Dilemma - advice on dental buns please

I found a wee bun last Wednesday and it has been with us nearly a week and no-one has phoned to claim him.

I took him to the vet who said that his runny eye was due to dental problems but they would need to do a GA to establish how bad they were. (He was the farm/large animal vet, and I think he thought I was mad to even think about keeping the bun). He put his finger into his mouth to give him a quick examination.

But he is such a lovely compliant and contented bunny. I gave him a little run yesterday and it took him 3 hours to pluck up the courage to come out of the hutch. I think it is possibly because he has never been loose before. I don't think he is used to having hay to eat or good quality bunny food. Indeed, that is probably why his teeth are in such poor shape.

I have had the idea in my head the last couple of days of keeping him, but I am terrified in case I am taking on too much financially with a bun with dental problems. I have phoned the vets and asked for an estimate for having him neutered (he has a retained testicle too), doing an dental examination at the same time and giving him a myxi. I also asked them to give me an idea of what the cost of the worst kind of maintenance work would be and very run of the mill stuff.

I hope it isn't too dreadful and that I can consider keeping him as I am not sure that he will get a home with his problems.

I will also face the problem of bonding him with my existing pair as I have no intention of getting a mate for him. Can people please advise me if I am being mad and give me some helpful advice.

I want to make a decision based on sound facts and not just with my heart (which is desperately trying to sway the argument).

Can I especially hear from folk with experience of a dental bun and what it involves. Also bonding into a trio.

I think it is wise to add up the pros and cons of whether you can support this bun, I know how hard it is to not commit to something you feel is your responsibility. If you decide not to keep him, there is a rescue in Inverness, although I have no idea how good they are- its called Animal Ark Rabbit & Guinea-Pig Re-Homing Centre.
If you do decide to rehome him via a rescue, I would check what their procedure is, whether they home check, neuter and vaccinate, as some- especially up here don't.

If you can afford the financial costs once the vet gets back to you I would keep him. Edited to say have you got separate accommodation if a bond did not work.

He's in my spare 'hospital' hutch (for ill buns).

I have tried not to give him a name, but I have to bathe his eye once a day with cold tea and he is such a lovely gentle wee bun. He justs sits there so docile.

I had planned to pass him on to the SSPCA in Inverness (that's where I got both my buns from - one Inverness, one Dundee), but I just wonder who would take on a bun with vet implications and I am worried they will just put him down.

Bump

It depends on the extent of the problem I think.
Salt has potential for teeth problems, as has Squidgy (uneven teeth according to my vet), but we manage it well with a good diet and plenty of good quality hay. So, it needed be an ongoing thing, but a once in a while.
Perhaps when the bunny savvy vet has a look they can tell you a little more.

:wave: Hi Nickie, I wish I had an ounce of your common sense . It's good you're weighing this up before jumping in headfirst.

I have two dental buns as part of a trio. Both have had their incisors removed - Spikes took 2 attempts as they grew back and Kiki needed hers removing 4 times ( pesky teeth grew back individually). However most of the gummy buns on here have had their teeth removed just the once - mine appear to be unusual situations :roll: . I still think removal is far better than regular trips for burring teeth.

Bonding the 2 gummy buns was easy - let's face it, without teeth what was the worse they could do to each other :lol: . They took to each other immiedately. Bonding the 2 of them to Totti (who has teeth) was more troublesome and the bonder initially thought it wasn't going to work. However something clicked and it did (possibly because he was recently bereaved and was used to bunny company? Who knows)

Hopefully some other peeps will give you their experience - I'd be interested to see if any bonds broke as a result of triyng to introduce a third bun.

Good luck and keep us posted

Is there any other signs of dental problems other than a runny eye? e.g. dribbling, dropping food, chewing when he doesn't have food in his mouth, etc.

Runny eyes are sometimes caused by dental disease (although more usually by incisor roots rather than molar roots), however in my own personal experience are more likely to be caused by something else...including bacterial infection, foreign object in the eye, ulceration, entropian, etc, etc.

Hi I have a dental bun with severe (grade 4) dental disease who has misaligned molars need burring every 3-4 months under GA. This we think is due to him not being given hay in his previous home for the first 18months -2 years of his life and as a result doesn't eat hay now... so he will always need dentals. We didn't consider the financial implications of taking him on so I think it's great you are doing this. Having said this although he is our most expensive bunny I wouldn't be without him.
There are other things to consider however. he eats very slowly which we will have to deal with when he is bonded to make sure he keeps his weight up which he has trouble doing even as a single bun. He has a frequent runny eye on the side with the worst misalignment which need drops to clear etc. He has been on abx since september and can't be bonded till these finish so he has to remain a single outdoor bun for now which is far from ideal.
He has vet checks every 6-8 weeks.
good luck making your decision, it is quite a commitment but worth it if you have the finances to do it. x

My dental bun needed doing every 4weeks but my vet did the dentals concious. I am very wary of adding a third bun into an established pair unless the pair are the same sex and opposite to the one being added - just from personal experience.

The vet has just phoned with the estimate. They are quoting £112 to neuter him (he has a retained testicle), give him his myxi jab and examine his teeth while he is under GA.

He said he didn't know how much it would cost to maintain him until he saw his teeth, but the receptionist said the GA would cost £50 plust treatment. So I think I will grit MY teeth and say he can stay. Hopefully we can get him to eat a bit more hay. I just hope it might be as someone else said that his eye is due to something else and his teeth aren't that bad, but I am prepared to support him if they are.