Abstract
In the present study, 80 pet rabbits with a change in their feeding intake or anorexia were examined at the Small animal Clinic of the Free University of Berlin.
Depending on the results of a thorough clinical examination of their mouth and teeth, the rabbit patients were divided into three groups:
In 37 of the pet rabbits (46 %) abscesses, and in 21 patients (26 %) malocclusion could be diagnosed. 22 animals (28 %) seemed to have healthy teeth.
Among those 58 patients diagnosed with diseases of the teeth and jaw, 33 (56,9 %) were male. As already assumed by other authors several times, male rabbits seem to be more susceptible for pathological changes of the teeth than female ones.
The skull of every rabbit was examined radiographically using two different views. Based on these radiographs, ten parameters (i.e. eight distances and two angles) of the mandible have been measured.
The aim of these measurements was to proof whether a connection existed between a shortened or rounded mandible and a predisposition for malocclusion or
abscesses.
Based on these measurements no such prediction with regard to the disease of each individual could be reached. The measured values for the different groups of rabbits (with abscesses, with malocclusion, healthy) were very similar in regard of the
different breeds of the examined rabbits as well as for the whole group of 80
animals.
Furthermore blood samples of all patients were taken to test the level of calcium and anorganic phosphorus and the relation of these parameters in the serum.
The results with an average calcium of 3,295 mmol/l and an average value for
anorganic phosphorus of 1,017 mmol/l definetely show that neither a lack of calcium nor a disorder of the Ca/P-relation is responsible for the disorder of the animals
examined in this study.
Additionally, the owners of the pet rabbits filled in a questionnaire about the food and the feeding intake of their animals.
There was no hint to insufficient supply with vitamins and minerals, although the pellets, which mainly contain these ingredients, were the most disliked part of the dry food. Most of the rabbits in this study got a lot of different fresh greens and hay each day, which guarantees a sufficient supply of Ca and P without eating the complete dry food.
Nine patients (24,3 %) suffering from abscesses of the jaw were euthanized because of the poor prognosis. The remaining 28 rabbits with abscessations were treated surgically. Their wounds were checked on once a day and rinsed with antiseptic
solutions.
In the three cases of retrobulbar abscesses, an exstirpation of the bulbus was necessary.
27 % of the patients with abscesses got recurrence of disease during the
observation time. 48,7 % of the animals did not develop new abscesses during this period.
All abscesses were examined microbiogically by the Institute for Microbiology of the Free University of Berlin. Most isolated bacteria were streptococci of the different Lancefield-groups. Enrofloxacin was the most effective antibiotic substance in
sensitivity testing.
Additionally, faeces of the pet rabbits were examined microscopically.
70,6 % of the samples of patients suffering from abscesses and 75 % of the samples of rabbits with malocclusions showed a mediocre to severe infestation of yeasts. In the group of animals with clinically healthy teeth, yeast overgrowth was only found in 14,2 % of the samples.
This indicates, that there is a direct connection between diseases of teeth and jaw and a secondary proliferation and overgrowth of yeasts over the physiological flora of the gut.
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