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How do i know when Alfie needs her teeth filed?

emmarees

Young Bun
:wave:Alfie our 2 and a half year old lionhead has had her teeth filed once back in november and again in march, how will we know when to take her again? Other times she has had "jelly legs" and we take her straight to a good vet. He also gives her something for her belly as that is quite bloated when we take her down. Any ideas, she is eating and drinking fine at the moment.
 
Since it was about 4 months between the two last times, I would take her for a checkup after about 3 months, so sometime in June so that they can be dealt with before it gets horrible for her again.

Someone else might have better ideas.
 
I take mine for regular check ups - perhaps every 2 to 3 months - I'd start with 2 months if you can. That way they don't get to the really bad stage
 
If your waiting until she has digestive issues then you are leaving it too long already so I would say you are looking at a check-up every 8-12 weeks.

Signs that a dental may be needed are loss of condition, slow eating, favouring certain foods, drop in hay consumption, dropping food from the mouth whilst eating, dribbling or a wet/matted chin, fiddling with the mouth and intermittent tooth grinding.
 
Teeth

:oops:Yes, sorry should have added back teeth. We are due to go on holiday next month, we were going to take her to see the vet before we went anyway just to make sure everything was ok. I will take her down in the next 2 weeks. 1st time she went in poor alfie was really bad we almost had to have her put on a drip. 2nd time she was great, so I am hoping that 3rd time will be the same. How safe is it for her to go under anesthetic? or is there an alternative way? The vet is a small animal specialist. :wave:
 
I take bailey every 12 weeks for his front teeth clipped and his back checked.

I would say you need to be having them checked same as sooz said, its not good for the bun if your waiting for them to have a problem first.

Does the bun get watery eyes?

x
 
I take bailey every 12 weeks for his front teeth clipped and his back checked.

I would say you need to be having them checked same as sooz said, its not good for the bun if your waiting for them to have a problem first.

Does the bun get watery eyes?

x

No she doesnt get watery eyes, it makes us sound like bad parents but she doesnt display any symptoms until the jelly legs appear. She is a house bunny and one of us is with her most of the time due to shift work and nine to five working. So we know straight away if something is not right. :?
 
What, exactly, do you mean by jelly legs? It's just their are other illnesses which can cause similar symptoms and the only time I have known a rabbit to go like this in relation to dental issues is when they go 'floppy' in the advanced stages of stasis....
 
What, exactly, do you mean by jelly legs? It's just their are other illnesses which can cause similar symptoms and the only time I have known a rabbit to go like this in relation to dental issues is when they go 'floppy' in the advanced stages of stasis....


I mean floopy as in stretching herself out, her belly is usually a little bloated when its time for the teeth to be done, the vet says its nothing to worry about. I do massage the belly just in case. When it first happened we took her down to the emergency vets straight away, he thought originally it was a stomach complaint she was not eating or being her usual self. They also thought the teeth might be a problem so they filed the back ones. When she went in for her second lot back in march they filed the teeth down and then said they werent that bad. Must say again she is fine now and I have booked to take her in on monday. Be assured if there is anything that we dont like Alfie is down the vets within 15 minutes, and they are really good to her. :wave:
 
I see, that's not what I thought you meant....there are conditions in rabbits that cause them to loose control of their limbs and are not related to teeth but these present differently.

The posture you describe sounds like the one that is commonly seen in rabbits who have bloat (gas) where they struggle to get comfy due to the pain. Does she go off her food and stop toileting prior to, or alongside, these episodes?
 
no, she is fine right up until she starts flopping out stretching her legs. I know its normal behaviour but when she starts doing it every couple of seconds then bang box is out from under the stairs, phone the vet and in the car and we are off. The vets is about 2-3 miles away and we are there in 15 minutes.
 
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