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Raven Dental Needed-Update April 26

bunny momma

Wise Old Thumper
Other than my late Dancer who had a malocclusion on her front incisors only, I never had acute dental issues with my bunnies-even when they became elderly. Today I took Raven who is just under a year and a half to the vets because he slowed his eating and drinking quite a bit on Tuesday. The vet saw some spurs on the cheek side of his molars so now Raven has a dental scheduled for Monday. He should not be under GA for very long, but he will be spending several hours at the vets so I hope he will not be needing this done too often. Until then he has fluids and Medicam and I am trying to get him to eat little amounts on his own without my forcing Critical Care (unless I must) because he is quite fiesty for a 1kilo Netherland Dwarf. I'll continue to monitor his pee and poo to make sure his system continues to move. With the fluids his pee and poos are better but still less than his usual.
Even the vet acknowledged that Raven is starting young with dental issues, so I am wondering if this is something I will be dealing with on a regular basis and how often.
It seemed so sudden since Raven likes to chew a cardboard cereal box into confetti and was doing so on Monday.

Tonight I mixed some critical care and put it in a bowl and will see if he will eat it without having it syringed into his mouth.
 
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Oh bless, Nethies are more prone to Dental problems due to the shape of their skull. It can be hard to give a precise account of how things may pan out with regards to frequency of treatment. It depends on the exact issues in each individual case.

I am sure you will be on top of his diet to ensure optimum dental attrition and that he will have his teeth regularly monitored. He's in good hands with you !!
 
Other than my late Dancer who had a malocclusion on her front incisors only, I never had acute dental issues with my bunnies-even when they became elderly. Today I took Raven who is just under a year and a half to the vets because he slowed his eating and drinking quite a bit on Tuesday. The vet saw some spurs on the cheek side of his molars so now Raven has a dental scheduled for Monday. He should not be under GA for very long, but he will be spending several hours at the vets so I hope he will not be needing this done too often. Until then he has fluids and Medicam and I am trying to get him to eat little amounts on his own without my forcing Critical Care (unless I must) because he is quite fiesty for a 1kilo Netherland Dwarf. I'll continue to monitor his pee and poo to make sure his system continues to move. With the fluids his pee and poos are better but still less than his usual.
Even the vet acknowledged that Raven is starting young with dental issues, so I am wondering if this is something I will be dealing with on a regular basis and how often.
It seemed so sudden since Raven likes to chew a cardboard cereal box into confetti and was doing so on Monday.

Tonight I mixed some critical care and put it in a bowl and will see if he will eat it without having it syringed into his mouth.

Hi there :wave:

Sorry your little Raven is needing dental treatment, but I'm sending loads of vibes for a quick and painfree operation for you both.

I's so odd how the state of their little mouths can change so suddenly x
 
He is stable for now and eating just enough to keep him pooing. I have been giving him sub-Q fluids since Tuesday night and Medicam since Wednesday. He was in the vets in November for a stuffy nose and some sneezing and the vet said his nasal passages were smaller than most bunnies his size. When he was chewing the cereal boxes his stuffy nose and sneezing got better so I wonder if his stuffy nose/sneezing was partly related to his teeth. Of course, it may have just subsided for the cold/dry winter months.

I am hoping the vet will be able to give me more information after Raven's procedure on Monday, but I may need to have the vet give him a check on a regular basis so we will know how quickly he is developing the spurs.

He is nibbling on some food and hay and I will make sure he has enough in him to produce some normal poo.

I think I jinxed myself last week when I told my spouse I was so happy Raven stopped sneezing and did not sound stuffy. When will I learn to keep my mouth shut and just enjoy having healthy young bunnies after spending the last few years with elderly bunnies my vet referred to as my geriatric ward.
 
He is stable for now and eating just enough to keep him pooing. I have been giving him sub-Q fluids since Tuesday night and Medicam since Wednesday. He was in the vets in November for a stuffy nose and some sneezing and the vet said his nasal passages were smaller than most bunnies his size. When he was chewing the cereal boxes his stuffy nose and sneezing got better so I wonder if his stuffy nose/sneezing was partly related to his teeth. Of course, it may have just subsided for the cold/dry winter months.

I am hoping the vet will be able to give me more information after Raven's procedure on Monday, but I may need to have the vet give him a check on a regular basis so we will know how quickly he is developing the spurs.

He is nibbling on some food and hay and I will make sure he has enough in him to produce some normal poo.

I think I jinxed myself last week when I told my spouse I was so happy Raven stopped sneezing and did not sound stuffy. When will I learn to keep my mouth shut and just enjoy having healthy young bunnies after spending the last few years with elderly bunnies my vet referred to as my geriatric ward.


