Rabbit dental help

kirsty_baird

We have a 5 and a half year old bunny who has recently developed dental problems.
His diet was mainly pellets, fresh fruit and veg but he refused point blank to eat hay.
We have tried many different types of hay but he still rarely eats it but is now eating some due to us cutting his pellets to just cover his food bowl.
He has had two dentals so far 9 weeks apart each one, he has to be given an anaesthetic to get them due to them being his back teeth.
We took him to the vet the other day as it had been 12 weeks since the last time he went and we noticed his chin beginning to be slightly damp and the vet checked his teeth and said they were fine and no spurs however the next day hes started to reduce his food intake so we are monitoring him closely (He has ate all his veg, half his pellets and unsure of how much hay but bits he is so fussy with hay still but is eating it more now) which I think is why his teeth are not as bad as quick as previously at 9 weeks his spurs were just needing done. How safe is it to continue to get him dentals we are improving the time between them an extra month so far and vet didn’t want to see him for another month but if he gets worse we will take him back.
How often do you get your rabbit dentals? Do they need anaesthetics? Worried as a friend said she got her Ginny pig put to sleep after his third and this will be his third but the vets not said anything about it? He said if we can increase the time its obviously better for the rabbit but seemed happy with us getting him a dental.

Any help appreciated as we are worried!

antw23uk

I used to do out netherland dwarfs front teeth myself (having been taught by the vet and studied small animal care and pre vet nursing at college) so no experience of back teeth im afraid. I would say this though .... As long as you keep paying the vet they will keep you coming back. Now in an ideal world our vets would tell us the truth, tell us sooner rather than later but sadly a honest vet is a hard vet to find.

I would be worried about all the anaesthetics to be honest, it cant be good for them so you have to consider your pets quality of life and if that is no longer the best then i would be starting to think about talking to your vet regarding pts.

kirsty_baird

Thanks for your honest opinion.

The rabbit is absolutely fine up until he gets his teeth done, after the anaesthetic he is drowsy that evening and running around, eating and playing the next day so at the moment I feel he has a good quality of life. If he wasn’t doing well ie sleepy etc for a few days after or not eating, doing toilet I may think differently but he seems fine after it? Such a hard decision to make.

We are also increasing the time between visits with him eating Hay so surely if we keep increasing it twice a year or so is not bad if he still fine after anaesthetic?

Thanks

mcmanlyn

My last bun had spurs on his back teeth too - think he them done about 4 times in 18 months, & he needed to be knocked out each time as they were back teeth, don't think there's any way round it And it can be really painful for them if left untreated too long - the spur can cut into their tongues.

Same as you it was because he never seemed to like hay, so I fed him bowls full of pellets, which is all wrong unfortunately. They need very very little pellets & can actually be very happy without any.

My new buns get about an eggcup full each per day, plus leafy greens & hay. And *touch wood* no teeth problems so far (they're only 1 though)

Have you tried those hay blocks? Mine like those more than loose hay & it still helps their teeth. I've also grown little pots of fresh grass for them as that's great for them.

Yes I'm a crazy bunny lady lol

kirsty_baird

He doesn’t eat any of the chew’s or that either he is honestly so fussy. He has started to eat hay now and just gets a thin covering of pellets each day along with, fresh hay daily in a hay holder and in toys and a ball hanging from roof (He eats this mostly) also greens and carrot at night

We found out the hard way about the tongue thing he was told he may not survive his tongue was so badly hurt but he is thriving now and we know the warning signs.

Dozey_crow

Hi Kirsty

We have a bunny with dental issues too and we have just been through the mill with her.

We suspected that she was having dental problems again three weeks ago (although it was really early) as she went a bit strange and was hiding in her sleeping compartment with no interest at all in breakfast but she'd eaten all of her tea from the night before. We took her to the vets and she had signs of infection in her front teeth which she had antibiotics for, they did a dental too. Usually she is like your rabbit afterwards but this time she still had no interest in food and no droppings after 24 hours. Turns out she had gut statis as well. Bless her she was so poorly we had to syringe feed her and had two weeks of getting up at 1.30am to do this as well as before work, bedtime and early evening. Anyway she made it and is now eating like a house again thank goodness.

One thing though.. she had never been a veg or hay eater but following the vets advice we have made an attempt at changing her diet. She likes Timothy hay with dandelions and marigolds and because we are giving her less dry food she is eating it. She also will eat veg if left to it.. Not her favorite though.

