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New bun - teeth problems?

L

louandjoe

Alpha Buck
Our new bun Sandy, who we adopted from Walsall RSPCA on Tuesday, is a big girl, but doesn't seem to eat a lot - I tried her with a small piece of carrot and greens, she didn't touch the carrot and only nibbled on the green, but will eat kale and parsely and only seems to eat a tiny nibble of hay and pellets.

I thought I'd try her with grated carrot as my dental bun could only eat grated and she wolfed it down. She also has runny eyes which I know is another sign of dental problems, and really small dark poos as she's not eating much hay :( Am I correct in thinking these are all symptoms of teeth problems?
 
louandjoe said:
Our new bun Sandy, who we adopted from Walsall RSPCA on Tuesday, is a big girl, but doesn't seem to eat a lot - I tried her with a small piece of carrot and greens, she didn't touch the carrot and only nibbled on the green, but will eat kale and parsely and only seems to eat a tiny nibble of hay and pellets.

I thought I'd try her with grated carrot as my dental bun could only eat grated and she wolfed it down. She also has runny eyes which I know is another sign of dental problems, and really small dark poos as she's not eating much hay :( Am I correct in thinking these are all symptoms of teeth problems?
Click to expand...

Yes, it does sound like she may have some Dental issues going on. I would take her to your Vet tomorrow as the sooner any possible problems are addressed the better.
The small poos are a concern as that indicates reduced gut motility. That combined with a minimal food intake, particularly no hay, means GI stasis could occur.
For today try making her pellets soft by soaking them in some cooled boiled water. Mix a tiny bit of the gratted carrot in if that might tempt her to eat the softened pellets.

:)
 
Sorry not been to update this, she did indeed have sharp spurs on her teeth and needed GA to have them burred and her tear ducts flushed. Fiona said her tounge wasn't ulcerated but it would still have been uncomfortable for her to eat.

She's eating more now, well, Russell Rabbit picking out the bits she likes and greens, which she absolutely loves (the foster lady said she didn't like greens :shock:) but she rarely eats any hay. Her poos are getting bigger but are still dark as she's not getting enough fibre. We're gradually weaning her onto A&P but I don't want to take away the Russell Rabbit if she's not eating anything else but greens.

I'm going to buy some different types of hay in the hope we find one that she likes but if she's anything like my other dental bun, getting him to eat hay was a hopeless cause :cry:

I'm a little bit annoyed with the RSPCA and the fosterer as Sandy went to the vets for her Myxi jab just a few days before we got her and I can't understand why her teeth and watery eyes weren't picked up then? I've had a nice hefty vets bill and the poor bun was obviously in pain :?
 
Is it too late to ask the RSPCA to contrubute towards the vet bill as this should really have been picked up by their vet.

Here are some ideas to try to get her to eat more hay (was sent to me from Oxbow) - worth a try.

Take his favorite treat, hide it in the hay and make him forage around to get to it.

If he gets any veggies, mix hay in with them, hay will stick to the moist veggies and he may grow to like the hay.

If he likes carrots, you can shred a carrot and mix it in with the hay, the carrot will also stick to the hay.

You can also mist the hay with a diluted fruit juice (if he likes a certain flavor) which may entice him to eat it.

Also, put hay everywhere that he frequents; make it so he can't get away from it.

Rabbits also like to eat hay in their litter box; most rabbits will only use one side of the litter box for waste. Place the hay in "clean" side. There is no need for concern about him eating soiled hay, he will just pick around it.
 
louandjoe said:
Sorry not been to update this, she did indeed have sharp spurs on her teeth and needed GA to have them burred and her tear ducts flushed. Fiona said her tounge wasn't ulcerated but it would still have been uncomfortable for her to eat.

She's eating more now, well, Russell Rabbit picking out the bits she likes and greens, which she absolutely loves (the foster lady said she didn't like greens :shock:) but she rarely eats any hay. Her poos are getting bigger but are still dark as she's not getting enough fibre. We're gradually weaning her onto A&P but I don't want to take away the Russell Rabbit if she's not eating anything else but greens.

I'm going to buy some different types of hay in the hope we find one that she likes but if she's anything like my other dental bun, getting him to eat hay was a hopeless cause :cry:

I'm a little bit annoyed with the RSPCA and the fosterer as Sandy went to the vets for her Myxi jab just a few days before we got her and I can't understand why her teeth and watery eyes weren't picked up then? I've had a nice hefty vets bill and the poor bun was obviously in pain :?
Click to expand...

I would contact the Branch with your concerns :)

I am glad she is now feeling more comfortable. Good luck changing her from RR to A+P, I sense a battle on the horizon !!
 
Thanks for those tips, I'll give them a go :D I've ordered some of the trial packs from Hay Experts so hopefully she'll find a tasty one she likes.
 
I didn't realise you had Sandy :) any piccies?
I hope she's okay now and hope those poops start going a bit more golden brown.
 
Just to add I have been contacted about this and I will be looking into finding out what happened.
 
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