# broken lower jaw? experiences??



## fox1702 (Oct 5, 2011)

Right. I my lovely binky got underneath my feet last night when I was sorting the hay balls out, as I went to sit back down he got underneath me and I just about sat on him!!! Not fully obviously but enough to feel him. He seemed ok just abit shocked but he was happily scrounging through fr herbs. This morning his hay ball was still full and he's struggling to eat pellets! I checked his mouth and upon inspection his lower teeth appear to be wobbly.. could I have broken his jaw? Iv found a pet dentistry website online and the same happened to another rabbit it was stepped on and it's left and right lower jaw was seperated.
Iv had to soak his nuggets and he's fine at eating them. I'm had to come to work but want to take him to the vets as soon as I finish.
Has anyone else experienced this? Can it be resolved? I am so upset I feel physically sick I can't eat or focus! He's less than a year old mini lop


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## lostbear (May 29, 2013)

Poor little thing - it's so easy to accidentally hurt such a tiny animal. You must feel awful.

I don't have any experience of this myself, but you are doing exactly the right thing taking him to the vert as soon as possible. It won't harm him to go without food for a day or so, but he will need to drink, so try to make sure he's hydrate. If he can't drink properly, drip some water from a wet cloth onto his mouth to keep him moist. Don't try to force his lips apart in case it causes further damage - though if he can manage moistened pellets, he should be able to lap.

I'm sure that I haven't told you anything that you wouldn't think of - I just mention it because when we are anxious even the most obvious things go out of our minds.

I hope that the vet can help him - please keep us up to date with his progress.


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## fox1702 (Oct 5, 2011)

I am just so scared they will put him to sleep! Had my conty put to sleep from myxomatosis last year. Can't bare to lose him too


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## lostbear (May 29, 2013)

fox1702 said:


> I am just so scared they will put him to sleep! Had my conty put to sleep from myxomatosis last year. Can't bare to lose him too


I'm so sorry - this is awful for you. Let us know how you get on at the vet this evening.


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## fox1702 (Oct 5, 2011)

Bad news and bad news. It's clearly seperated the lower right and left jaw! The other bad news is my vets never seen a rabbit with a broken jaw before so we don't know how to fix it!!!!
She's going back to the surgery tonight to ask the other vets. He's had a metacam injection and iv to keep making him mushy wet food &#65533;&#65533;


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## Summersky (Aug 11, 2012)

You have done the right thing, getting him to the vet asap. Your vet should be able to speak to a rabbit specialist, or refer you for treatment, if they are unsure how to treat.

Do let us know how you get on.


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## lostbear (May 29, 2013)

So sorry to hear this bad news - hopefully at least one of the other vets will have experience of this sort of injury.

Praying that you get good news.


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## Lil Miss (Dec 11, 2010)

have they x rayed the jaw? that would certainly be the first port of call

if its not that bad a break then it may well heal on its own, in which case he will need metacam and a lot of tlc and supliment feedings.

in the worst case it may need wiring

x raays will tell more


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## sarybeagle (Nov 4, 2009)

Oh gosh, how awful for you. It was clearly an accident and you've done all you can with vets and getting him comfortable. I've no idea re fixing a broken jaw but wanted to wish both u and bunny all the best xxx


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## fox1702 (Oct 5, 2011)

Droppwd him off at my local surgery this morning
Update! Theyv spoken with a rabbit specialist and theyv recommended to use a resin glue first to see if that will hold it. The vets don't use it but they can use a certain resin from the diy shop. Providing that doesn't work they will try the wire and if it still doesn't join they will remove the teeth and use a bigger wire for the jaw itself.. :crying:


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## sarybeagle (Nov 4, 2009)

fox1702 said:


> Droppwd him off at my local surgery this morning
> Update! Theyv spoken with a rabbit specialist and theyv recommended to use a resin glue first to see if that will hold it. The vets don't use it but they can use a certain resin from the diy shop. Providing that doesn't work they will try the wire and if it still doesn't join they will remove the teeth and use a bigger wire for the jaw itself.. :crying:


Not the same I know, but our rabbit had to have his teeth removed after chewing through wire and they misaligned. He lived to be just over 10 and managed absolutely fine for 8 years with just molars. Xxx


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## fox1702 (Oct 5, 2011)

Update again!! He's had them glued with the resin! He's just coming round from the anaesthetic. The surgeon wants to keep him in for a few hours to make sure it sets ok and iv got an appointment at 20 past 6 with her so watch this space &#128007;


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## sarybeagle (Nov 4, 2009)

Thats great news. Hopefully he will be home with you later


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## Doold1955 (Feb 18, 2015)

Poor thing! Im so sorry. Im glad you got him to the vet. Im sorry to hear about his jaw. Did they do radiographs? This is just dreadful. My English Lop Rabbit had to have his front two teeth removed. Im glad to hear things went well.


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## Summersky (Aug 11, 2012)

fox1702 said:


> Update again!! He's had them glued with the resin! He's just coming round from the anaesthetic. The surgeon wants to keep him in for a few hours to make sure it sets ok and iv got an appointment at 20 past 6 with her so watch this space 🐇


Thanks for the update.

Do let us now how it goes.

