With it being summer and the rabbits living outdoors I tend to check them over more frequently. I noticed my grey rabbit looking a little dishevelled. His fur is usually immaculate, whereas his brother is always a mess, so I immediately noticed something was different.
His eyes were a bit weepy and he had gunk stuck in his fur around it so I brought him in the clean him up. I then noticed the fur under is chin was patchy and his skin was red and sore. He had blood caked in his fur and he was dribbling (I think) loads. I could also hear his teeth crunching in his mouth so just assumed he was having dental issues and his saliva was causing sores.
Called the emergency vets on Sunday and they said as long as he was eating that he didn't need to be seen to right away. Called again on Monday and managed to get an appointment for this morning.
Turns out my rabbit had somehow wounded himself. This wound is now infected. On top of that, his jaw is broken. Surgery would probably fix the jaw but the infection would mean he may never recover properly and the last thing we want is for his quality of life to be impacted. So we've made the sad decision to have him put to sleep this evening.
We've had him and his brother since they were babies. He is the dominant rabbit. Always keeping his naughty brother in check. But he was also the introvert of the pair. You'll always find him where you left him. Except for when he escapes. He was escape artist extraordinaire. Always the mastermind behind their expeditions. He loved digging out of places. I had to line the bottom of their enclosure with a wire mesh, I wonder if he cut himself on it? Maybe he got his teeth caught and broke his jaw that way? I'm not sure what I could have done to prevent this happening.
He's two years old and I'm sad we couldn't see him into old age but it's better we don't leave him to suffer anymore.