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First Vet Visit - Dental Advice Please

C

CatEdwards129

Young Bun
Dexter just had his first trip to the vets. Said I would see the new vet and thought I would see how she was. Super rabbit savvy, keeps rabbits herself and made a massive fuss of him :thumb:

No fleas, Ears good, Weight Good, Deffo a Boy. Clipped his claws. Had his vaccinations, and she is pretty sure that he is about 5 months old. All good :D

Now his teeth, his teeth aren't great. They are ok right now but they might become a problem, they are wonky and not so great she said. She said the usual, keep him eating hay and we will have to see how it goes.

Can anyone offer any suggestions or preventive things we can do to stop this becoming a problem.

Thanks, Cat
 
CatEdwards129 said:
Dexter just had his first trip to the vets. Said I would see the new vet and thought I would see how she was. Super rabbit savvy, keeps rabbits herself and made a massive fuss of him :thumb:

No fleas, Ears good, Weight Good, Deffo a Boy. Clipped his claws. Had his vaccinations, and she is pretty sure that he is about 5 months old. All good :D

Now his teeth, his teeth aren't great. They are ok right now but they might become a problem, they are wonky and not so great she said. She said the usual, keep him eating hay and we will have to see how it goes.

Can anyone offer any suggestions or preventive things we can do to stop this becoming a problem.

Thanks, Cat
Click to expand...

Hay, hay and more hay! Different sorts and also readigrass. Anything to keep those teeth in shape :D
 
CatEdwards129 said:
Dexter just had his first trip to the vets. Said I would see the new vet and thought I would see how she was. Super rabbit savvy, keeps rabbits herself and made a massive fuss of him :thumb:

No fleas, Ears good, Weight Good, Deffo a Boy. Clipped his claws. Had his vaccinations, and she is pretty sure that he is about 5 months old. All good :D

Now his teeth, his teeth aren't great. They are ok right now but they might become a problem, they are wonky and not so great she said. She said the usual, keep him eating hay and we will have to see how it goes.

Can anyone offer any suggestions or preventive things we can do to stop this becoming a problem.

Thanks, Cat
Click to expand...

If you can get him onto a hay/grass/forage only diet that would be great. It may be possible to arrest the progression of dental problems, which are actually not a common issue for Rexes as long as they are fed an appropriate diet. From your other post it sounds as though his previous owner did not feed an appropriate diet.

There are now a huge variety of hays and forages available. Along with fresh grass, fresh herbs and occasional fresh dark leafy green veg then a Rabbit really does not need a pelleted feed at all. The closer to the diet of a Wild Rabbit the better for our Pet Rabbits.

When your Rabbit is neutered it'd be an ideal opportunity for the Vet to take a good look at his teeth and do any 'tidying up' that may be necessary. That and a hay/grass/forage diet and access to sunshine (if we ever have any again !) may well mean he never has Dental problems at all.
 
Jack's-Jane said:
If you can get him onto a hay/grass/forage only diet that would be great. .
Click to expand...

I know there is a lot of advice online and on here about rabbit friendly food, but what is the best to buy him from a supermarket. I don't mean hay, I'm asking purely for veggies to supplement the hay/grass'.

Thanks x
 
CatEdwards129 said:
I know there is a lot of advice online and on here about rabbit friendly food, but what is the best to buy him from a supermarket. I don't mean hay, I'm asking purely for veggies to supplement the hay/grass'.

Thanks x
Click to expand...

I dont feed my Rabbits any Veg these days, I feed fresh herbs eg Coriander, Basil, Mint, Dill, Sage, Thyme. The favourite always being Coriander.

If you do want to feed Veg then dark leafy greens, kale, Rocket are suitable in moderation. Do make sure that you wash all fresh Veg thoroughly, even if it comes in a pack claiming that the contents are pre-washed. I am only speaking from my own experience, but I have found that my Rabbits all do so much better on fresh herbs and no fresh Veg.
 
I'm not set on veg I'm just going with what my previous bunn likes.

Happy to feed him herbs if there better for him. I can go get the potted ones. How much am I giving him? A plant a day?

Thanks
 
Have you checked Frances Harcourt-Browns website? When I first had rabbits she was the only rabbit specialist vet in the UK (maybe anywhere?) & she has always had a specialism in rabbit dentistry. She is really interested in diet too (well she would be since the 2 are linked). She advocates lots of forage, any hay they eat & enjoy. There is loads of info on the site, I heartily recommend it
 
CatEdwards129 said:
I'm not set on veg I'm just going with what my previous bunn likes.

Happy to feed him herbs if there better for him. I can go get the potted ones. How much am I giving him? A plant a day?

Thanks
Click to expand...

I'd just start off with a small portion of one type of herb. Then you can gradually increase the amount to a handful a day. If you are interested in foraging wild plants/weeds this book is very informative

http://shop.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/product/foraging-for-rabbits-by-twigs-way/

There is also some useful info about a more 'natural' diet here:

http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/resources/content/leaflet_pdfs/going_green_oct_06.pdf

A couple of good places to obtain a wide variety of hays, herbs, forages etc

https://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/


https://galensgarden.co.uk/
 
joey&boo said:
Have you checked Frances Harcourt-Browns website? When I first had rabbits she was the only rabbit specialist vet in the UK (maybe anywhere?) & she has always had a specialism in rabbit dentistry. She is really interested in diet too (well she would be since the 2 are linked). She advocates lots of forage, any hay they eat & enjoy. There is loads of info on the site, I heartily recommend it
Click to expand...

https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/
 
joey&boo said:
Have you checked Frances Harcourt-Browns website? When I first had rabbits she was the only rabbit specialist vet in the UK (maybe anywhere?) & she has always had a specialism in rabbit dentistry. She is really interested in diet too (well she would be since the 2 are linked). She advocates lots of forage, any hay they eat & enjoy. There is loads of info on the site, I heartily recommend it
Click to expand...

