This is going to be long, but please read and please help me.
I will put the questions first:
1) Is it normal for some bleeding to occur in dental procedures? Moshu bled a bit. The vet dabbed some liquid betadine and distilled water in a cotton and put it in her mouth.
2) How long will it take for her to resume eating? It looks like she’s adequately hungry but is not able to chew well. Either because her oral cavity is injured and swollen or they cut her incisors too short or both?
3) How long do I keep her warm?
Background:
Moshu is one and a half years old and obviously, her teeth grew to an extent that required filing. As you all know, I come from India where veterinary sciences is still advancing, especially that for lagomorphs and other exotic pets is still in it’s nascent stage. I am still lucky to be a resident of the capital city of my country, and the vet I take Moshu to is the most reliable vet I have found so far. She is much more knowledgeable and rabbit savvy than all the vets I have been to so far.
This was Moshu’s first dental filing. The vet sedated her with ketamine/xylazine. The procedure was quite distressful for me to witness. I was there throughout the procedure and I only kept wishing if the instruments were cleaner and more superior. There was no incisor gag. Three people had to be involved in the procedure apart from me. The mouth was opened and stretched manually. Incisor trimming was done with ease. No problems at all. Though I am worried if they trimmed it too much. I will come up with the pictures in one of my next posts on this thread. I dont want to stress her right now.
Doing the molars was an ordeal. Her oral cavity was too, too small for any instrument to find its space and do the job. I am not sure if this is a really bad thing, but after trying for fifteen-twenty minutes, they had to resort to use a nail filer. They have used that nail filer on dogs previously. Sure they did sterilize it, but obviously…it made me a bit sad. It was a sharp and rough filer, and from the sound that came while the vet was doing the work, it seemed like it did filed the molars to some extent.
Anyways, we came back home some 6 hours back and I didn’t know that post-anesthesia, the bunny has to be kept warm. It was only after my mother and I realized that she’s shivering a bit that I read online about it and also called the vet. I then switched on the heating pad, slid it beneath a layer of bed sheet and brought her on top of it. She’s no longer shivering and neither her ears are cold anymore.
The vet gave her subcutaneous multivitamins, metoclopramide and meloxicam.
The vet has given a five day course of the following medicines:
– Meloxicam (NSAID)
– Enrofloxacin (antibiotic)
– A multivitamin and probiotic syrup
– An ayurvedic digestive tonic that helps relieve flatulence and aids digestion
Its 8 hours past the filing and she only ate a few pellets of alfa alfa. She’s not having cauliflower leaves and broccoli – both of which are her favorites. The vet says that it will take a day or two to settle. I read a few posts on some other forum I am not a member of – they say the same. They are stressing on pain relief. I am scared to give her meloxicam too often because I read any form of anagesic suppresses the GI tract. But I guess I shouldn’t compromise one pain relief and give her metoclopramide to combat the GI issues.
Please give your inputs and help us. I am worried.