Bunny acting funny

Question
QUESTION: Hi Dr. Krempels,

First off, thank you for offering this service!

Now, about the bun:

He is a 4 year old Netherland Dwarf, un-neutered, and in good health.  He is 2.5 lbs.  He lives indoors with no other animals.  

He, for quite a few years, has had ISS (Intermittent soft stools) that his vet attributes to lack of fiber, aka, the stubborn one does not eat his hay.  He does eat pellets, about a 1/4 cup a day, and eats kale or other greens daily.  He does, every month or so, get soft stools, I find them in his cage, and also on his bottom.  I always immediately clean him off.

About 2 months ago when he had this we took him to the vet, and she placed him on an oral medication.  I can't remember what it was, but it was pink and smelled sweet, so I'm scared it was amoxicillan, which now I've read it bad for rabbits.  Ever since then he's acted a little funny, still getting the soft stools every now and then, but that's "normal" for him.  He is eating his pellets ok, still drinking, still NOT eating his hay.  I give him "healthy bits" which he used to love, every now and then, but now it takes him a couple of days to eat one.

The weird thing is that he sometimes makes a sound with his mouth that sounds like he has excess saliva.  He kind of looks like he's sucking his mouth when he does it if that makes sense.  I've only noticed him actually drooling once, at the vet, and she thought it might have just been stress.  He's been acting somewhat normal otherwise, just a little weird with the saliva issue.  He is eating the kale and pellets fine, so I don't know.

He is not acting lethargic at all, still hopping around as normal.

He is going through a major shed right now, the second within in a couple months, which is a little odd.  

Any thoughts?  I'm sorry this got so long, just trying to give you all the facts.

Thanks so much again!!

Gloria

ANSWER: Dear Gloria,

Please ask the vet the name of the antibiotic he gave your bunny.  Baytril also can be compounded in a pink, sweet liquid, so it might have been that.  But if it *was* amoxycillin, then you must NEVER go back to that vet, and also warn other local rabbit people against going there.  You could *try* to tell the vet that amoxycillin is deadly to rabbits, but many vets are a bit defensive, and don't like being told they don't know something by a client.

You can find an experienced rabbit vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

The intermittent runny stool is probably *not* due to lack of fiber, though this can contribute to the problem.  Netherland Dwarf rabbits, with their foreshortened faces, are very prone to dental problems, and you have hit the nail on the head by noticing his salivating.  He very likely has molar spurs deep in his mouth, and these are poking him and causing him pain and stress. This can cause ISS, as you can read here:

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

Please also read:

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

I'd get him to an experienced rabbit vet ASAP for a deep oral exam and filing of any spurs that may be causing this problem.

Hope this helps.

Dana

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

QUESTION: The North Carolina link is not working, so I'll do some research for a bunny expert in my area.  In case you have a link that works, I live in the Charlotte, NC area.  

The medication that he took was Trimethoprim, which I've read from an earlier posting of yours, is safe for rabbits.

Thanks again for all of your help,

Gloria

Answer
Dear Gloria,

I just checked the NC link, and it seems to be working now. The URL is:

http://www.capefearrabbits.org/vet.html

Trimethoprim is safe, but to tell you the truth, it's a bit *too* safe.  It's a very old antibiotic, and most pathogens are resistant to it these days.  It's not very useful for treating much of anything.  

A culture and sensitivity test would be the best idea, to target your pathogens with greater accuracy:

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

Good luck,

Dana