Minnie.

shop deals on amazon
Shop deals on ebay
Love your rabbit
Advertise with us
Rabbits Online Forum

Help Support Rabbits Online Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
MPHF

MPHF

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 17, 2008
Messages
156
Reaction score
0
Location
Ipswich, , United Kingdom
We have took Minnie in knowing her problems and being her hospice carers.

She has had x-rays and has twisted and elongated tooth roots on her right side. Her left side are fine.

We took her to see our vet on monday evening. He said that she has abcesses on her jaw. We have her on Metacam for pain relief, septrin anti-biotic and fibreplex as she struggles with hay.

The vet started to talk about operating but we don't think she would cope with that.

Just wanted any advice or any suggestions that i could take back to the vet about help for her.
 
Can you post your bunny's age, breed and history in this post? It really helps the Mods to have it handy.

I think you'll find that many of us will suggest another vet seeing as that's not considered the greatest protocol in modern bunny care.

Injectible penicillin combined with an oral antibiotic is a far more advanced treatment for jaw abscesses.

As for the tooth roots, is the abscess related? I believe elongated tooth roots can be a problem because they can abscessed and/or interfere with the eyes, sinuses, etc.

But whether this is a tooth root issue I think depends on where the abscess on the jaw is.



sas :clover:
 
not sure of her age or breed or history as she was a rescue. she is a small bunny probably about 3 but thats a guess. My vet is open to suggestions and we have told him that we will not go down the operating route.
the abscess is on the same side as her tooth root problems so i would say they are related.
We have to take her back in two weeks time.
she is eating pellets really well, drinking and her poos are normal. she seems happy at the moment but want the best treatment for her.
 
Ah, you're in the U.K.

I guess it depends on the positioning of the abscess. But if she's not experiencing a runny nose or eyes or anything like that, I don't see a need for surgery regardless (ETA: until drug therapy has been tried first). It can be manageable with aggressive antibiotics.

The vet should do a culture and sensitivity test to make sure its the right antibiotic for that infection, but the most effective in this neck of the woods is a Bicillin injectable and something like a Zithromax oral, but I don't think you can get the Bicillin there, so you'll need another kind of penicillin. (ETA: Refer to the article link in the next post for more info).

The usual treatment is an injection every two days and orals every 12 hours for literally months.

But the C&S test should give a better indication of what drugs will work the best.

I'd check back when one of the other Mods more experienced with the UK alternatives checks in.

Nice to see the bunny in such good hands.

Is the Fibreplex doing the trick?

One problem that may pop up is that eating hay (and certain veggies) will keep her teeth worn down but if she's not able to do that, you may end up with spurs on the tops of her molars as well as her toothroot issue. Just something to watch for. If she stops eating on her own or starts dropping food or drooling a little, it may not be related to the abscess but instead to a spur bothering her tongue or cheek.

Hopefully the Metacam (which has to be given with food and water) will make it more comfortable for her to chew 'wearing down' food like grass, hay or veggie stems.


sas :clover:

edited numerous times to correct many mistakes! :yawn: :sleep:
 
Only have a sec here. Most vets do not know how to treat this condition. The anitbiotic your rabbit is on is not appropriate for much of anything and will certainly not treat the anaerobic bacteria found in the core of the abscess. But it will upset the gut. For years I have used a combination of Penicillin and Azithromycin....the dosing has to be adjusted for the drugs available in the UK. Pain management...narcotics....is preferred.

Maybe if someone can search the archives and find some of my past posts regarding treating mandibular abscesses it will give you more information until I get back.

More details later today.

Randy
 
Hey,

Just wanted to mention Depocillin, it's one commonly used over here. It might be worth asking about what meds are available in the UK on http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/ because its UK based and so will have more info about what is available here, and also what people have tried over here.

RE the vet, as you know, we found him via RO, and also, as you know, we only have on true rabbit savvy vet in the UK-some up and comers, but no one truly savvy. He is the certainly the best we have in the area, and as you know with regards to Tilly and her Convenia, that he is willing to listen.

Good luck.

You know where I am.

I'll e-mail you the pics later.

Tx
 
With jaw abscesses, you really do have to operate to remove the affected teeth to treat them fully. I know Minnie is a bit fragile and you may not want to subject her to surgery. It may be kindest to give her a narcotic pain med and other supportive treatments, including liquid/slurry food, along with some stronger antibiotics, and assess her quality of life.
 
Umm....I have to disagree on the necessity of surgery as I have never intervened surgically in any abscess with a rabbit. That isn't to say I never will since each abscess is certainly different and should be judged on where the infection is, what can be involved collaterally and what effect it's having on the overall health of the rabbit. JoJo here is a prime example of a huge mandibular abscess treated and totally resolved by appropriate drug therapy. He was actually the first rabbit that got the really high end dosing of bpth Penicillin and Zithromax. And with him there was an unusual bacteria we isolated....Peptostreptococcus....which was managed by Doxycycline. Any time you perform an invasive procedure there is added risk. As with everything else, the key to success is determining if the risks will bring proper results. My point here is to not rush into abscess surgery without all the details but remain open to the possibility of surgery.

