How long does a tongue ulcer take to heal?

[samandsnuggles]

My bunny had tooth spurs filed down recently. She came to me with the problem, so I have no idea how long she'd been showing signs of pain, but the vet said she had a sizeable ulcer on her tongue from one of the spurs.

It's been a week since the procedure, and she's started doing the same sort of mouth movements that indicated to me that she originally had a problem (she's also pawing at her mouth occasionally) again. She was also spayed the same day so she was on metacam for 4 days after, and I'm wondering if the pain from the ulcer is apparent because I've stopped the pain killers. She wasn't showing ANY signs of discomfort in her mouth until the last couple of days.

Do ulcers take this long to heal? Could the vet have missed a spur? Could an infection have developed? She's making mouth sounds as I type this, so something clearly isn't right. Any advice greatly appreciated.

 

[JBun]

Usually if a wound isn't really deep, it doesn't take very long to heal with rabbits. I would think after a week if would be mostly healed. The fact that your rabbit is showing increased irritation with her mouth now that the pain meds have stopped, makes me wonder if there isn't still a problem there. It could be any of the above. The vet missed something, didn't burr down the spurs enough, or an infection started. It would probably be a good idea to have your bun seen by the vet for a follow up to see if everything is ok in there. If it is, then maybe the vet can extend the pain meds for another week or two.

 

[samandsnuggles]

Usually if a wound isn't really deep, it doesn't take very long to heal with rabbits. I would think after a week if would be mostly healed. The fact that your rabbit is showing increased irritation with her mouth now that the pain meds have stopped, makes me wonder if there isn't still a problem there. It could be any of the above. The vet missed something, didn't burr down the spurs enough, or an infection started. It would probably be a good idea to have your bun seen by the vet for a follow up to see if everything is ok in there. If it is, then maybe the vet can extend the pain meds for another week or two.

Thank you. I didn't think the ulcer should still be causing her pain. I'm so upset that there's still an issue, I thought we'd finally got it all figured out.

I'll make an appointment in the next couple of days. The only thing that concerns me, is the vet wasn't able to see any sign of the ulcer or spurs until she was asleep (despite her staying very still and allowing them to look). Does anyone think that's strange? Or is it normal to not see anything if it's at the back of the mouth?

So if they look in her mouth, they're not likely to be able to tell if it's a small spur vs an infection. And I bet they'll not want to consider they didn't file them down sufficiently. I'm almost tempted to get a second opinion at another vet, but not sure if it'd be worth it/if I can afford that this month.

 

[JBun]

It can be difficult to get a good look at the back of the mouth in a conscious rabbit, so that is somewhat normal. Now, a more experienced rabbit vet may have an easier time doing it, but even then to really examine the mouth does take sedation, as some parts of it can be more difficult to get a good look at. But your vet has already looked, so should already know where the trouble spots are, so that might make it easier. The vet should be able to tell if the wound isn't healing and if there is pus present or not.

 

[samandsnuggles]

It can be difficult to get a good look at the back of the mouth in a conscious rabbit, so that is somewhat normal. Now, a more experienced rabbit vet may have an easier time doing it, but even then to really examine the mouth does take sedation, as some parts of it can be more difficult to get a good look at. But your vet has already looked, so should already know where the trouble spots are, so that might make it easier. The vet should be able to tell if the wound isn't healing and if there is pus present or not.

Thank you for your reply
So the vet looked in her mouth today, and said he couldn't see any signs of infection. But he also said he can't see the problem areas, as like you said she'd need to be sedated.

The wound was quite deep, and he thinks she just needs more time to recover. He pointed out her body was also healing from the spay, so that could be contributing to her mouth still being sore. He's put her back on metacam for another week, and if there's still any issues to come back. I do feel a bit better now, as he said he'd likely be able to tell if there's an infection.

Basically I've got to see what happens. She already ate some hay since being back on the pain killers, so I'm hopeful he's right.