need help on rabbits overgrown tooth please

cheepskate_2

cant you take him to one of the rspca centres where they do the treatment for a small fee

buxtonrabbitgreen

Thanks everyone. The rabbit is about 10 years old and I suppose so far he didn't cost that much, only toenail clipping and eye drops. the kids lost interest about 5 years ago so it has all been down to me. Cleaning it out feeding it and paying the vets bills. I wouldn't want an annimal to suffer obviously but am not prepared to pay this large amount for an operation when it might , as play2day says not survive the op anyway. I don't know if there is such a thing as bunny insurance all the past bunnies have just died of old age, except the last one, this ones mother who was put down because of gum disease which caused a large cyst. Obviously a family trait. The vet didn't suggest putting him down and he doesn't seem to be in any distress, she seemed to think the antibiotic eye rops would improve things and that he would be fine with the teeth for a while, though they don't stop growing so he may need them clipped again. Also she did say that there might be a lot of scar tissue in the tear ducts because the rotten back teeth's roots will have grown upwards and pressed on the tear ducts. So even if I did have this op done it might not cure the weepy eye. So I am going to keep giving the eye drops and watch the teeth in case they need doing again and see how it goes. To be honest I have never had a rabbit that lived this long so I don't really expect it to last all that much longer.

buxtonrabbitgreen

cheepskate wrote:

cant you take him to one of the rspca centres where they do the treatment for a small fee

I don't know if this is the same as the PDSA who only give treatment for a voluntary fee if you are on housing benefit which we are not.

buxtonrabbitgreen

Eels100 wrote:

Teeth should never ever be clipped with cutters, they should be trimmed back with a dental burr (like a tiny circular saw). Cutting risks fracturing the tooth, leading to chronic and severe pain and abnormal growth. The practice of clipping teeth is outdated and ill-advised.

The tooth has probably overgrown as a result of the corresponding incisor being lost or damaged. Normally the teeth would meet and wear each other down over time. Ideally both the offending tooth and its opposite should be removed surgically. It's true that often incisor problems occur in animals with severe molar disease, and rabbits molars cannot be examined without heavy sedation or ideally general anaesthetic.

These problems often occur as a result of breeding - domestic rabbits often have maloccluded teeth and suffer from overgrowth as they age. This often requires regular dental work under anaesthetic, which does have associated risks, but if not carried out has serious welfare implications. Please see a vet, and ensure your rabbit always has a supply of fresh hay available - they must be able to graze 24 hours a day.

Sorry I have only just read this and have already been to the vet. I did ask before she clipped the teeth if it would hurt him and she said it wouldn't and when he jumped she said it was just the force sent a bit of a shock wave through his head. She also pulled one out and it seemed to come out very easily. I now feel gulty for causing him pain but he did seem fine afterwards and didn't try to bite or scratch.

buxtonrabbitgreen

cheepskate wrote:

we had the same problem with one of our gerbils, and it cost £14.00 , yikees, to get it trimmed, and it only took a few seconds.no wonder some people don't take their small animals to the vet , I could have got 3 new ones for this price ( added to the fact our gerbil is 4 1/2 years old and on its last legs.

This happens for a few reasons

1. no hard items to chew on
or
2. the teeth have went out of line for various reasons and cant wear down off each other

many years ago we had to have a hamster put down because it developed a tumor and putting it sown cost 3x as much as the hamster

buxtonrabbitgreen

JanCee wrote:

Rabbit's teeth never stop growing and as they get older it does get to be a problem. A trip to the vet will sort it out. Don't leave it though because if their back teeth get too long they are unable to eat properly.

the back teeth were not long but rotten

MonkeySaving?

Zara33 wrote:

Do they do pet insurance with bunnies, like they do with cats and dogs?

Guess who has no pets lol

They do indeed, and from past experience bunnies are more expensive to look after than cats but less expensive than dogs. It's worth it though, house buns are > cats & dogs

Glitterari

Just for info, I believe that pet plan do bunny insurance - though it's probably not worth it for your bunny because he's so old.

Your poor bunny.

vizcacha

The pet plan bunny insurance (which I've got for my bunny) unfortunately doesn't cover teeth-related problems because they are so common - so it's best to check out all the conditions before you sign up - although it does sound, in your bunny's case that it might not be appropriate anyway

My bunny loves chewing cardboard boxes (check for staples first) and she has her own copy of the yellow pages and plenty of hay to chomp through which keep her front teeth nice and short

Her problem is with her back ones which need trimming from time to time

I think it's a bit of an occupational hazard with bunnies, the whole teeth thing, particularly the dwarf breeds

goth-gal-4eva

buxtonrabbitgreen wrote:

The rabbit is about 10 years old

the rabbit isnt that old mum its only about 5-6