Randy
 
NOTE: THIS TOPIC HAS NOW BEEN MOVED TO ITS OWN THREAD:

Greenleafpets: Cocoapuff's Cat Scratch Abscess

Please respond there, thanks.

hi there:

I also read about the positive treatment for an abcess regarding administration of Bicillin (Penicillin G with Benzathine). I stumbled upon it tonite on the rabbitsonline.net website and unix.oit.umass. Apparently, this long term treatment can eradicate masses in rabbits. The findings are supported by Marcy Moore.

I am going to run this treatmnet by my vet and see what she thinks.

Our bunny is scheduled for surgery on Tuesday morning 11/24. She was injured a week and a half ago by our cat and has two injuries - masses that are quite painful; one is on her upper right eyelid, the other is on her right jaw.

Cocoapuff is 8 months old. The vet wants to remove as much of the abcesses as possible withput compromising her eyelid tissue. She is on Metacam which looks to be an anti-inflammatory not the antibiotic, Fortaz, and Benebac.

Any opinion on this combo of Rx's?

What I would really like your opinion on is how to make a slurry of food? What should I use? She is having difficulty eating and drinking. Thanks.
 
NOTE: THIS TOPIC HAS NOW BEEN MOVED TO ITS OWN THREAD:

Greenleafpets: Cocoapuff's Cat Scratch Abscess

Please respond there, thanks.

------------------
Pasteurella multocida infection is the most common pathogen contracted from cat bites, it's a bad one so aggressive treatment is required. Injectable penicillin and oral Baytril seems to be the most common drugs in this area, although depending on your area and history, there may be something better than Baytril for the oral.

Metacam is for pain relief and inflation (and must be given with food and water).

The antibiotic is the Fortaz, and I really hope its strong and targeted enough to do the trick. *ETA - Did the vet do a culture and sensitivity test?

If the wounds are looking red and painful and they're hot, I really wouldn't wait until Tuesday.

The best feeding supplement will be Critical Care. It contains a probiotic, which is what the Benebac is, and it has vitamins and appetite stimulants. It's a powder and it really has a to be well soaked so it doesn't absorb and hydration from the gut.

Meantime keep him warm and with lots of fluids.

Cat bites go systemic very quickly. :(


sas :pray:
 
Video about rabbit dental issues.

http://www.youtube.com/user/FastUpOnRabbitCare

Warning, it's a vet doing surgery on Stella for her malocclusions, so if the sound of the drill bothers you.... This video doesn't show the actual tooth removal, though. I'm still working on that video.

Stella's bottom right molars and all incisors were so deformed, she couldn't eat and was literally starving to death. Her molars were swimming in pus. The infection was so bad that instead of having 5 separate tooth sockets, she had one large one. The bacterial infection had broken down the sockets.

The vet trimmed her incisors and some molars and removed 5 bottom molars and one upper molar on her right side as well as her bottom incisors. Stella weighed about 2.5 pounds at this time (an increase from 1.11 when I got her). And, it's thought that she was less than 6 months old.

She's doing GREAT!!!! She's over 3 pounds, now and has a boyfriend! :)) We still have more dental issues ahead of us. The bottom incisors are growing back. :( But, she's a happy healthy girl, now.

She was put on Metacam (pain), Buprenex (pain), Zenequin (antibiotic) and Penicillin injections. She's still on Critical Care, but can and does eat pellets and is trying to eat hay. We've tried some veggies, but she doesn't like them. We're hoping her boyfriend, will teach her to eat veggies.

Is there any reason why you think Minnie wouldn't do well in surgery? Did she have trouble with the anesthetic in a previous surgery? It may be that surgery is the best option for Minnie. Stella was running and leaping just a couple of days after her surgery. She's obviously much happier, now. Best of luck to you and Minnie.
 
Canned pumpkin, critical care, and slurries are good for bunnies who can't chew. You can make bunny pesto too, which is just veggies pureed in the blender. You could also experiment with putting hay in the food processor--I've done this to make bunny cookie treats and it worked pretty well. Fibreplex has a few probiotics, I think.
 
We are taking Minnie back to the vets tonight. She has been sneezing a lot over the weekend and is very quite this morning. We will discuss with Him different anti-biotics/penicillin.
 
We just got back from the vet, Minnie has put on 0.1kg in the last week. It feels like the abcess has gone down nad she has had a Convenia injection.
We have to take her back in a week to see how she is going with that. But all good news so far :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top