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What do I feed a bun with hardly any teeth?

C

cherylwares

Mama Doe
Hello all,

I took my bunny Donny (who I only got about a month ago) into the vets today for his VHD jab, and asked for a teeth checkup as he didn't seem to be eating a lot and would chew when there was nothing there.

It turns out the poor little mite had tremendous trouble with his teeth and was admitted straight away. My vet has phoned up to say that she had to take most of his teeth out as they were growing into his cheek and were all wobbly :cry:

Im due to pick him up a little bit later, but I really need some help on what to feed him from now on as he will obviously have a bit of a problem with normal food. Do I soften his pellets with water? Will he be able to manage greens if I chop them up really small? I bought some "dandelion and marigold herbage" hay today as I thought he might need extra to wear down his teeth - it is chopped up into little bits but will he be able to eat it?

Help, please !!!!!!
 
Firstly do insist that he is discharged with a supply of pain relief

With his food, he will probably need syringe feeding for a couple of days and certainly softening his pellets will be necessary at first.

Gratted Veg mixed with scissor cut hay is another recipe for a Dental Bun. It may be the only way to get hay into him.

Good luck
 
my bridge bunny mop had the same problem and managed perfectly well without them. he did still manage to eat his pellets without having to have them softened and also ate his veg as long as it was choped small. he did however have his back teeth removed a few at a time as they became wobbly so might be a good idea for you to soften his pellets if he has had lots or all of them removed, just till his gums have healed.
 
My Vernon has no teeth except his incisors and a couple lower molars on one side. He won't eat any veg at all, even if I cut it up really small...not sure whether he can't eat it or just doesn't like it though.

Unfortunately Vernon has a really bad diet due to his dental problems and picky eating, which consists solely of:

-Pellets softened with boiled water
-Brown bread with the crusts cut off
and
- Slices of peeled apple

I did wonder about adding tiny pieces of scissored hay to his pellet mush, but I was worried that they might choke him because he is unable to chew them.

:oops: :oops:
 
Would small amounts of brown/wholemeal/granary bread be OK - I know when I first started keeping bunnies (about 25 years ago) we used to give them small quantities of toast and baked potato peelings, but not sure whether is the accepted norm nowadays.

I just want to make sure he keeps eating cos he is only a little thing at the moment and cannot afford to lose weight.

Ive just grated up some carrot and chopped up some curly kale, although I dont expect he will feel like eating it yet. Mind you, I did put a small piece of apple in there and I know he likes that so I'm hoping that will tempt him. And soggy pellets - eugh - they look and smell disgusting but Im hoping they will do the trick.
 
What about porridge oats? Ive heard in here alot of people on here giving it to poorly buns to help put weight on. Would maybe be an option as bunster could probably manage to eat that themselves??

Or even some baby foods.
I know its not buns ideal diet, but its not an ideal situation!

Mashed banana too!

This might help http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?p=2290998
 
Last edited:
Good luck with collecting him and bringing him home. :) I agree with Jane about the pain relief - absolute priority. You've already been given some excellent advice so just wanted to say good luck with it all. Let us know how he gets on :wave:
 
Hello all,

He's not too bad this morning although feeling a bit sorry for himself (who wouldn't after what he has been through:cry:).

But... he has eaten quite a few soaked pellets, which I am really pleased about as he needs to put on a bit of weight. Hes not so keen on the chopped and grated veg, but his poor little mouth must feel a bit strange. He did try some apple but was having a bit of a time with that even though it was really small.

I'm going shoppng this morning so will try some of the suggestions below - thank you for these. Hopefully things will be OK and I will be keeping a very close eye on him and his remaining teeth.
 
Has he got pain relief for the next few days? Some supportive fibreplex might help keep his tummy moving properly whilst he is having problems eating as well...just to keep him on track whilst he gets used to how his mouth feels.
Good luck, glad to hear he is doing ok so far :):wave:

p.s. some people on here find porridge oats helpful for weight gain. I would certainly soften them in warm water first as they can swell up and absorb a lot of fluid and you wouldn't want his tummy getting too dehydrated.
Lots of get well soon vibes from me x
 
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