I am guessing you will be busy with palliative care (soft feeding and painkillers while it hopefully heals). Going forward, it will be important to keep a close eye on all teeth for misalignment and spurs (any problems with front teeth will be clear to see but spurs on back teeth aren't visible. They can come from nowhere if a bun's eating is disturbed for whatever reason)


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## fox1702 (Oct 5, 2011)

Bad news unfortunately. When I went to collect him the glue hadn't set and had vanished (he ate it) the glue they used had a 3 hour set time and obviously they can't keep him under for that long. So today we are waiting on frances harcourt - brown. She's not in while 1pm so my vets going to talk to her for me to go to there with him instead. He's still eating the mush and drinking too


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## fox1702 (Oct 5, 2011)

I'm using a vet called paul in Castleford,he's booked him in and ordered everything ready, he's going to use proper dentist glue. Fbh is away from tomorrow all week so she couldn't see him


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## Acer (Feb 27, 2014)

Wow - Frances Harcourt-Brown is the best rabbit vet in the country...written all the books the vets use. Sorry that your update says you didn't manage to get her expertise. 
I'm glad he's still eating and drinking. That is a good sign. I hope they sort something out - what about wiring the jaw like they do with cats?? Won't be nice for him to have another surgery but sometimes it's got to happen. 
There used to be a really good rabbit vet in Wakefield, Steven Hen-Boisen at V4P but I can imagine it is hard to change vets at this stage. 
I hope all goes ok, keep us posted.
P.s. keep on top of his pain relief...ask about metacam (it's not licensed for rabbits but FH-B recommends it in her book, the vets will be able to prescribe).


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## fox1702 (Oct 5, 2011)

He's had wire wrapped around the 2 teeth and has dental glue on them. Due for a checkup Friday


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## lostbear (May 29, 2013)

Hoping all goes well with him, poor little love.

What a worry - it's worse than children.


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## Summersky (Aug 11, 2012)

Tense times. Hope it goes well.


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## Lancelots (Mar 21, 2016)

fox1702 said:


> I'm using a vet called paul in Castleford,he's booked him in and ordered everything ready, he's going to use proper dentist glue. Fbh is away from tomorrow all week so she couldn't see him


Hi,

I have done the same thing this weekend. I was cleaning Lancelots cage out, he nosey/friendly and I stepped on him I managed not to put all my weight on him but I knew it was enough to hurt him. Well he hasn't eaten any food for 24 hours since. I tried to feed him by hand he tries but cant he just licks and I can here a light crunching sound when his tongue is lapping. I mushed his food up with warm water and he devoured the mix. Which Vets did you use in Castleford to help your bunny?

Has your bunny made a recovery too?


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## Erin26 (Jan 19, 2020)

Hi all,
Very late to this thread but I have had a recent experience of this and due to the lack of information out there thought it would be useful to share. 

Honcho, our gorgeous house bunny was sadly stepped on by my mum by accident on boxing day 2019 (she follows you around and gets under your feet as she is a silent shadow). At first honcho showed no signs of pain or distress but as time passed (3-4 hours) she began to become withdrawn and I noticed we was unable to eat and straw was going in and straight back out of her mouth. I knew something was wrong with her jaw and immediately took her to our local OOH PDSA. They advised us that nothing was wrong and there was just slight swelling to her mouth. That night she continued to deteriorate and I believe she began to fall into stasis (No eating, pooping or peeing) and she wanted no interaction which is extremely odd for such a sociable bun. I took her straight to our local vets 4 pets in the morning which see many rabbits and are considered rabbit savvy. They immediately noticed she had a crack in her jaw and advised an xray asap. Upon the results of the xray it was revealed that honcho had a fractured lower left jaw. We were urged to opt for a further CT scan at £2000 which would show if she needed an OP. Alternatively we were told she could potentially heal on her own with assisted care and pain management. Due to the stress the operation would cause we decided that our first port of call would be to manage her pain and care for her at her home where she feels happy and comfortable. We were given metacam and critical care. She was given something to help prevent her from going in to stasis and morphine. The first week was incredibly hard, she's a very strong willed lady and does not like being force fed. We thought we might loose our precious baby, however through much care, love and above all patience I am over the moon to say she has made a full recovery. My advice on this topic is to use your judgement, you know your bunny best and if you think an operation will upset her or stress her out opt for home care if possible. She needed feeding every 2 hours (luckily my job was extremely understanding and I was able to take time off work - appreciate this isn't the case for everyone) but quickly she began to eat on her own and her jaw has strengthened to the point that she is now up to her usual mischief like chewing on doors and walls! Never been so happy to have my house destroyed haha. I wish everyone that faces this horrible experience all the luck in the world. Our bunnies are precious and losing them is so painful. Watch your feet at all times! Happy to give any advice on the topic, I would love to help and I would have really loved more information during our ordeal. 
Erin xx


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## Michelle_louise (Jul 24, 2021)

I picked my rabbit up last week and she promptly jumped down, she hit the pavement with her face so I checked and she had a cut to her top lip. But i kept watching and she still cleaned and ate but I noticed after a week.she didn't like her hard treats that you buy on a stick too much which normally would devour and also the carpet has had a break from being eaten, that was another sign all was not well . So I took her to the vet yesterday and i had also been told her lower jaw was wobbly slightly. So the vet said as long as she is eating which she is then give her pain treatment and try to feed her as much as possible but she should hopefully heal within 6 weeks. I feel Terrible cause I just wanted to hug her . She still gets her cage indoors and shakes it in the morning to be let out in the garden and is eating the rose bushes but I hope she will get better fully soon


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