Excellent advice!

https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/articles/free-food-for-rabbits

Virtually everyone on this site will be feeding their rabbits some form of dry food, whether pellets or muesli. It's not easy for someone to sustain a rabbit on hay and grass alone unless they've done lots of research first :D

Some folks feed forage and others feed veggies as well. Spring greens, herbs like coriander and methi (fenugreek) are good and not too high in calcium.

Herbs are intrinsically no more or less beneficial than other vegetables, so don't feel you have to buy expensive pots to feed him.
 
Wow Guys, all this info is amazing.

Will read through it all and let you know how I get in with him.

He is booked in to be neutered Jan 4th, (they need to grow a little more...) So I will ask her to check them over at the same time and see if they can do anything while he is under.
 
CatEdwards129 said:
Wow Guys, all this info is amazing.

Will read through it all and let you know how I get in with him.

He is booked in to be neutered Jan 4th, (they need to grow a little more...) So I will ask her to check them over at the same time and see if they can do anything while he is under.
Click to expand...

I wont tell him you said that !! :lol:
 
CatEdwards129 said:
Wow Guys, all this info is amazing.

Will read through it all and let you know how I get in with him.

He is booked in to be neutered Jan 4th, (they need to grow a little more...) So I will ask her to check them over at the same time and see if they can do anything while he is under.
Click to expand...

There's lots of different experiences on this site :lol:

One thing to be aware/wary of is forage and hays that are

1. Purely alfalfa based. They are very rich, fattening and very high in calcium. The calcium aspect is particularly of note, as it can lead to all sorts of long term and painful problems such as bladder sludge. Kale is also very high in calcium as is parsley and dill.

2. Hay/forage feeds that are meant for horses and are drenched in oil. Usually soya oil. Wild rabbits don't keep bottle of the stuff and put it on their forage, and neither should you :lol:

Good luck with all this!
 
Rabbit Pelleted feed contains a lot of soya products, both meal and oil. Horse forages are not 'soaked in oil'. Many contain less than a pelleted feed for Rabbits.
SS Pellets
http://www.supremepetfoods.com/products/science-selective-rabbit/

Excel Pellets

http://www.burgesspetcare.com/product/adult-rabbit-nuggets/

Oxbow

https://www.oxbowvetconnect.com/products/type/detail?object=1550

Fibafirst

http://www.vetuk.co.uk/rabbit-food-.../fibafirst-monoforage-feed-for-rabbits-p-9029

As long as you do your research you can come up with quite a few options. It was an Exotics Vet (Marie Kubiak) who pointed me in the direction of some feeds made for Horses. It has proved to be one of the most beneficial things I have learned about as far as my Rabbit's diet is concerned.
 
At the moment he has an egg cup of Burgess Excel Nuggets Adult Rabbit Food with added mint in a treat ball that he had to work for :lol: no getting fat on my watch

And he has a mixture of hays, Burgess Excel Timothy Hay with Dandelion & Marigold Herbage & Selective Timothy Hay.

I'm going shopping on Sunday so was going to get some potted herbs for him to munch on during the week, and some kale as a treat. I don't have a garden but I'm also going to my mums on Sunday so was going to steel some grass & weeds if she has any (She has a Gardner so I don't think there will be any :()

Once he has settled in I was going to try going pellet free and see how he gets on
 
I've successfully rehabbed rescue rabbits who have needed dentals prior to arriving with me for fostering using the hay based (mine have five types a day) diet with the addition of both fresh and dried forage, herbs and greens. I also recommend supplying lots of natural chew toys such as willow and apple twigs.
 
CatEdwards129 said:
At the moment he has an egg cup of Burgess Excel Nuggets Adult Rabbit Food with added mint in a treat ball that he had to work for :lol: no getting fat on my watch

And he has a mixture of hays, Burgess Excel Timothy Hay with Dandelion & Marigold Herbage & Selective Timothy Hay.

I'm going shopping on Sunday so was going to get some potted herbs for him to munch on during the week, and some kale as a treat. I don't have a garden but I'm also going to my mums on Sunday so was going to steel some grass & weeds if she has any (She has a Gardner so I don't think there will be any :()

Once he has settled in I was going to try going pellet free and see how he gets on
Click to expand...

:lol: Make friends with the gardener and ask him to save the grass, dandelions and chickweed, and especially any rose tree/bush prunings :thumb:
 
tabithakat64 said:
I've successfully rehabbed rescue rabbits who have needed dentals prior to arriving with me for fostering using the hay based (mine have five types a day) diet with the addition of both fresh and dried forage, herbs and greens. I also recommend supplying lots of natural chew toys such as willow and apple twigs.
Click to expand...

That's reassuring, luckily my Dad has an apple tree in his garden so I can get plenty of twigs. Can they have twigs from any fruit tree? He also has plum trees, and another that I can't remember.
 
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