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scratching mouth when eating - U/D been to vet

maggyrose

maggyrose

Warren Scout
Pearl my female mini lop has started (noticed last night) pawing at her right lip/side of mouth when eating, her lip twitches up and inwards and then she will paw/scratch at it just the once then start to eat again, and it will do it again, happens a few times before it stops completely and she can eat normally.

Does anyone else see this with their rabbits?

She had a spey couple months ago and they saw little spurs which they burred down, so hope its nothing to do with that, as the spurs shouldnt grow back that quickly?!!

Worried :(
 
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I had a rabbit which started to do this and it was his teeth, they had overgrown! In his case it was his incisors.:(
 
tonibun said:
I had a rabbit which started to do this and it was his teeth, they had overgrown! In his case it was his incisors.:(
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oh no, are the incisors the teeth towards the front? did he have them burred down on regular basis? thanks x
 
Jack's-Jane said:
Spurs can easily re-grow in 8 weeks so I would take her back to the Vet to see if she needs another Dental.
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thanks, will do, im off tuesday and will get her in....just wondering now - is there anyway to tell if a rabbit is going to be a dental bun or not? is it bad breeding? ive heard that mini lops are prone to teeth issues due to the squashed face...
 
maggyrose said:
thanks, will do, im off tuesday and will get her in....just wondering now - is there anyway to tell if a rabbit is going to be a dental bun or not? is it bad breeding? ive heard that mini lops are prone to teeth issues due to the squashed face...
Click to expand...

The only way to tell is to look at their teeth, unless you know their genetic history. It is down to genetics and breeding, yes. A good breeder won't breed rabbits with dental problems, but sadly that is usually not the case. Certain breeds are also more prone to dental problems, generally the dwarves and those with squashed faces.

It does sound like it may be her teeth, but only a dental examination can tell. The vet will look at her teeth with an otoscope.
 
nessar said:
The only way to tell is to look at their teeth, unless you know their genetic history. It is down to genetics and breeding, yes. A good breeder won't breed rabbits with dental problems, but sadly that is usually not the case. Certain breeds are also more prone to dental problems, generally the dwarves and those with squashed faces.

It does sound like it may be her teeth, but only a dental examination can tell. The vet will look at her teeth with an otoscope.
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thanks nessar, she is awful for letting you check her teeth, the boy is fine with me checking, will the vet be able to really look at teeth without sedation? obviously she will need full anaesthetic for the dental but i dont want her to have to sedated just to check...:(
 
I did however check their front teeth when I first had them as babies and the vet said they were very good, nice short and straight...think it maybe the back teeth
 
maggyrose said:
thanks nessar, she is awful for letting you check her teeth, the boy is fine with me checking, will the vet be able to really look at teeth without sedation? obviously she will need full anaesthetic for the dental but i dont want her to have to sedated just to check...:(
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About 70% of the inside of a Rabbit's mouth can be viewed whilst the Rabbit is awake. The Vet will use an auroscope to take a look. Sometimes spurs are obvious and can easily be seen, or soft tissue damage may be noted giving rise to suspicion that there are spurs even if they are not in view. A lot of saliva in the mouth is also another sign of a potential problem. But there is always a chance that it is not possible to obtain a full picture and a GA would then be needed.

This is an informative article about Dental problems

http://www.manorvets.co.uk/ckfinder/userfiles/files/dental dz(1).pdf
 
Jack's-Jane said:
About 70% of the inside of a Rabbit's mouth can be viewed whilst the Rabbit is awake. The Vet will use an auroscope to take a look. Sometimes spurs are obvious and can easily be seen, or soft tissue damage may be noted giving rise to suspicion that there are spurs even if they are not in view. A lot of saliva in the mouth is also another sign of a potential problem. But there is always a chance that it is not possible to obtain a full picture and a GA would then be needed.

This is an informative article about Dental problems

http://www.manorvets.co.uk/ckfinder/userfiles/files/dental dz(1).pdf
Click to expand...

thanks jack's jane, will have a read, can dental buns live a happy life if cared for well?
 
Dental buns can live a normal life despite needing regular dentals. It depends on how severe her problems are. It is possible to increase the time between dentals by increasing her hay/grass intake and giving her lots of different hays to help keep her teeth in check. Sadly, if her teeth a misaligned then there is little you can do for her apart from make sure you get her checked regularly and make sure she has her dentals before she gets poorly.

I have had a few dental buns. One had lots of other problems and needed dentals every 6 weeks and unfortunately I lost her after only a couple of years (mainly because my vets were rubbish and failed to diagnose anything). My other bun, Fiver, is 6 now and usually has a dental every 8 months or so, he lives a completely normal and happy life otherwise.

The best thing you can do for her (if she does need regular dentals) is to find a good vet, one that knows rabbits. This will give her the best chance to lie a normal and happy life. :)
 
I have been watching her eating this afternoon and she doesnt do it when eating hay, and I gave her broccoli stalk and she didnt do it then either...ive definitely seen her do it when she has had a little bit of carrot - maybe its the taste?! im just hoping it is and not a dental issue :oops:
 
maggyrose said:
I have been watching her eating this afternoon and she doesnt do it when eating hay, and I gave her broccoli stalk and she didnt do it then either...ive definitely seen her do it when she has had a little bit of carrot - maybe its the taste?! im just hoping it is and not a dental issue :oops:
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I would definitely think it was dental related. Possibly she is finding the harder things (carrots, pellets etc) more difficult/painful to eat because of spurs. Perhaps she had something stuck in her mouth and it was a one off, but I'd definitely get her checked out by a vet.
 
update - been to vets and confirmed what we feared/expected, she has spurs on back teeth, incisors are fine..arthur's teeth are fine touch wood..

she's booked in thursday for her dental, 2nd one in 9 weeks :(

vet said at least i notice it early as she hasnt yet got any ulcers on side of mouth, i just dont want her to have any pain or go off food each time her teeth get bad...
 
maggyrose said:
update - been to vets and confirmed what we feared/expected, she has spurs on back teeth, incisors are fine..arthur's teeth are fine touch wood..

she's booked in thursday for her dental, 2nd one in 9 weeks :(

vet said at least i notice it early as she hasnt yet got any ulcers on side of mouth, i just dont want her to have any pain or go off food each time her teeth get bad...
Click to expand...