Aaah I know that feeling all too well :)

Wishing him lots of good luck at your vets on Monday :thumb:
 
Raven has been home for several hours. He had some fluids and Medicam. He is nibbling just a bit. Now that he made me some pee and a few poo I can get some rest.
The vet said the spurs on his teeth were a bit unusual. He had a couple needle-like points sticking straight up on both sides of his last molars on the tongue side.
I am hoping that once he clears all the anestesia and he recovers from the dental work that he will be back to his normal self.
The vet was unable to say for sure if this will be a regular thing, so I will take him for a check in a couple months.
I'll continue to worry until he is back to his regular eating and chewing his cereal boxes into confetti.
 
Raven has been home for several hours. He had some fluids and Medicam. He is nibbling just a bit. Now that he made me some pee and a few poo I can get some rest.
The vet said the spurs on his teeth were a bit unusual. He had a couple needle-like points sticking straight up on both sides of his last molars on the tongue side.
I am hoping that once he clears all the anestesia and he recovers from the dental work that he will be back to his normal self.
The vet was unable to say for sure if this will be a regular thing, so I will take him for a check in a couple months.
I'll continue to worry until he is back to his regular eating and chewing his cereal boxes into confetti.

Sending many vibes for Raven's recovery x
 
Thank you all for the good vibes for my Raven.
He is still giving me some cause to worry.
He is eating less than he was prior to his dental, so when his poo got smaller and practically non-existant today, I had to get some critical care into him (on him, on a towel, on me is more accurate). When I got the critical care into his mouth, he pushed it right out again, swallowing very little. After giving us both a break, I decided to grind up his regular pellets in a small electric coffee/spice grinder. He was a bit better with a mix of ground pellets and Critical Care. In the past I tried to just add water to the ground up pellets, but the consistency is not the same as that of Critical Care and the pellets. When I use pellets and water alone it seems like the water gets squished out of the syringe with the first couple ml leaving me with a lot of thicker matter in the syringe. The ground pellets will stay better suspended in the liquid if I mixed it with something like apple sauce or mashed banana but that is probably too high in sugar for my little guy.

When I called the vets earlier, they said he may need more time to clear the anestesia from his system and I should just push the fluids and Critical care today. I am hoping they are right.
 
Thank you all for the good vibes for my Raven.
He is still giving me some cause to worry.
He is eating less than he was prior to his dental, so when his poo got smaller and practically non-existant today, I had to get some critical care into him (on him, on a towel, on me is more accurate). When I got the critical care into his mouth, he pushed it right out again, swallowing very little. After giving us both a break, I decided to grind up his regular pellets in a small electric coffee/spice grinder. He was a bit better with a mix of ground pellets and Critical Care. In the past I tried to just add water to the ground up pellets, but the consistency is not the same as that of Critical Care and the pellets. When I use pellets and water alone it seems like the water gets squished out of the syringe with the first couple ml leaving me with a lot of thicker matter in the syringe. The ground pellets will stay better suspended in the liquid if I mixed it with something like apple sauce or mashed banana but that is probably too high in sugar for my little guy.

When I called the vets earlier, they said he may need more time to clear the anestesia from his system and I should just push the fluids and Critical care today. I am hoping they are right.

This is worrying for you, I'm so sorry :(

I know the problem you describe with the ground up pellets. I often mix them with a vegetable baby food. Or do you have canned pumpkin?

Really hoping he can turn a corner and begin eating for himself. Sending loads of recovery vibes xx
 
This is worrying for you, I'm so sorry :(

I know the problem you describe with the ground up pellets. I often mix them with a vegetable baby food. Or do you have canned pumpkin?

Really hoping he can turn a corner and begin eating for himself. Sending loads of recovery vibes xx

I used pumpkin and baby food in the past with other bunnies and they got gasey, probably because it was something they had not eaten before, so I was afraid to try. I managed to get enough mixture of pellets/critical care into him to get him pooing close to normal so after the second day I gave him and me a break and see he is eating better. He still is not chewing like he did a couple weeks ago, but at least he is drinking and eating enough to sustain himself for a short time.

When he had his dental the vet told me the points on his teeth were growing in an unusual way from what he normally sees, so I am wondering if he may also have some issues with the roots of his teeth. He may need an X-ray to check his tooth roots too.
 
I used pumpkin and baby food in the past with other bunnies and they got gasey, probably because it was something they had not eaten before, so I was afraid to try. I managed to get enough mixture of pellets/critical care into him to get him pooing close to normal so after the second day I gave him and me a break and see he is eating better. He still is not chewing like he did a couple weeks ago, but at least he is drinking and eating enough to sustain himself for a short time.

