incisors. There's a huge gap between the incisors and their back teeth, so while it may be notable to point that out to the vet as a potential sign of issue, it may also just be a natural chewing behavior. If you had a video, that might be helpful to see!


... And lastly, I'm a bit puzzled by "just a very full belly". I've never really heard that before? It sounds much more like a big gas build up, which may feel like a full belly, like when humans are bloated, but it's much different than being physically full. Is this vet rabbit-savvy? Does he/she seem to you to be comfortable and competent? I hate to question veterinarians' expertise, but there are vets who are "dabblers", who have the best intentions with rabbits, but because they lack the proper training and experience, give ill-informed advice and recommendations. Again, with the best of intentions, but it doesn't show in the results.
 
John Wick said:
As someone previously mentioned, it's definitely best not to try anything on your own with teeth. Filing or trying to clip them on your own is more likely to cause more harm than good.

Someone mentioned the teeth pulled, but that's typically a last resort-- there are many rabbits with imperfect teeth alignment that do generally well as long as hay appetite is healthy, though sometimes veterinary intervention via teeth grinding (under anesthesia) may be needed to get back to a good baseline at times. For example, one of my rabbits has an underbite and his incisors don't line up either, so for a year, we had to bring him in for teeth filing every month (very extreme case; usually it's not that often): https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs1wpL0FN49/ ... fast forward to now, and we haven't had to take him in a very long time and his teeth are much longer, but in a healthy way (not because they were grinded down at the vet). A lot of this is because his hay diet was healthier.

Each case will be different, so make sure to talk with a rabbit-experienced vet who can speak competently about their opinion of how the teeth look. I think going to pulling immediately is a bit rushed, and maybe a teeth grinding and observation may be a more cautious approach instead. That being said, the teeth don't look too bad to me (understanding I only see not normal teeth with my rabbit, so who knows!). Rabbits use their incisors to pull in hay and they grind it down with their molars, so it is common for rabbits to have the hay fall on one side or the other of the incisors. There's a huge gap between the incisors and their back teeth, so while it may be notable to point that out to the vet as a potential sign of issue, it may also just be a natural chewing behavior. If you had a video, that might be helpful to see!


... And lastly, I'm a bit puzzled by "just a very full belly". I've never really heard that before? It sounds much more like a big gas build up, which may feel like a full belly, like when humans are bloated, but it's much different than being physically full. Is this vet rabbit-savvy? Does he/she seem to you to be comfortable and competent? I hate to question veterinarians' expertise, but there are vets who are "dabblers", who have the best intentions with rabbits, but because they lack the proper training and experience, give ill-informed advice and recommendations. Again, with the best of intentions, but it doesn't show in the results.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the response! I'm going to put something up so that he cannot chew the cage bars and I will ask the vet what they think. Yes, this is a rabbit-savvy vet and she seems very experienced. They took an x-ray so that is how they realized that he had a full belly. There were several small gas bubbles but it was nothing to worry about. They gave me Reglin to make his stomach push the food out, and it worked really well. It is just that now that the dose is gone he is sitting hunched up again (no tooth grinding). He is still eating and drinking, just not pooping. That is why they gave the critical care.

I just gave Theo his second dose of critical care and he is spitting it out. He doesn't want to take it at all. Any suggestions?
 
Theo said:
And another problem, now he is only taking hay in from the side of his mouth, not from the front.
Click to expand...

So is he still eating hay? If he can eat hay from the side, he is still getting what he needs. The important thing is that he is eating. I hope the vet calls you back very soon.
 
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