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Shall I have Lucy PTS?? Update pg 12 - fin

Jemma&Theo

Jemma&Theo

Mama Doe
Hi all,

To cut a long story short.

Lucy is about 2 years old.

8/9 weeks ago she had a dental under GA for Molar Spurs.

3 weeks ago I went to vets for an unrelated matter and they weighed her and said her teeth had started to form small spurs again.

Last night she stopped eating and I took her back, her SPURS need doing again. In 3 weeks she lost 100grammes in weight .

The vet said that her spurs will basically get progrssively worse and recommended a GA dental every 6-8 weeks.

She is only two... and as she gets older the vet said her teeth will become more out of alignment.

Basically what she said is she will do this dental (even though Lucy is very weak) and see how it goes... but it may be kinder to put her to sleep than to put her through the stress of a dental every 6 weeks.....

I kind of agree with her. Its heartbreaking. She is so young yet what life is that for a rabbit?

The other (less important issue) is cost. My OH and I have a baby on the way and especially when Im on maternity pay £120 every 6 weeks is just not do-able. And this cost means that she cannot be rehomed.

PLease help, I hear there are no permanant solutions to this.

Jemma
 
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I would never have a bun PTS for dental issues such as this :wave:

Ginger needs dentals every ~8-10 weeks.

If you genuinely cannot offer her what she needs, perhaps its worth speaking to any local rescues, although i'm sure, like all the others, they are all full to bursting :( Sorry you're finding it so tough and what with a baby on the way, must be very difficult for you.

Ginger is only 15 months old, so even less than Lucy.
 
How do toher people cope with their frequent dental buns?

I look around at my house which is trashed with syringes, fibreplex, meds and science recovery... thinking..... I cannot do this when I have a newborn.
 
GrahamL said:
I would never have a bun PTS for dental issues such as this :wave:

Ginger needs dentals every ~8-10 weeks.

If you genuinely cannot offer her what she needs, perhaps its worth speaking to any local rescues, although i'm sure, like all the others, they are all full to bursting :( Sorry you're finding it so tough and what with a baby on the way, must be very difficult for you.

Ginger is only 15 months old, so even less than Lucy.
Click to expand...

I cannot land a bunny with such high cost on a rescue....... or anyone else for that matter. She would never find a home and it would bleed the rescue dry.

Ive been sat here trying not to vom through morning sickness and at the same time forcefeeding the poor girl
 
I would try and find a vet who specialises in rabbit dentals who can burr the teeth back as close to the gums as possible. Usually vets just take the spurs off, but if you can get a vet to take it back further it would give you more time between dentals.
 
It may be worth trying to find a vet who can do dentals without GA.

My rabbit has them done whilst awake, the vets just pops her out the back and it takes about two minutes. Some people believe this is more stressful for the rabbit so probably depends on the animal involved, however, for Poppy it causes no problems, she comes back into the consultation room completely happy and she hasn't had all the risks normally involved.

I wouldn't have bunny pts, she can have a happy life if the spurs are kept on top of. I can however, understand the stress and money involved for you the way it is at the moment, I had the same before I started going to my current vet.

I hope you get something sorted for Lucy.x.
 
I dont have a dental bunny , but I know misheif and tinkers mum had her bunny mischeif teeth removed :wave:
Maybe thats a possibility :)
 
Absolutely not

I have had numerous Dental Rabbits who have needed treatment under GA every 6 weeks. They all coped/cope just fine.

I totally disagree with the statement that the problem will definitely get worse. It *might* do and the situation should always be under review. But it can also be that the progression of Dental Disease goes into remission.

Giving up at the first hurdle seems somewhat defeatest IMO
 
If you think she's not going to have much quality of life then that's your decision. I've never had a dental bunny personally but I do know from other times when I've had ill bunnies that just because you can do something treatment wise it doesn't mean you should. I don't think its fair to put animals through numerous operations, constant vet trips and pain if its unlikely that there will be a good outcome at the end.

Every bunny is different and you know your bunny better than anyone else so go with your own feelings. You could try another dental and see how she copes with the treatment but only you know when its right to call it a day.

Helen xx
 
Janey said:
It may be worth trying to find a vet who can do dentals without GA.

My rabbit has them done whilst awake, the vets just pops her out the back and it takes about two minutes. Some people believe this is more stressful for the rabbit so probably depends on the animal involved, however, for Poppy it causes no problems, she comes back into the consultation room completely happy and she hasn't had all the risks normally involved.

I wouldn't have bunny pts, she can have a happy life if the spurs are kept on top of. I can however, understand the stress and money involved for you the way it is at the moment, I had the same before I started going to my current vet.

