Elroy has teeth problems

Can't believe this

The day after Mishka went, Elroy developed a runny eye. We tried not to think about it and hoped it was just an infection.

He went down the vets today who have confirmed he has molar spurs, and that one of his molars is loose and needs to be removed

This has brought back all the heartache we had with Snoopy (who had to be put down due to severe mallocluded molars), and Caroline has been in floods of tears again this morning .

We did not have the support of this forum during Snoopy's problems, so can I ask whether anyone else has a bun with molar spurs, and how they cope?
Snoopy used to have to have an op under GA every 4 weeks or so to get them burred down. This got just too traumatic for him, and so much anesthetic would have given him liver failure anyway, so after many months of it getting worse and worse we took the decision to have him put to sleep.

If Elroy has to have one removed, then this is surely going to cause even more problems. We are in the pits of despair at the moment and just wondered whether anyone had any advice on the subject

Oh no! Poor you, and Elroy. I don't have any experience of this I'm afraid, but I'm sure I read on here that someone's bunny had molar spurs, they were sorted and have not come back again.
I hope it's easily sorted.
Hugs.

Oh Jeremy and Caroline... I am so sorry, you guys must be so upset with all of this happening at once And of course it bringing all the memories back of dear little snoopy.

I am sorry I have no advice, but I am sending you guys big hugs and please give Elroy a big kiss from Aunty Laura xxxx

my thumper is over 7 years old and for the last 3 years or so he has had trouble with his molars. he has to have them done about every 3 or 4 months although he does sometimes go longer . In between he is fine and up to the last time has recovered quickly. The last time he took longer to come around and i m thinking perhaps he might not tolerate many more bouts of anesthetic bless him. I know it is a worry but he has lived 3 years with this and had a good quality of life . I would like to say too that i know of several rabbits who have had to have their molars done and they never have trouble again or they go 12 months or more between.
Dont get too upset its early days it may not be as big a problem as you imagine.

Good luck Angie

My little Netherland Dwarf has molar spurs. He's had his incisors removed as they were mallocluded, but a few months on stopped eating. The vet checked his mouth and found his toungue very sore looking due to some nasty spurs. He has had them filed down (under anaesthetic - apparently they can sometimes do it while the bunny is awake but the tool they use needs to hook on the incisors, which Mary doesn't have!) a few times now, and I'll continue doing it as he gets through the op fine.
One vet did mention having one of the molars removed, as this seems to be where the worst spur is, but on discussing it with another vet (wasn't sure which vet had recommended as my mum had run Mary in while I was at work), we both agreed that removing it would do more harm than good - it'd be a big op to recover from, the molar opposite it would have nothing to grind down against, the molars either side might grow in to fill the gap, etc. and just generally mess up his teeth worse than they are already.
But Mary is coming up for 3, and he's doing great. He's on a mainly hay/veg diet to encourage him to keep using his molars, and this seems to be working great, he's not had any problems since his last op around March-time.
Perhaps it would be worth having an x-ray to see how bad his teeth are? And I know a few rodents with molar/spur problems have had their teeth worked on to fix the problem, rather than the regular filing of the spurs, so perhaps contacting a dental specialist would be a good idea?

Hi Jeremy,

I had the same with little Fern bunny, she was diagnosed with spurs/malloclusion at about 1 year old, to start with it was really random how frequently she needed them doing but we found that changing her diet she could go for longer in between ops. She used to eat suparabbit and normal meadow hay, my vet at the time recommended less and less pellets and more hay. Also, to give her the right hay, apparently timothy grass is the best. It has silicon beads in it which makes it more abrasive on the teeth. My specialist vet actually said to only feed her hay which we tried but it was very difficult with the two of them living together, so we just cut down to the smallest amount of pellets possible.

Once we changed her diet she went for about 18 months without an op for spurs and occassionally having the front ones levelled with a dental drill but she was fine with this awake. Then we went to about one every 6 months. She was fine like this for 5 years. She occassionally had teeth taken out too.

