my (Benji) bunny's sick for the first time

[katattack]

Male, Norwegian Dwarf, white with some brown and black spots

-- Age — 5.5 years

- Spayed/neutered? — No

- Notes on Fecal and Urinary Output

- Are the bunny's poops and pees normal? — Yes

- When did they last use their litterbox? — About an hour ago

- Any unusual behavior? — No

- Medical History

- Has s/he been to the vet or been sick before? — No

- Diet

- What does your bunny eat? — Fiesta Max Rabbit Food (although he refuses to eat the hay pellets that come in it), Western Timothy Hay, his salt wheel, and occasionally small, fresh veggies

- When and what did s/he eat last? — the rabbit food a few hours ago

- Movement

- Any unusual movements? — No

- Is s/he hopping normally? — Yes

- Are there any plants, chocolate or other substances within reach? — Not at all

- has the rabbit been outdoors? — Not recently

Yesterday I noticed that Benji had a messy bottom. I gave him a dry bath which seemed to do to the trick, but since then his eyes have become quite watery and he has a little sneeze.

 

[tonyshuman]

First of all, but unrelated to sneezes and watery eyes, the consensus here on the Fiesta Max is that it's not a very good food. It contains seeds and nuts that are too rich for a bunny, and this may be the cause of his messy bottom. It would be best for his gastrointestinal health to move to a timothy-hay based pellet, like Oxbow Bunny Basics T or Kaytee Timothy Complete. If you're not in the US, we can also recommend other good pellets for the country you're in.

What was the dry bath? Was it a powdery substance? The reason I ask is that the powder could have gotten in his nose or eyes when he tried to clean himself after the bath.

There are a lot of things that can cause watery eyes and sneezing, but few of them come on so suddenly. One possibility other than something irritating his eyes and nose is an upper respiratory infection. The bacteria that cause URIs are always present in the system of a rabbit, so any time the immune system is compromised, they can take over and cause illness. If he's not feeling well in the GI tract, or if he got cold and wet, or the bath stressed him out, all of these things could lead to an active infection. These have to be treated by a vet.

A second possibility is tooth problems. Sneezing is less common with tooth problems, but watery eyes are very commonly found with tooth problems. The tooth roots can grow out of control and interfere with the proper workings of the nasal cavity and eyes, since they're in that region. Also, since he's a Netherland Dwarf, they are bred to have flatter faces which can lead to more tooth issues than a pointy-nosed bunny, like a New Zealand.

I would think that it's probably due to the dry bath. If it persists for a few days (ie if he still has it next week), I'd take him in to the vet to be checked for a URI or tooth root issues. If the snot is opaque, that is more likely to be an infection. The vet should swab the mucous and culture it to determine what antibiotics it is sensitive to. Just putting the bunny on Baytril is not a good choice. It would also be best to get a vet from our listings of rabbit savvy vets because many vets don't understand some of the finer points of rabbit health.

Good luck!

 

[katattack]

His sneezes were caused by the powder from his dry bath, and his messy bottom has cleared up. I took him to the vet yesterday in order to check his eyes, because they continued and left white mucous-like residue around the outsides. The vet said that it's some sort of infection, and checked his teeth. She found some points on Benji's molars but she said that they weren't bugging Benji and she couldn't find any cuts in his mouth, so she gave me antibiotic eye drops.

I've been giving him the eye drops but have now found that he's drooling and is really on edge. He occasionally grinds his teeth in a fashion that i've never seen nor heard before. He has a new appointment for tomorrow morning, but I'm just curious..what can I do to make him feel more comfortable until then? Is there anything I could give him, or do for him to ease the tension (or even pain) in his mouth?

 

[tonyshuman]

That doesn't sound good. They should do a dental x-ray to check for tooth root problems, which cannot be determined by any other method. It sounds like the eye drops may be hurting his eyes, as the grinding is a sign of pain. You can give ibuprofen or aspririn, but it can be risky if he isn't eating or drinking enough. Did the vet check for ulcers on the eye? If they get scratched, ulcers occur, and these scratches can be damaged very greatly by steroids, which are in many eye ointments. Could you post the ingredient list for the eye drops? The vet can usually put some dye in the eye to check for ulcers.

Here is a pain med reference
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=49175&forum_id=16

 

[katattack]

I don't think that the vet checked for ulcers in his eyes. The eye drops she prescribed are Gentocin Opth Sol 5mL. The active ingredients is gentacimin sulfate with a preservative of benzalkonium chloride, and the inactive ingredients are sodium chloride, dried sodium phosphate, tyloxapol, sodium hydroxide and/or hydrochloric acid, and purified water. He's no longer making a terrible grinding sound when he moves his mouth but his mouth is going in an odd movement. He reminds me of a cow chewing grass. His eyes do look better than they had before we got the eye drops, though..




also, what can i do to make him drink water and eat something? would be helpful if i give him water through a baby bottle or something of the sort?

 

[tonyshuman]

Thanks for the ingredient list. There are no steroids in that eye drop, so it must be safe for the eyes at least. The mouth thing sounds a lot like his teeth are bothering him. Bunnies do a happy tooth purr, but they also grind them together in pain.

To stimulate more water drinking, you can add a drop of vanilla to his bowl, or mix the water with fruit juice. Apple and cranberry are big favorites, and I'd dilute it 1 part juice to 3 parts water, no more juice than that. You can also give him oral water with a feeding syringe, from the pet store or pharmacy--just ask for small syringes if you go to the pharmacy. Some won't give you syringes, but since you only need the syringe, not the needle, it should be obvious you're not using it for IV drug use. You could also pick up some baby ibuprofen solution there.

 

[Pipp]

Nice having someone on the board who recognizes all those long-winded ingredients. (Greek to me!)

The spurs on my dwarf don't have to cut her cheeks to be bothersome to her. I'd definitely go for the dental x-ray.

Is she starting to chew and then stopping? Is any food dropping out of her mouth? Drooling is a usual sign of dental issues.

I'd also not give him pain meds until you see the vet. You need to check hydration and kidney function with the Ibuprofen and make sure there isn't any chance of surgery re: the aspirin (including molar spur trims), and both meds must be given with food, they can cause stomach irritation and serious problems if there's an existing ulcer or similar condition. Those are both good pain meds, but only when you're pretty sure what you're dealing with and only with those cautions.

None of my bunnies like vanilla -- at all -- but a lot of other bunnies seem to. Its always advisable to have a crock or bottle of plain water available as well.

I dilute my juice as much as I can, usually more like 10 parts water to one part juice -- just enough to make them like it. (Of course if Pipp gets wind of that, she'll be holding out for the stronger mix). Each bunny will be different I'm sure.

One thing I just discovered was that she likes cucumber juice. I make tzatziki and squeeze the juice and scrape the innards into a bowl. She hates cucumber, loves the juice.


sas :bunnydance:

 

[katattack]

thanks very much =]

i diluted some apple juice for him and he drank some of it from the syringe but as far as eating goes, he's still not. i had him laying on a blanket and he chewed into that pretty well but when it comes to his food he doesn't even try. the grinding sound has definitely gone away, though his drooling continues.

 

[tonyshuman]

It sounds a lot like tooth issues. Since he's not eating solid food and drooling, I think a vet needs to get a good look at those teeth, including an x-ray if possible.