teeth problems in 11 week old bun.

I have a new baby bun called amy who has been living with me and my boyfriend for the last month. She has been successfully introduced to my rabbit Koopa, and they both adore each other. Yesterday she got her myxi injection, and the vet checked her back teeth and was startled to find that she has burs growing on her bottom molars and is going to have to get a dental asap. We have noticed her drooling a lil and this has proved to be the problem. Does anyone have any info on this and give me any advice what to do with her. She will be booked in for the dental after she gets her VHD injection in 2 weeks. I was told its unusual to c bad teeth in babies.

katz said:

I have a new baby bun called amy who has been living with me and my boyfriend for the last month. She has been successfully introduced to my rabbit Koopa, and they both adore each other. Yesterday she got her myxi injection, and the vet checked her back teeth and was startled to find that she has burs growing on her bottom molars and is going to have to get a dental asap. We have noticed her drooling a lil and this has proved to be the problem. Does anyone have any info on this and give me any advice what to do with her. She will be booked in for the dental after she gets her VHD injection in 2 weeks. I was told its unusual to c bad teeth in babies.

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:wave: hiya hun.

i really dont have any experience with this but someone will be here soon who does.

but if shes drooling she prob really needs a dental, im really not sure if this is the correct thing to say (so please check first) but i think it would be better to do the dental b4 the VHD.
x

Hi,
Yes it is not that common to see dental problems in buns so young, but she most likely has congential problems due to poor breeding and genetics. Your vet might want to do an x-ray to establish exactly what is going on with her jaw but it is likely she will need dentals frequently throughout her diet. You can help minimise damage by keeping her on a diet consisting of roughage and greens/veg. It would also be a good idea to provide lots of grass for her to encourage her to graze. Obviously the extent of the problem won't be known until she has been examined under GA.

The only bunnies I've had with dental problems started symptoms at about a year old.

The main advice I would give is monitor them closely for how much they are eating and if their behaviour suggests they are in pain. Rabbits are notorious for not telling you they are in pain so you have to second guess. With Bungee she used to beg and then not eat the food and also stamped her feet for no apparent reason when the spurs were bothering her. As soon as you suspect they are in pain follow it up.

My second dental bunny, Rudy has been miserable for a day or two but didn't eat his pellets yesterday, it's only now I've realised what's wrong and they've probably been bothering him for a while. He's booked in for the spurs burring on Thursday (the soonest they could fit him in).

I haven't experienced one drooling so the pain/symptoms threshold may be different but definitely monitor behaviour closely. (Someone else may be able to give more advice on this)

Good luck, I hope it's nothing more serious than teeth needing burring every now and again.

you could have a bun who doesn't eat hay, and thus the molar. Once they are cut, and the bun go back to lots of hay, then the problem will no longer exist.

All my buns who had this problem before, once they go back to lots of hay, no problem since

I have two Buns ( Brothers ) who have congenital molar malocclusion. Their problems became apparent at 12 weeks. They both had a Dental and thus far, a year later, only one of them has required another Dental.
I make sure that they mostly have just a hay/grass diet. They also get a small portion of A+P pellets a few High Fibre Hay Nuggets and a variety of veg.

Congenital Dental Disease can be managed but the Rabbits should never be used for Breeding and if possible the person who bred your Baby should be informed and advised not to breed from that line again

Thanks for all of the replies. Due to money problems at the moment, we will be leaving her to the end of the month unless she seems to be getting destressed, wont have her suffering. The vet says she will be ok for the two weeks, but to take her in if she seems to be in trouble. The only problem with amy is she was a suprise present from my boyfriend, and he bought her from the petshop. We are going to send an email to the head office with a complaint, as she should have been checked before she was up for sale.

Sorry to say but there aren't many, if any pet shops that will get the baby buns checked before selling them:roll: as it is just money in the till to them. I hope that the letter you write gets you help with the vet bills as a rabbit at such a yuoung age with dental problems is possibly going to be a costly road for you.

katz said:

Thanks for all of the replies. Due to money problems at the moment, we will be leaving her to the end of the month unless she seems to be getting destressed, wont have her suffering. The vet says she will be ok for the two weeks, but to take her in if she seems to be in trouble. The only problem with amy is she was a suprise present from my boyfriend, and he bought her from the petshop. We are going to send an email to the head office with a complaint, as she should have been checked before she was up for sale.

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Personally I think that is too long to wait if she is already showing signs of dribbling - this can mean that the spur is cutting into the tongue or cheek. My advice would be to get her done asap and get her onto hay as much as you can.

Good luck.

I have got 3 nethies here. 2 of them had their first dentals at 12 weeks - the biggest had a very obvious front "walrus" tooth from 9 weeks, although he was eating fine, he only drank from a bowl.

We've had no further drooling since their dentals & they will be fully checked again at neuter so hopefully the incredible amount of hay they get through will be helping:lol:

One of my fosterers had brought 2 babies from a breeder who both had horrific teeth problems from a young age. Neither made 6 months Not that I am suggesting this will happen to yours, but some are born with very little chance from the off.