Rabbit not feeding,spitting out,very thin

Question
QUESTION: Hi took rabbit to vet 3 days ago as he wasnt eating and no droppings ,was getting very thin. vet checked teeth and mouth and checked throat for blockage, nothing showing,gave injection for tummy(not sure what) advised to give hay,pellets,(usually gets the mixed kind)and a little cucumber. managed to eat pellets softened in water( 2 egg cups) and 1 slice of cucumber, during WHOLE day)produced a few little droppings.
Tries to eat cabbage and carrot but it falls out of his mouth!
Vet next morn again,another injection, became especially poorly later that day wouldnt even drink water,drooling a lot and constantly 'chewing'( do rabbits reguritate?)gave him some water from syringe perked up about midnight and eat a little cabbage a few droppings.
Vet this morn again,another jab,and given lactobacillus medicine(1 a day) its now 4.30pm in day had one,very long drink this morn from bottle,tries to eat cabbage,carrot etc but it falls out of his mouth, goes mad if we are eating trying to get share!
I dont know how he still alive!

Usual diet is mainly grass(free access to garden) and mixed rabbit food along with carrot,cabbage and apple most days.
Have another bunny same diet fit and well.

very cold weather here a week ago,he didnt like snow so didnt come out of hutch into garden,water was frozen in bottle a couple of times other than that no obvious changes.

ANSWER: Dear Deirdre,

You say the vet checked the teeth, but did s/he check the *back* teeth?  I seriously doubt it, because the signs you describe are classic molar spur or other serious dental problem that's keeping the bunny from eating normally.  She may also be dehydrated, so please get bun to a more experienced rabbit vet:

www.rabbit.org/vets

for a more complete exam, subQ fluid therapy, and instructions on how to force feed until her real problem is diagnosed and treated.

Please read:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/dental.html

for more information about the dental issue, which really sounds to be the problem.  If bun has a jaw abscess or throat abscess, this one might help:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/jawabscess.html

For now, be sure she can eat something, at least.  Fluff her pellets in warm water, and then add water to make a pudding slurry that can be fed with a wide-bore dropper (narrow tip cut off, so it doesn't clog).  Be sure to do this slowly and carefully, so she doesn't accidentally inhale food, causing even worse problems.

I hope this helps.

Dana

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Well found another vet who specialises in small animal dentistry put a scope down to look at teeth says back molars are a little sharp but didnt feel enough to cause the present feeding problems,has given me liquid food to give by syringe along with proper instructions on how often/amount to feed. will see in 2 days. he is so underweight he would not consider doing any dental work at present.
If its not his teeth why on earth cant he eat????? By the way he loves the liquid feed so much he was slurping it out of bowl as i tried to get in syringe, so no need for that he just takes it off spoon. he is one seriously hungry rabbit! It will be a week tomorrow since this became aware he couldnt eat.8

Answer
Dear Dierdre,

I'm glad your vet got you some slurry to feed him, because he'll need to put on weight to be a good candidate for any medical procedure.  Keep up the feeding for as long as necessary.

It really is a mystery, but sometimes even very small spurs can cause a lot of pain.  And it's possible that the vet won't be able to get a really good look into the mouth until bun is anesthetized, and he can get the mouth open wider to see if there are any other problems, such as an abscess or foreign body stuck in the mouth somewhere.  You might also ask the vet about doing head radiographs to see if any dental or throat abscesses can be visualized, or even a foreign body stuck somewhere other than the mouth.

I'm really glad you got him that liquid food to get his weight up, because the sooner you're able to get to the bottom of this, the better.

Thinking healing thoughts...

Dana