When he had his dental the vet told me the points on his teeth were growing in an unusual way from what he normally sees, so I am wondering if he may also have some issues with the roots of his teeth. He may need an X-ray to check his tooth roots too.

Ah I see what you mean about the baby food not being something they had eaten before. All my rabbits have eaten things like parsnip and carrot/pumpkin etc in the past, so a baby food of the same was not alien to them.

Yes I agree, an X-ray of the tooth roots may well show up something of interest to you and the vet :thumb:
 
My dwarf lop Toffee, is just turned 3 now. Unfortunately he has had dentals for the last couple of years, anywhere between 8-12 weeks. He too develops sharp spurs on the one side. It usually takes a couple days before he his eating normally. I grate a bit of carrot or apple up to soften his pellets, and he loves that. Hope your little bun is back eating normally soon, and hopefully doesn't need another dental for a long while !
 
My dwarf lop Toffee, is just turned 3 now. Unfortunately he has had dentals for the last couple of years, anywhere between 8-12 weeks. He too develops sharp spurs on the one side. It usually takes a couple days before he his eating normally. I grate a bit of carrot or apple up to soften his pellets, and he loves that. Hope your little bun is back eating normally soon, and hopefully doesn't need another dental for a long while !


Toffee and Raven both must have some sort of misalignment that makes them prone to sharp spurs at such a young age. Thank you for sharing that Toffee takes a little time before he can eat normally after his dental.
After a few tense days Raven began eating on his own. However, he is chewing much less than he was a few weeks ago so I continued his Medicam for an extra few days. I am also monitoring his output closely.
When I tried to soften some of Raven's food and leave it in his bowl he left it untouched so I had to toss it away. Now that he is eating on his own, I am trying to get his system used to eating small quantities of some different foods so I can use them in the future. I am not sure if he just likes the taste of the softer foods better than his pellets, or if the pellets and hay cause him any discomfort.

Of my four bunnies, Raven is the only one who is at his perfect weight and does not have any extra ounces. Even though I know they need to eat to keep from getting stasis, I was also worried about his losing weight. He also did not drink for the couple days he did not eat, so that was something I could address with sub-Q fluids. He actually sat quite nicely as I gave him the fluids.
 
Toffee and Raven both must have some sort of misalignment that makes them prone to sharp spurs at such a young age. Thank you for sharing that Toffee takes a little time before he can eat normally after his dental.
After a few tense days Raven began eating on his own. However, he is chewing much less than he was a few weeks ago so I continued his Medicam for an extra few days. I am also monitoring his output closely.
When I tried to soften some of Raven's food and leave it in his bowl he left it untouched so I had to toss it away. Now that he is eating on his own, I am trying to get his system used to eating small quantities of some different foods so I can use them in the future. I am not sure if he just likes the taste of the softer foods better than his pellets, or if the pellets and hay cause him any discomfort.

Of my four bunnies, Raven is the only one who is at his perfect weight and does not have any extra ounces. Even though I know they need to eat to keep from getting stasis, I was also worried about his losing weight. He also did not drink for the couple days he did not eat, so that was something I could address with sub-Q fluids. He actually sat quite nicely as I gave him the fluids.

Interesting you mention misalignment as I've come across a couple of cases of that recently. It can mean repeat dentals despite hay eating, which is a great shame for the rabbit. Not to mention the anaesthetics of the procedure.

He's a lovely boy to sit so well for his fluids :D I really hope he's back up to par very soon :wave:
 
Raven has been eating his hay and some of his pellets and drinking normally for over a week so I hope I am not jinxing him by posting this update. He likes the organic dandelion greens I got him from the store too, along with the greens from organic carrots.
He is also back to doing a little chewing on his cardboard cereal boxes, even though way less than last month.
 
Raven has been eating his hay and some of his pellets and drinking normally for over a week so I hope I am not jinxing him by posting this update. He likes the organic dandelion greens I got him from the store too, along with the greens from organic carrots.
He is also back to doing a little chewing on his cardboard cereal boxes, even though way less than last month.

I am really pleased that he is doing a lot better now. Long may it continue !
 
Raven has been eating his hay and some of his pellets and drinking normally for over a week so I hope I am not jinxing him by posting this update. He likes the organic dandelion greens I got him from the store too, along with the greens from organic carrots.
He is also back to doing a little chewing on his cardboard cereal boxes, even though way less than last month.

Aaah lovely news:D
 
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