I hope you get something sorted for Lucy.x.
Click to expand...

I agree with this. For me pts on the grounds of dental issues is unacceptable.
 
My beautiful Ginger had dentals every 4 - 6 weeks. It was very stressful and expensive, but he was only bad for about 5 days (3 days until he could have it done, the day it was done and the day after) and in between he was his usual happy self. It was definately worth it.
 
I would never have a bun pts for dental issues like this.

My Herbie is now almost 7 years old. He started with molar spurs when he was a year old. For the first year he had to have his teeth burred every 6 weeks, but then his condition worsened and he had to have dentals every 3 weeks. The last two dentals have been 5 weeks apart, so we are hoping that at long last he is showing signs of improvement.

Herbie copes very well and bounces straight back after the anaesthetic. I have learned to cope with his problems and basically we arrange our lives around Herbie's teeth.

I can understand your worries, with a newborn baby and a dental bun to cope with. :( I still couldn't end a life though. :cry:
 
H Maughan said:
If you think she's not going to have much quality of life then that's your decision. I've never had a dental bunny personally but I do know from other times when I've had ill bunnies that just because you can do something treatment wise it doesn't mean you should. I don't think its fair to put animals through numerous operations, constant vet trips and pain if its unlikely that there will be a good outcome at the end.

Every bunny is different and you know your bunny better than anyone else so go with your own feelings. You could try another dental and see how she copes with the treatment but only you know when its right to call it a day.

Helen xx
Click to expand...

Thank you,

A lot of people may think this as giving up at the first hurdle... however those that know her will know shes an incredibly skittish animal. The stress of the last dental caused her to flar up in some sort of snuffles type infection.....

She HATES being handled... shes even so scared of me now that she wont come out of the hutch if im outside... al because Its me that has to force the food and meds down...
 
Tracy said:
I would never have a bun pts for dental issues like this.

My Herbie is now almost 7 years old. He started with molar spurs when he was a year old. For the first year he had to have his teeth burred every 6 weeks, but then his condition worsened and he had to have dentals every 3 weeks. The last two dentals have been 5 weeks apart, so we are hoping that at long last he is showing signs of improvement.

Herbie copes very well and bounces straight back after the anaesthetic. I have learned to cope with his problems and basically we arrange our lives around Herbie's teeth.

I can understand your worries, with a newborn baby and a dental bun to cope with. :( I still couldn't end a life though. :cry:
Click to expand...

This for me has filled me with dread....

I have 5 rabbits which anyone knows arent cheap but yes I know this was my choice and I will stand by it....

My maternity pay will be 450 per month.... If this worsens my general bunny costs leave me with 350 and then the dentals on top leave me with 250........

250 to feed my baby and pay my bills? Id have no car...

Just spoke to Pets at home who said they only pay out through illness and injury.......... they dont seem to think an out of alignment jaw is either of these....
 
It may be unacceptable to most....... but with Lucy's temprament im thinking is it kinder?

this is so hard.......

they offered me this with noodle when her leg was amputated.... cost never came into it then If there was a good quality of life then I had it done.......

I cant imagine the poor girl goin through this so often.... she is bonded with Noodle and Twig who spend the afternoon bumming her whenever she gets back becsause she smells of vet...... they steal all her food which is only nature.......

she isnt a people bun and would be awfully lonely as a single bunny
 
Jemma&Theo said:
This for me has filled me with dread....

I have 5 rabbits which anyone knows arent cheap but yes I know this was my choice and I will stand by it....

My maternity pay will be 450 per month.... If this worsens my general bunny costs leave me with 350 and then the dentals on top leave me with 250........

250 to feed my baby and pay my bills? Id have no car...

Just spoke to Pets at home who said they only pay out through illness and injury.......... they dont seem to think an out of alignment jaw is either of these....
Click to expand...


Only you can make this decision (btw Congrats didn't realise you were pregnant). I would probably get a second vet opinion and then make a decision.
 
Jemma&Theo said:
This for me has filled me with dread....

I have 5 rabbits which anyone knows arent cheap but yes I know this was my choice and I will stand by it....

My maternity pay will be 450 per month.... If this worsens my general bunny costs leave me with 350 and then the dentals on top leave me with 250........

250 to feed my baby and pay my bills? Id have no car...

Just spoke to Pets at home who said they only pay out through illness and injury.......... they dont seem to think an out of alignment jaw is either of these....
Click to expand...

£250 for food and bills is perfectly do-able if you are willing to scrimp and make it work :wave:

I lived on £48 a week for food and bills with my son, it was tough, but I managed it.
 
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