I hope this helps, when we first found out about her problems we were heart broken but she had a very happy and healthy long life with us.

Oh heck Jeremy and Caroline - this is just what you needed right now :roll:

Poor little Elroy but some of the posts on here sound real encouraging and he seems a young fit bunny so sounds like he can have a good quality of life inbetween Vet visits.

Blimey these bunsters - they certainly do try your courage and thats for sure.

Sending big big hugs to you both and poor Caroline what with the house move being unsettleing and the loss of little Mishka - you both need oooddles of TLC at the moment me thinks! - or a very big bottle of wine :wink:

Needing teeth done every 4 weeks is worst case senario. Many rabbits with spurs need it done much less often My bun Jasper had spurs and several teeth removed at one point he was down to 6 weeks but then he didn't need it doing again for 8 months - a change in diet paying off perhaps?

The last 3-4 times Alfie has been for his vaccinations the vet has told me he has little spurs on his teeth - he's never needed them done though!

As mentioned there are also a few vets now that can do the back teeth without knocking the bun out and if the problem is the front teeth those can be removed so regular treatment isn't needed.

Diet is one way you can help with his teeth. I'm sure he has a good diet already but maximise how much hay he eats and make sure you have a very high fibre pellet and just a little so he eats more hay. I think timothy hay is meant to be the roughest stuff - you could try growing some timothy grass from seed.

I'd recommend starting weighing him weekly so you can keep an eye on his weight as that can be a good indication of when teeth are bad.

When I got Gypsy I specifically asked for a bun that had good teeth, I know it's not a guarentee but I just wasn't ready to go through everything I had with Jasper again. It's such a horrible frustrating problem We'll all be here to support you and Elroy though

Best wishes,
Tamsin

oh my this is something i am gonna have to learn about and quick damaskinos will be needing his back teeth removed at some point because they are starting to die the very said i will know when because he will start to dribble, and bowing has molar spurs which i think would be down to malloculsion as the spurs are growing into her check and tongue direction, so will be folling this topic closely.

jeremy sorry to hear about so sorry to hear about elroy, poor lad!

eve x

Thanks for all the info and comments.

Elroy has had his front teeth removed already. He eats VERY little hay (I think I've seen him eat one piece since we've been here), even though we have tempted him with lots of different types (We use Timothy mainly)

He is booked in for Tuesday for his op. I don't think there is any choice in removing the one tooth as it is loose.

We will just have to see how he goes after Tuesday I think, and cross our fingers that they do not grow too quick.

He is eating less already, so I have soaked his pellets today like we used to with Snoopy. :?

Sorry to hear about Elroy - youve had a rough time of it lately Hope things turn out to be not too badxx

Oh Guys! Give elroy a cuddle from me XX Will has molar spurs but he hasn't had any since we had his front teeth remove and we now have him on a mainly hay based diet and this seems to keep them at bay XX

hi

have you tried him on dried grass? it's next best to hay and is tastier I guess - I get the Friendly estate stuff in sacks but Pets at Home do Burgess forage which is similar - good luck with him

aww J sorry to hear this, hope the little fella is ok, and big hugs to you and Caz, when I first got Coby, he hardly touched hay ever, and even now he is a fuss pot about the type (has to be just right :roll: ) he seems to like it best if it has greener bits in it, but Tamsin also suggested taking some herbs, which he adores! and chopping them up finely, and mixing this in with the hay, so he would smell it and encourage him to eat the hay

My netherland dwarf Poppy was 6 years old when he went for his teeth to be cut under aniseptic. He unfortunatly dident make it through the aniseptic! The vet said they were worse than expected! The first vet I took him to didnt even think there was anything wrong with his teeth!

He had no choice to go and get them cut! I knew there were risks! I took the right choice, otherwise he would have been in pain!

Charlotte loves you Poppy and always will do! RIP Blinky free