I need some advice

Hi, i recently took on someones rabbits as she could "no longer be bothered with them" when i got them they had really long nails and hadnt been out of their smelly rotten hutches for ages, they didnt know what veg were and are scared of people putting their hands near them, ive sorted them out the best i can, nails clipped got them eating veg and things but now ive found that one of them has teeth problems and due to the fact we have to move soon and were getting married im not going to be able to afford the vet bills for him, ive tried putting a post up in the classified section on here but nothing has happened and i dont know whether putting him up on the free ad sites is a good idea or if i should take him to a rescue, ive been told by 2 people i know just to put him to sleep but i dont feel that is fair as he could have such a great life he just hasnt been given the right start, im worried that if i put him up on free ads 1. no one will want him knowing that he is going to cost them in vet bills and 2. that the wrong kind of people will ask for him and even with me home checking it could all look good on the surface but it doesnt mean the right care will be given, i also feel bad if i take him to a rescue as i always feel they have to many animals to look after all ready, what do you all think would be the right thing to do?

For a rabbit with problems you need to make sure you are finding a trusted owner to take him on to avoid him suffering. That can be hard to find but you can find them anywhere. As well as doing a home check you could also ask for references from vets and also if they have adopted from a rescue, contact that rescue to see what their feelings on the person are.

Are the dental probs because the teeth are out of alignment or was it just because they were neglected and not fed enough hay? I've had buns come to me with bad teeth who touch wood have never needed another dental now they are being fed correctly.

To be honest im not to sure at the mo trying to get an appointment at the vets for him but all my money that was saved up for the rabbits ive had to use for the household as our rather selfish house mate quit his job and when he finally got another one got sacked so isnt giving us money for rent and food etc, i would dip into the wedding fund but the wedding is only in 3 months so i wont have time to save it back up again and we are moving house at the end of the month begining of next month so need money for that to, when i get his nails clipped we check his teeth out the front ones are split so they are starting to point to the out side of his mouth and he wont let us see any more than that, i believe this has come about because he doesnt eat hay and had never had veg before he was on a muesli food when i got him but ive now got him on pellets, he is over weight and until i can convince him to eat hay he will probably keep getting the teeth problems, ive tried everything to get him to eat hay, putting his fav treat in a toilet roll tube stuffed with hay, ive put a hay manger on the hutch, ive tried all sorts of different hay i just cant get him to eat any, the other rabbit i got at the same time is the same and wont touch hay but his teeth are in better shape and he is willing to eat almost anything so im sure i will get him to eat hay soon

How many pellets are you feeding?

have you tried feeding hay off the floor - some bunnies prefer this?

Have you tried grating the veg and mixing it with the hay to encourage foraging?

What hays have you tried? Did you try readigrass?

Do have any bunnies who are good hay eaters you can safely put in view of him?

I've had bunnies here who point blank refused hay, it takes a while but you can get there in the end.

Well done for everything you are doing for the bunny.

Just to mention that if they are a bonded pair you will really need to find a new home for them together - splitting them would be very very hard on them.

Also you could not really keep just one anyway as rabbits are very sociable and need to live in pairs or small groups.

Have you tried contacting local Northants rabbit rescues and explaining the situation?

he gets 40-50g of pettets a day in 2 loads, ive tried hay off the floor, in boxes, in a hay manger, in toilet tubes, mixed in with food held in our hands anything i could think of to get him to eat the hay, ive not tried grating the veg as i thought he needed the chunks to help wear his teeth i will give it a go tho, ive tried timothy hay, burgess excel fresh herbage, Supa Forage Excel Natural Grass and hay from the woodlands selection as these are all that available to us at the mo hoping to be able to find some other makes soon but have been unable to order online as our card got stopped someone tried to empty the account :shock: i cant put any bunnies in his view or he goes mental attacking the bars im hoping when he is neutered he will stop that and can get bonded, i didnt split them i was given them as two singles who have always been alone apart from when they were put with females to breed by the previous owners im hoping that i will be able to get them bonded soon but with the wedding and moving house i just cant afford to get them neutered yet i did have money saved up for it but ive had to use it to keep the house going due to our housemate quiting then loosing his jobs hence the sudden house move.

As far as I was aware only hay has any effect on the teeth because of the way the grind it, but I'm not 100% sure.

Lots of us are struggling with finances at the mo so don't feel bad. I'm sure you are doing everything you can.

well i was hoping that him having to bite into chunks of veg would help slow the teeth problem down a bit im probably wrong but it makes me feel a bit better that he is eating something hard i will try and grate his veg up tonight and see if that gets him eating the hay.