Oh dear, poor thing :( Well done for catching it early though, that will help with her recovery.

After her dental, make sure you ask for some pain killers for a few days and a gut stimulant (your vet may not want to give gut stimulants to take home, but should definitely give her some then and there). Getting her eating properly asap after a dental is key to prolonging the time between them. I would also ask the vet whether the teeth are not aligned properly or if it is just a case of her not wearing them down enough.

You may want to look at her diet, as for some bunnies, the time between dentals can be stretched quite a lot by providing a strict diet that consists mainly of hay. The idea is to cut down on everything else so that she eats more hay, preferably a pile the size of herself everyday. Try and buy long-cut hay as well, as this is better for teeth than the short-chopped stuff. Grass is fine too, if she prefers that. Make any changes to her diet slowly, and keep an eye on her weight.

Well done for getting her to the vet and noticing the symptoms early :thumb:
 
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nessar said:
Oh dear, poor thing :( Well done for catching it early though, that will help with her recovery.

After her dental, make sure you ask for some pain killers for a few days and a gut stimulant (your vet may not want to give gut stimulants to take home, but should definitely give her some then and there). Getting her eating properly asap after a dental is key to prolonging the time between them. I would also ask the vet whether the teeth are not aligned properly or if it is just a case of her not wearing them down enough.

You may want to look at her diet, as for some bunnies, the time between dentals can be stretched quite a lot by providing a strict diet that consists mainly of hay. The idea is to cut down on everything else so that she eats more hay, preferably a pile the size of herself everyday. Try and buy long-cut hay as well, as this is better for teeth than the short-chopped stuff. Grass is fine too, if she prefers that. Make any changes to her diet slowly, and keep an eye on her weight.

Well done for getting her to the vet and noticing the symptoms early :thumb:
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thank you

the vets said they give a gut stimulant after the dental, but will ask to see if i can get painkiller and gut stimulant for home too, do dentals cause pain? i thought they didnt as they just burr the tooth down :oops:

she eats lots of hay, they get a handful each of pellets a day, and get a spring green leaf each max for veg a day, and maybe an inch piece of carrot a week as treat.

I bought Ings hay from hay for pets and thats a long stalk hay, she likes that - so im assuming her teeth arent aligned properly as she eats a lot more hay than her own size! she must eat nearly double her size each day
 
maggyrose said:
thank you

the vets said they give a gut stimulant after the dental, but will ask to see if i can get painkiller and gut stimulant for home too, do dentals cause pain? i thought they didnt as they just burr the tooth down :oops:

she eats lots of hay, they get a handful each of pellets a day, and get a spring green leaf each max for veg a day, and maybe an inch piece of carrot a week as treat.

I bought Ings hay from hay for pets and thats a long stalk hay, she likes that - so im assuming her teeth arent aligned properly as she eats a lot more hay than her own size! she must eat nearly double her size each day
Click to expand...

Yes dentals can make their mouths very sore. Plus, the GA slows the gut down, making them less likely to eat properly after. So gut stimulants and pain relief are a good idea. The gut stimulant after the dental may be enough for her, but I'd definitely want some metacam to give at home for a few days.

She sounds like she has a very good diet. You may be able to prolong the time between dentals a little by reducing the pellets and veggies a bit, but it's trial and error really and it depends how far you want to go. I have read on here that some dental bunnies get about 2 SS pellets a day and hay, that's it, and that this helps - I believe they belonged to Sky-O and had very bad teeth. It may be worth starting by cutting down to the amount of pellets the RWAF recommend (1 tablespoon per kg of their weight) and going from there.
 
nessar said:
Yes dentals can make their mouths very sore. Plus, the GA slows the gut down, making them less likely to eat properly after. So gut stimulants and pain relief are a good idea. The gut stimulant after the dental may be enough for her, but I'd definitely want some metacam to give at home for a few days.

She sounds like she has a very good diet. You may be able to prolong the time between dentals a little by reducing the pellets and veggies a bit, but it's trial and error really and it depends how far you want to go. I have read on here that some dental bunnies get about 2 SS pellets a day and hay, that's it, and that this helps - I believe they belonged to Sky-O and had very bad teeth. It may be worth starting by cutting down to the amount of pellets the RWAF recommend (1 tablespoon per kg of their weight) and going from there.
Click to expand...

ok that's what im thinking, to cut down her pellets (she's on SS) more and make her eat even more hay, I will find Sky-O and see what she recommends too, thanks for your help :thumb:
 
In some cases they can feel a bit sore after a dental, but most of the time I think it just feels odd for them. They have to get used to chewing differently and it usually takes a few days for them to adjust. The pain relief makes sure that they are definitely not in any pain. :thumb:
 
Vegan_Bunny said:
In some cases they can feel a bit sore after a dental, but most of the time I think it just feels odd for them. They have to get used to chewing differently and it usually takes a few days for them to adjust. The pain relief makes sure that they are definitely not in any pain. :thumb:
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thank you, will let you know how it goes on thursday ;)

(just trying out my new signature!!)
 
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