Benny's horrible April

Carissa · May 3, 2006

A while back I brought in my rabbit, Benny, to the vet because I noticed he was behaving oddly. I couldn't pin point what was wrong but I knew something was bothering him. So she looked at him and thought that it was just a hairball, gave him hairball stuff, fluids and kept him overnight. I picked him up the next day, paid the $70 bill and took him home. He still didn't act normal, and wasn't eating much for veggies. The next weekend I noticed he had a huge abcess on the side of his mouth. So back to the vet we went. A different vet drained the abcess and put him on antibiotics and admitted that the abcess was what was wrong with him in the first place not a hairball, the other vet apparently didn't look in his mouth. I paid the $85 and took him home. So two weeks go by and he still isn't eating as much as he should and is starting to loose weight so back to the vet we go. He gets neutered and while he's under she looks in his mouth and dicovered that he needs his teeth fixed because while he had his abcess he had started to chew differently, so she fixed that right away too. So I paid the $135 bill and took him home. By now I am really quite frustrated with the whole thing. If the first vet would have listened to me in the first place Benny wouldn't have had to go through all that pain and stress. I guess I should have listened to my gut and been more persistant. The worst part is she said he'd probably have to have his teeth done again in the future. Has anyone been through anything like this? How often do you have to get their teeth refixed? Now he's finally starting to eat and drink a lot more and seems much happier, but he had a really rough April.

(I'm sorry for the long post, I tried talking to other people but all I got was wierd looks and comments about how I was wasting my money.)

naturestee · May 4, 2006

That is a rough April! Poor Benny. Any chance you could find a better rabbit vet? Chances are that tooth problem caused all the others. I'm guessing that he had molar spurs? Those can rub into the cheeks and tongue, making them bleed and sometimes causing abcsesses. It's not unusual for the pain of molar spurs to send rabbits into GI stasis either. At least they eventually found the root cause, but they took the long way in doing it!

How old is Benny? If he's young and already having tooth problems, they'll probably come back. If he stops eating, insist that your vet check his mouth.

And I don't consider money spent on vet bills wasted! My pets' health is more important.

aml1676 · May 4, 2006

My 7-yo mini-lop, Angus, had to have tooth trims every 6 months until he was 4. Sometimes repeated tooth trims can help the tooth arcade correct itself -- but it all depends. The best way to watch for tooth trouble is to watch his litterbox -- it's likely that the size of his bunny berries will decrease as he has trouble eating. Angus always left wilted veggies on his plate, and he'd begin dropping pellets as he tried to eat them.

I would be really concerned about a misdiagnosed hairball -- teeth are the very first thing my vet looks at, even before palpating the tummy. Just because a vet says they see "exotics" doesn't mean they are rabbit-savvy.

Carissa · May 4, 2006

And I don't consider money spent on vet bills wasted! My pets' health is more important.

I agree, and I have no problem paying for it. I just do a bit more overtime

.

The first time I took him in I assumed she looked at his teeth while he was there because I was concerned that it was a tooth problem. I guess she didn't. The second vet said she checked his teeth when she drained the abcess but she didn't see any tooth problems. So would the problem have developed after she drained the abcess and he was healing? During the second appointment the second vet admitted that the abcess was probably the problem the first time I brought him in. So it seems to me all the teeth problems could have been avoided if the first vet would have looked in his mouth, seen the abcess developing and treated it before it affected his chewing, right?

Benny's my first rabbit and this whole thing was pretty scary, so I'm trying to at least learn as much as possible from it. The vet clinic I go to is the only one in the area so I really have no choice but to take him there, but next time I'll insist that the vet take a look at his teeth.

lilliesmomma · May 23, 2006

I would be right back over to the vet demanding some money back for a misdiagnosis! Be squeaky wheel...

perhaps they will then pay better attention and do more research on buns if they know they've got a regular bun as a patient.

Percy's Mom · May 23, 2006

How is May shaping up for Benny?

Carissa · May 23, 2006

I still go to the same vet clinic but a different vet. She is much more knowledgable and is very interested in his care. The feeling I get is that she is one of the senior vets there and has taken over Benny's care after the other one screwed up. As much as I'd like my money back, its the only vet clinic in our area and I just can't afford to be on bad terms with them. It would cost me more in the long run. Them admitting the mistake is enough for me.

Benny's May is going much better. He's gained some weight but there are some things he just won't eat now so I've been slowly introducing some new veggies. He also has really calmed down after the neuter so I'm hoping to get him a lady friend from the Humane Society once our puppy is housebroken and things are a little less busy around here. Thanks for asking, Percy's Mom, it means a lot.

Carissa · Jun 13, 2006

I don't know how say this, but we had to put Benny down.

Shortly after my last post Benny all but stopped eating, so I went back to the vet. It turns out that his lower jaw was deformed. It was smaller than the top so his teeth weren't grinding properly and that is what was causing all the problems. The abcess was caused by the teeth problems. I guess I just misunderstood what she said or she forgot to tell me, I don't know what happened. This time she let me in the back, explained everything to me and I even got to help a little She told me she'd trim his teeth again but if it came down to trimming his teeth every month she thought that it was best to put him down because he had to be put under everytime. I took him home but he was so weak and refused to eat anything. I knew his quality of life would never be that good, and after many, many tears I said goodbye to my little dust bunny.

I feel guilty for being mad at the vet when it wasn't her fault. There was nothing she could do to fix his jaw. I just wish I knew that it was his jaw before I brought him in. I wasn't prepared to put him down. I just thought it would cost a lot of money but they could fix it. When she looked at me and told me that I should think about putting him to sleep I didn't know what to say. I almost had an accident driving home because I was bawling so much.

We just really, really miss him.

katiecavyNC · Jun 13, 2006

My condolences to you!

naturestee · Jun 14, 2006

I'm so sorry. Binky free, Benny.

Where People & Piggies Thrive

Newbie or Guinea Guru? Popcorn in!

Benny's horrible April

Carissa

Well-known Member

naturestee

Well-known Member

aml1676

Well-known Member

Carissa

Well-known Member

lilliesmomma

Well-known Member

Percy's Mom

Well-known Member

Carissa

Well-known Member

Carissa

Well-known Member

katiecavyNC

Well-known Member

naturestee

Well-known Member

Similar threads

Share this Page

Newest members

Online statistics

Key Resources

Members online