Our vet who is great said that we know the rabbit best and will know what to do and I think you are in the same situation. There is no way we would let her suffer and all through our feeding of her were careful not to force her and paid attention to her 'signals'.

There are apparently some rabbit dentistry specialists dotted around the country... mat be worth trying to find one?

Sorry... Waffled on a bit there basically if the rabbit had a good life despite dentals then I think it is fine.

Oh also from the symptoms you describe it could be an abcess... did they xray?

SadBunny

My rabbit needed persuasion to eat hay but would munch away while there was conversation - so we used to have nice chats. I always took long telephone calls near her hay box and would read aloud to her.
It also helped if I rubbed her back, a little above her tail. She would start licking (just like a cat does if you rub its back) and I made sure the hay was "in the way". She'd pick up the odd strand while licking - then suddenly she was eating hay.
They advise you not to feed alfalfa hay, but even that is better than no hay. Alfalfa King is usually very stalky and you can rub off the leaves which have the higher calcium content - avoid leafy alfalfa. Readigrass is also a good bet although some used to say it should be limited.
My rabbit sometimes liked Oat,Wheat & Barley but her favourite was Organic Meadow Hay. (Also Brome but hard to obtain)
It is a bit of a lottery as each batch of hay differs - I used to check the batch numbers so I could either avoid or buy more.
I nearly forgot Ings - another favourite but some rabbits prefer their other hays and you can ask for samples.

Very sad about Graham Gardner at Hay for Pets.

kirsty_baird

Hi

Thanks to all of you for your replys.
I will try and get some hay samples to see if he will eat any of them as our house is overrun with different types he doesn’t really eat haha.
Yesterday he had a good day, he ate all his pellets, veg and some hay and he was given stuff last night which was mostly gone this morning so breakthrough, don’t know if he was just being fussy or what, his chin was dry all day yesterday when checked and his eye is also looking good  He was happily running around with the dogs last night!
Im just worried that he can’t get a lot of dentals does anyone know how often they can get done etc? He is looking at almost doubling the time from the last one from 8-9 weeks to 15 weeks this time so hoping if he eats more hay again it can increase more 
They did xray and was no abscesses etc was just his teeth.

Thanks

Dozey_crow

kirsty_baird wrote: »

Hi

Thanks to all of you for your replys.
I will try and get some hay samples to see if he will eat any of them as our house is overrun with different types he doesn’t really eat haha.
Yesterday he had a good day, he ate all his pellets, veg and some hay and he was given stuff last night which was mostly gone this morning so breakthrough, don’t know if he was just being fussy or what, his chin was dry all day yesterday when checked and his eye is also looking good  He was happily running around with the dogs last night!
Im just worried that he can’t get a lot of dentals does anyone know how often they can get done etc? He is looking at almost doubling the time from the last one from 8-9 weeks to 15 weeks this time so hoping if he eats more hay again it can increase more 
They did xray and was no abscesses etc was just his teeth.

Thanks

I think the amount of time varies considerably from rabbit to rabbit to be honest. From what you describe he seems OK again. Our vet says that if they eat more hay then it grinds their teeth down and they go longer between dentals. Ours can be fussy... She is turning her nose up at veg again but we will persevere with her . she had a tantrum today and moved ask of her bedding into the day compartment and tore up her paper ....oh and Incase we hadn't got the message about not liking veg she took a huge dump in her veg bowl:eek: Roughly translated it reads "I'm bored stupid and I DON'T like vegetables". We are buying her a new cage at the weekend... Bloody menace :rotfl:

kirsty_baird

Well update on little fudge.

He began eating properly the day after I posted and has been fine since, eye fine and mouth not wet so fingers crossed he was just a little under the weather and his teeth are getting ground down a bit better. We have found a hay he will eat a bag of horse hay supplied by friends and we have lots left, he is just nibbling at it occasionally but seems to be doing the trick.

He is due at vet end of the month so will keep you guys updated.

Thanks for your replys again you reassured me and if he is fine untilt he vets appointment he has doubled the time between dentals from 2 months to 4

Dozey crow hope your bunny is ok and begins to become less fussy like ours

skye

Where are you buying your hay from? If it is a pet shop, maybe you try a fresher source - it's supposed to be tastier to them. I'm just trying the Hay 4 Pets, not sure what it's like yet tho, I paid £16 for 10kg (which is like a bale). Also will he eat grass? If he's indoors, you could try growing grass in pots