want to ask a difficult question , need some advice

basically i have 2 beautiful little girls approx 14 weeks old, I of the girls - charlie, has terrible problems with her teeth, (the vet told me it was nothing i have done just bad breeding ). She will need to have her teeth clipped every 2 weeks, have her back teeth removed and 3-4 times a year have her teeth burred down. She is tiny due to eating problems caused by her teeth and the vet is unsure how well she will cope with the anesthetics so frequently and has suggested i seriously think about what we would like to do . we have been talking as a family today and have decided to give it 6 months to see how she copes. My other worry is if the worse comes to the worse and she dosent cope then my other little girl will no longer have her friend , so we were wondering would it be a good idea to introduce a 3rd little lady so that they always have company,we have the room and feel it would be easier to bond them with another bunny now rather than later. Hope this dosent sound like i am replacing her i just want to do the right thing by both bunnies as i luv them very much . Any advice would be greatful . x

You're not replacing her, you're investing in the future of both of them. However, I wouldn't suggest doing it until they get to spaying age and the healthy one has been spayed, at the very least. I would be looking to introduce a very chilled, neutered (at least 6-8 weeks previous) male though.

I'd also suggest you have a look at the link in my sig about advocating for your bunny. You never know how things will turn out because I found myself in a very similar situation, with a similar problem.

thanks for your lovely reply, was a bit nervous about asking , can i ask why a male ? also was thinking of a rescue bunny maybe but not sure where to look, i live in shropshire ,x

the other thing i meant to had is also her jaw is out of line. I took her to the vet last week and her teeth were very slightly clipped. she then eats fine for a couple of days but has now started to slow down again. the vet suggested i give her fruit tree branches to chew on but tbh she shows no interest in anything except for her regular food. really hope she isnt suffering ,

If she will need to be spayed, would it be possible to have her incisors extracted at that point (rather than the clipping and burring? I would certianly ask the question of the vet.

enfieldgirl said:

thanks for your lovely reply, was a bit nervous about asking , can i ask why a male ? also was thinking of a rescue bunny maybe but not sure where to look, i live in shropshire ,x

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Because those are often the easiest bonds. It's what I did with my sick and, at that point, unspayable girl. He really looks after her.

You could take the pair to a rescue and date them to choose their friend. There are many rescues around that could help.

This might help. http://www.rabbitrehome.org.uk/centres.asp

I have a rabbit with exactly the same problems.
If the front teeth keep on growing at the wrong angle I would get them removed (at the same time as spaying as Kittykat23uk said). There are a lot of people on the forum who have rabbits with similar problems. Some need to go in for dentals every few weeks, others every few months and others longer. Grim usually has to have his teeth done about every eight months. I can usually tell the signs as he behaves differently and then I rush him in before he stops eating properly. If he has a wobbly tooth the vet takes it out and he only has a couple left now. He's coming up to six years old, he's had problems with his teeth all his life. He has problems with the roots too and often has to have painkiller for that. Having a rabbit with dental problems can be managed to give them a great quality of life. I wouldn't keep on treating Grim if I knew he wasn't happy.

There has been one problem with the anaesthetic, but after that he didn't have a problem again. He actually stopped breathing and it took my vet five minutes to bring him round.

I think if you have a great vet you can trust then there is no harm with the frequent anaesthetics. I know Grim is a fighter and he would want to keep going so I do what he wants. If you have any questions at all, no matter how silly you think they are, ask away. :wave:

Hi Enfeldgirl

I have a dental bun and I remember when we first discovered he was (I didn't even know they had such problems back then) but the vet basically said hes going to need his front teeth clipping every couple of weeks, I was totally shocked and thought the worse, but it turned out it was more like every 6-8 weeks and he only ended up needed a full GA Dental every 8-10months so, nothing like the vet had originally said, but we didn't know until we let it roll and give him some time, so it was manageable in the end. Though we had to soak his foods in water and make sure it was soft as opposed to hard and crunchy..

However his last dental he did have the front tooth extracted because it had split, so they took it out, and he seemed much happier for it, and still manages his food (though made soft with water) he's had anasthetic several times and a couple of times he was actually in stasis at the time, but we had no choice, however he's bounced back from them every time, I think these days things have really improved in the pre-op, op, and post-op and though there is always some risk with anyone with anasthetic, my vet smiled and said hes never lost one through a normal routine, and they seem to manage to great these days.. especially with a rabbit savvy vet

but have the tooth extracted is something I kind of wishe I had done ages ago to save us all those trips to have them clipped.. but I was scared of that, but this time the vet made the decision once I mentioned it.

and as mentioned your definately not alone with a dental buns, I think there is LOTS of us here who have them.

M

I thought it was best not to clip the teeth but to burr/rasp them down, as clipping can shatter the root :S

Dentals 3-4 times a year (every 3-4 months) isnt too bad, and if you can learn over time to recognise the symptoms of her needing a dental quickly, and if she is provided with pain relief after (and perhaps before depending on how soon she gets the dental), then her eating wont be affected as much. Some vets also, instead of just taking the spurs off, can take the teeth down further and even reshape them, and this can help lengthen the time between dentals. Is she on pain relief when her teeth start to play up, to help her keep eating? It may also be worth giving her junior pellets if her tummy is fine with them, perhaps oats and profibre pellets as well if she'll eat them, to see if you can get her to a healthier weight. It may also be worth getting the front teeth removed if they are needing to be seen to very often.

Sorry, I know I havent really answered your main question. This thread should help: http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?317003-Do-you-want-to-bond-a-trio-Read-this-first