She made an appointment via text. I confirmed similarly.
A slim young lady in her early 20s came with a
5-month-old dwarf rabbit. She was a new client. "My
rabbit is not eating and drinking. Could she be
suffering from hairball? Could she be pregnant?"
Dr Daniel would be treating the case with me as the
mentor. He palpated the abdomen. "Pregnant, with one
(kit)," he declared. I palpated the abdomen and felt the
soft 4x3 cm mass in the lower third of the abdomen.
"Only an X-ray would tell how many kits there are," I
said. "In an X-ray, you can see the number of foetal
skeletons." And therefore the number of kits.
"When was the rabbit mated?" I asked the young lady who
had said that there was a 6-month-old male rabbit living
together with this rabbit. "Around 2 weeks ago," she
said. "How long is the pregnancy?"
"Around 28 days," I said. In this case, the rabbit would
be only 14 days pregnant.
"Should I get the rabbit X-rayed?" she asked me.
"No need to do it," I said. "Just wait for a few days.
In the meantime, remove the male rabbit. Keep her in a
quiet dark place by herself and give her newspaper
pieces to make a nest."
"We still have to check the teeth," I said to the lady
and Dr Daniel.
"Scruff the neck," he said. That is the usual method of
restraint of a rabbit.
"No," I noted that the young lady was particularly
concerned about her rabbit and would misconstrue that
the vet was rough handling her dwarf rabbit. If you
think about it, a dwarf rabbit is very small. Her mouth
is also very small. Scruffing the neck with a man's hand
would practically cover most of the forehead, leaving
little space to open the mouth.
I imagine that this might not be the most appropriate
method to open the mouth for the dwarf rabbit but it
would be for the cat or dog.
"Just wrap the rabbit inside a towel, like wrapping a
present," I said. The young lady was watching
apprehensively and this method would be more gentle.
Perceptions of a client as regards the vet's "rough
handling of their pets" are made and remembered when the
rabbit struggles or squeals during scruffing. Sedation
was not necessary in this case and in this situation of
a pregnant rabbit.
It was obvious that the cause of not eating and drinking
could be due to pregnancy. But the teeth must be checked
for malocclusion or overgrown as this is a most common
problem in the rabbit when it does not eat.
So, I wrapped the rabbit in a soft white towel with the
head showing. The lady was watching quietly. Then I got
the artery forceps to open the rabbit's mouth. I asked
Dr Daniel or the owner to shine the white light as the
rabbit resisted the mouth opening. "See the back teeth,"
I said. "Are they overgrown or short?". It took some
time and patience but the lady was able to see that the
teeth on both sides of the cheek were short and trimmed.
The rabbit was not co-operating but could not move much.
She did not squeal.
I
thought the rabbit was around 14 days pregnant since the
lady said the mating was seen around 14 days ago. Life
is full of surprises as you can see from the text
message of thanks I got from her 3 days later when I
texted her as a follow up. In fact, the rabbit stopped
eating and drinking because she was about to give birth!
Dr Daniel
predicted one kit on abdominal palpation. I was very
cautious and said that only an X-ray would tell how many
kits were there from the number of foetal skeletons
visible in an X-ray.
Well, veterinary medicine is always full of surprises.
In this case, the rabbit gave birth to two kits. So, you
know why I never predict the number of kits, puppies or
kittens just on an abdominal palpation! It is just
unpredictable usually. Unless it is a "single pup"
syndrome in a chihuahua!
Tips for Dog Owners
The best time to spay your dog is 2 months after the end
of heat
TOA
PAYOH VETS
