Hi Guys
I thought I'd post about our experiences with a bunny with dodgy teeth - I found experiences of other people invaluable when trying to sort out our bun so would like to return the favour!
Our bun is a 2 year old cross lop, of what we are not sure! When we got him he was a trouble maker, sneaking places he shouldn't be, eating things he shouldn't, causing hell every morning wanting out for his run around the house. He was never a big hay eater although he did nibble hay and straw from time to time, and he used to shred apart wicker toys - his favourite.
About this time last year his left eye began to water. Off to the vets we went and a round of Maxitrol drops were prescribed along with a tear duct flush. This did stop his eye from watering but he then went into stasis (it now transpires that our bun does not react kindly to steroids and like some of us humans, his mouth swells). Got him eating again and that was the end of that...
...wrong.
(In between that and the next bit below our bun gradually stops eating hay as much and doesn't attack his wicker in the same way - we put it down to his grumpy and picky personality and leave him be, always providing chewy things but he was never interested.)
Back in May his eye started to water again so back to the vets, more flushes and more Maxitrol. While on Maxitrol he suddenly one morning started dropping food from his mouth which is a strong sign of dental problems (lacerations to the tongue or cheek by spurs of the teeth) so into the vets that day to get his teeth smoothed down - no cuts in his mouth found...
Anyhow, we get him eating again (putting him under triggered stasis again) and his eye acts up yet again followed by his other eye. Another round of drops and low and behold he starts dropping food from his mouth like last time. We stopped the drops and as I've already briefly said, we discover that he takes a bad reaction to Maxitrol. Try different drops - still watering.
So after all this he is referred to the local university vet hospital. Xrays show that his teeth are badly overgrown and hence the roots at two points are pressing on his tear ducts causing overflow and we presume some discomfort. His front incisors were clipped and the rest burred down flat to where they should be. I should explain here that the new method of thought is to burr the teeth down so they clamp against each other evenly so as to release pressure on the upper teeth, this is as opposed to removing teeth. Teeth are now only removed if they have a problem such as an abscess or if they grow incredibly fast compared to the rest resulting in too many visits to the vets to get them filed down.
Our bun was very tired when we got him home but 24 hours later it was like having a new rabbit all over again! We have had to reteach him to eat hay, almost cutting out pellets altogether to encourage him to fill up on hay instead. We are also reteaching him to nibble and he has destroyed a wicker toy within the week! Bit by bit he is getting back to his old self.
I guess what I am trying to say in this long babble is not to ignore your rabbit going off hay or nibble toys, don't just put it down to boredom or pickyness. We feel terrible thinking that he must have been in some discomfort for a while and we never noticed until his eyes played up. If your bun starts losing interest in anything he or she once loved get them straight to a good rabbit savvy vet - remember that rabbits as prey animals hide their pain so as not to be picked on by predators, unlike a dog or cat they cannot give you outward signs that something is wrong. A consultation fee for peace of mind is an awful lot cheaper than a trip to the dentist!
Whew that was long!!! I hope that is of use to at least one person out there - any questions just sent me a message
Mazzawa
I thought I'd post about our experiences with a bunny with dodgy teeth - I found experiences of other people invaluable when trying to sort out our bun so would like to return the favour!
Our bun is a 2 year old cross lop, of what we are not sure! When we got him he was a trouble maker, sneaking places he shouldn't be, eating things he shouldn't, causing hell every morning wanting out for his run around the house. He was never a big hay eater although he did nibble hay and straw from time to time, and he used to shred apart wicker toys - his favourite.
About this time last year his left eye began to water. Off to the vets we went and a round of Maxitrol drops were prescribed along with a tear duct flush. This did stop his eye from watering but he then went into stasis (it now transpires that our bun does not react kindly to steroids and like some of us humans, his mouth swells). Got him eating again and that was the end of that...
...wrong.
(In between that and the next bit below our bun gradually stops eating hay as much and doesn't attack his wicker in the same way - we put it down to his grumpy and picky personality and leave him be, always providing chewy things but he was never interested.)
Back in May his eye started to water again so back to the vets, more flushes and more Maxitrol. While on Maxitrol he suddenly one morning started dropping food from his mouth which is a strong sign of dental problems (lacerations to the tongue or cheek by spurs of the teeth) so into the vets that day to get his teeth smoothed down - no cuts in his mouth found...
Anyhow, we get him eating again (putting him under triggered stasis again) and his eye acts up yet again followed by his other eye. Another round of drops and low and behold he starts dropping food from his mouth like last time. We stopped the drops and as I've already briefly said, we discover that he takes a bad reaction to Maxitrol. Try different drops - still watering.
So after all this he is referred to the local university vet hospital. Xrays show that his teeth are badly overgrown and hence the roots at two points are pressing on his tear ducts causing overflow and we presume some discomfort. His front incisors were clipped and the rest burred down flat to where they should be. I should explain here that the new method of thought is to burr the teeth down so they clamp against each other evenly so as to release pressure on the upper teeth, this is as opposed to removing teeth. Teeth are now only removed if they have a problem such as an abscess or if they grow incredibly fast compared to the rest resulting in too many visits to the vets to get them filed down.
Our bun was very tired when we got him home but 24 hours later it was like having a new rabbit all over again! We have had to reteach him to eat hay, almost cutting out pellets altogether to encourage him to fill up on hay instead. We are also reteaching him to nibble and he has destroyed a wicker toy within the week! Bit by bit he is getting back to his old self.
I guess what I am trying to say in this long babble is not to ignore your rabbit going off hay or nibble toys, don't just put it down to boredom or pickyness. We feel terrible thinking that he must have been in some discomfort for a while and we never noticed until his eyes played up. If your bun starts losing interest in anything he or she once loved get them straight to a good rabbit savvy vet - remember that rabbits as prey animals hide their pain so as not to be picked on by predators, unlike a dog or cat they cannot give you outward signs that something is wrong. A consultation fee for peace of mind is an awful lot cheaper than a trip to the dentist!
Whew that was long!!! I hope that is of use to at least one person out there - any questions just sent me a message
Mazzawa