How about half and half. Give him some chunks and grate some. Failing that you could get some herbs to mix in with the hay instead and give veg in chunks as usual.

If the problem is only with his front teeth, you may find vet treatment doesn't work out too expensive :wave:

Your vet may be able to remove all his front (incisor) teeth in a one-off operation, which may mean he doesn't need any more work doing. My vet charges about £100 for this operation. They may even neuter him at the same time for that price.

If you can't afford to pay a lump sum, your vet might let you pay in stages if you ask them.

At the very least it sounds like this little guy needs his teeth clipping by the vet, otherwise he could end up unable to eat at all...which could result in a big emergency trip.

Good luck, and sending vibes for this bun x

i cant get him eating herbs either only tried a few times with them tho as my other lot finished them off and he normally takes a few attempts of me offering something before he will try it

i know he needs to go to the vets im trying to get him in at the mo but its only a little vets and its very busy at the mo, i will see if another vet near by can help but until the end of the month im very skint like down to my last pound im a stay at home mum with 2 kids and my partner is trying to get his wage to stretch so we all have a home and food plus we have a housemate to support as well, i know he really needs the right care which is why i was asking for advice whether to rehome him on a free ad site or whether a rescue would be a better option altho i would be sad to see him go i just cant give him what he needs right now so im looking for an alternative

I think Free-ads sites are a no-no unless you make sure you home-check any potential adopters. People sometimes use those sites to find live animals to use as food or bait for ferrets, dogs, etc.

I'm afraid I don't know of any rescues in Northampton, but I do know that a Banbury based rescue (BARKS) has a rabbit fosterer in Northamptonshire. Here is a link to their website:

http://www.barks.org.uk/

Thank you very much i will have a look, thats what i was worried about with the free ads was always going to home check and things but i feel like some things can be hidden just coz there is a big cage and run doesnt mean the care will be given you know :? i will defo contact some rescues but the one nearest to me we dont like we have been there twice looking for animals and rang to say we were coming and what we were looking for to find that when we arrived (dead on opening time) the one person who knows about the animals we are interested in have gone home and they cant tell us anything we went 3 times about rats and all 3 times the same thing happened and recently we went looking for guinea pigs to get told the same thing again

Hi,

Of course your bun needs to have his teeth examined by a good bunny vet and I agree with the others that you should explain your financial situation to the vet and see how they can help. It really wouldn't be fair to pass the rabbit on to someone else without first getting a diagnosis so thy know what they are dealing with.

Have you tried feeding grass to your rabbit? If he's not used to it you need to introduce it slowly as it can cause problems if you allow too much too soon. You can mix some grass, hand cut with garden shears or kitchen scissors NOT from the lawnmower as this heats the grass cuttings and starts them fermenting which is not good for bunny, in to his hay.

Of course your attempts to get him to eat hay will be fruitless if his mouth is painful.

A rescue would be far more preferable to a classified ad but spaces are scarce of course.

abbymarysmokey said:

If the problem is only with his front teeth, you may find vet treatment doesn't work out too expensive :wave:

Your vet may be able to remove all his front (incisor) teeth in a one-off operation, which may mean he doesn't need any more work doing. My vet charges about £100 for this operation. They may even neuter him at the same time for that price.

If you can't afford to pay a lump sum, your vet might let you pay in stages if you ask them.

At the very least it sounds like this little guy needs his teeth clipping by the vet, otherwise he could end up unable to eat at all...which could result in a big emergency trip.

Good luck, and sending vibes for this bun x

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Is there a PDSA that you could visit? It's not ideal but they might be able to show you how to clip his teeth which you could then manage for a few months if you are confident enough until you can afford better treatment.

i am defiantly going to be taking him to the vets as soon as i can, i have tried him with grass but as with most things he isnt to keen on eating it, ive only had him for a short time and its only recently he has let us open his mouth to see his teeth, i would never pass him on to anyone else if they didnt know what problems he has, we believe it is only his front teeth that are the problem at the mo as he is more than keen to eat the pellets he will take your hand off when you try and fill his bowl he is so keen and if it was his back teeth from what ive read he wouldnt be so keen to eat anything i think he is just very fussy as he always just had the muesli food before and isnt to happy ive taken it away.

I see you say his front teeth are "split" do you mean both of his top front incisors are broken in two??

the PDSA near me wont help as im not on benefits (child benefit doesnt count) and to be honest i wouldnt trust their diagnosis anyway my friend took her cat in to them as he has been run over and was bleeding and they tried to just put a bandage on instead of stitching the wound up and she had to pay twice as she had to pay them then take him to another vets