Lots of health problems. Help!

Hi everyone.

So my bunny Ashley has a few health issues I would like some advice on. Sorry if this is a long post!
I bought her when she was young and has always been fussy about food. She was always fed on a decent diet i.e. hay and burgess pellets and occasional veg. Loved pellets and veg never very keen on hay even though i tried lots of varieties. Just a few months after i got her we discovered she had dental problems, luckily we had a rabbit savvy vet who was great. In the last 4 years we've managed, she's had dentals approx 3x a year to file down her molars. She's also had her incisors removed and had an abscess in the past and has been on metronidazole long term, she's never eaten hay since unfortunately even though i've been chopping it up but the vet wasn't surprised, said that because her molars are misaligned she won't be able to eat it.

Unfortunately, about 2 months ago our vet relocated to Scotland and a month ago we moved to another town, so I've had to find another vet. I took her 2 weeks ago as she has sore hocks, the vet said try sudocrem and come back in a week. The hocks turned less crusty (!) but no real change a week later, this time I saw a different vet who prescribed flamazine and said the cause might be to do with her diet and quizzed me for ages about it and why she doesn't eat hay, didn't believe my explanation.

So some questions. Is it normal for sore hocks to take awhile to heal? I was surprised by what second vet said as I was under the impression that sore hocks take a long time to heal. The flamazine says throw away after 7 days but not sure it will be healed by then? What bedding is best to use with this? I tried carefresh and newspaper but she just eats it Has anyone had any luck with using baby socks?
Any tips on dental buns with hay? Seem to be finding mixed opinions on this but I can't force it down her I tried her with a few Oxbow hay based pellets today but she's turned her nose up at that as well. The vets I have been seeing are not particularly rabbit savvy (even though they were recommended) and I'm a bit worried about taking her there for her dental which is due soon
And finally, I've been toying with the idea of getting her a friend for awhile, originally thought it would be a bad idea cos of her problems etc, but she's still here and whilst me or husband are around, we're not a substitute for a bunny friend. Thoughts?
Any advice would be really appreciated

My Woody has recently developed sore hocks and the vet advised me to get some vet bed - something spongey.

Thick hay seems to work well also - and duvets.

As for the teeth, Woody has serious dental disease which requires his teeth being burred every 3-4 weeks. He doesn't eat ANY hay. This obviously contributes to the problem but perhaps his pain is too bad to even attempt to eat it. I have now tried around ten varieties.

I have tried hay cakes, hay cobs etc ... No interest. Have you tried grass?? Not as good as hay but better than nothing. Woody won't eat grass either.

Have you tried the excel cubes? They are an all in one job and seem to be pretty popular. Woody pokes around it but doesn't actually eat it but it is worth a shot.

Thanks for your reply, will get some vetbed No luck with grass either unfortunately. Sorry your bun has to have dentals so often

Soil and grass is best for hocks, but if she is inside thick hay or duvets or foam tiles work well. Also, the bedding must be kept dry, as wet bedding aggravates and can cause it.

This may help: http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/resources/content/info-sheets/sorehocks.htm

As for diet... Will she eat foraged foods? Sticks? These will all help massively, and certain tummy-friendly veggies can be fibrous enough to wear down teeth too, although not as well as hay and grass. Have you tried readigrass?

Also, I would advise seeing if she will eat Fibafirst. As she is only eating pellets, she will need more than a normal rabbit or you risk gut slowdown/stasis. ALthough you risk that anyway with a low fibre diet. A high fibre pellet like fibafirst or the vetcare digestive one is as high in fibre as hay and also is designed to help teeth, so would be a good choice for her. You can see the hay in them! My rabbit doesn't like them as much as Excel, but they are so much better for him and he will eat them if there is nothing else.

As for a friend, you need to think about her diet first, I think, as her friend can't have access to the same amount of pellets that she will need a day. So you would need a plan to allow you to feed both correctly or you could get another bunny that doesn't eat much hay.

I have had a bun with sore hocks for 2 years. It's only JUST started clearing up. His is caused by arthritis (I think) and so perhaps your vet should check for this? I use vet bed on my flooring to help his feet.

Have you tried readigrass? It's like grass but all my buns seem to love it. I have a bun that won't eat hay, but will eat readigrass. Have you tried sprinkling pellets into the hay and seeing if he might pick at it? It is hard to get a bun to eat hay, I must admit.
I have been feeding wild forage, this gives her the fibre she needs and helps to wear her teeth down (she is on the verge of needing a dental). I also feed her willow, she isn't too fussed with chewing the sticks, but she will have a nibble and it's better than nothing.

All my buns get probiotic/fibre pellets. I would definitely suggest feeding these to help her guts cope with the lack of fibre in her diet.

Thanks everyone for the great advice, and here was me thinking that the Excel pellets were the best :roll: are they just marketed the most? V glad I joined this forum.

How many pellets should she be eating? The vet said 50g a day but I think this is for a 'normal' bun so maybe I should be giving her more?

Her favourite veggies are broccoli, kale, dandelion although I feed a variety with varying success. She is very fussy and often won't eat veg if it's been in the fridge!

Good point about the friend, we'd have to feed them separately I suppose.

We're going on a hunt to a couple of shops for the things you have all mentioned tomorrow, if not will order some.

ashbunny said:

Thanks everyone for the great advice, and here was me thinking that the Excel pellets were the best :roll: are they just marketed the most? V glad I joined this forum.

How many pellets should she be eating? The vet said 50g a day but I think this is for a 'normal' bun so maybe I should be giving her more?

Her favourite veggies are broccoli, kale, dandelion although I feed a variety with varying success. She is very fussy and often won't eat veg if it's been in the fridge!

Good point about the friend, we'd have to feed them separately I suppose.

We're going on a hunt to a couple of shops for the things you have all mentioned tomorrow, if not will order some.

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The main thing is that she has to have food constantly available, as a rabbit's gut must never empty. Normally this would be hay, but without hay I'd feed a variety of forage, like Thumps does for her Benji. The problem is, feeding lots of excel is probably not a good idea, as it isn't high enough in fibre to be a substitute for hay and may be too rich for the gut - it isn't a bad food but it is made to feed in conjunction with hay, like most foods. Personally, in your position, I would feed unlimited VetCare Digestive or Fibafirst alongside unlimited forage (both are made by Supreme), because they have the highest fibre levels and are designed to prolong feeding time too. Try both as they do taste different.