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Any experience of dental problems?

KerinTravis

Mama Doe
:cry: I've just got back from the vets for the 3rd time in about 7 weeks. My hamster's got wet tail (a type of urinary infection) so will probably have to be pts like my last one as the antibiotics have less than a 50/50 chance of working. And Travis has finally been diagnosed as having a spur on his back left tooth. :(

I'm quite annoyed really, I took him to the vets to get his teeth checked when Treacle had her VHD jab as I was conviced there was somethin wrong. (he had been sneezing when he was eating - and I was told on here that this was sometimes caused by dental problems). The vet took a look and said he could see nothin (admittedly Travis was fidgeting like anything so the vet was struggling.) :roll:

Then this weekend his appetite has reduced to just nibbling at something he fancies occasionally and the fur under his chin was wet and matted. So we went back again today (I pretty much had the mind set that we were not going to leave until they had found the problem!). :evil: The nurse checked his teeth and again, could see nothing. I explained how worried I was that he wasn't eating and that all the symptoms ponted to his teeth. So she took him to the vet to have a proper look (as Travis had been struggling again for her). She came back to say that there was a spur on his back left tooth so I will need to bring him back tomorrow for his operation. :shock:

They will not know until he is under whether they will remove the tooth or just burr it down. I know I will be a nervous wreck tomorrow as it's too short notice to book the day off work - I was bad enough when he was neutered. But they've been really good and are going to let treacle go in with him and stay with him so he wont be on his own. :?

Has anyone else had experience of this? what does it involve, how long does it take for them to recover? I'm so worried bout my lil' man. If only he wasn't so much of a fidget when getting his teeth checked!! :roll:

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Bernard had to have his two top and botton front teeth removed as they werent in line .. He recovered from the operation very well indeed and started eating hard dry pellets straight away .... They filed down some spurs on his back teeth while he was under ... and he hasnt had any problems since .... apart from one of his lower teeth has decided to grow back ... but at the moment it seems rather stunted and doesnt grow much.

Try not to worry .. easier said than done I know .. I would imagine they would file it down unless it was rotten or loose...

I hope you Hammy pulls through .. but like you already know its not looking good with wet tail :cry:
 
Thanks for that. So not all dental problems are ongoing then? I guess that's kind of a relief, everything I read is mainly about having to go back to get them re-filed every 6 months or so. :shock:

I'm just so annoyed that it couldn't have all been sorted out a month ago, they've given him a vitamin B injection to counteract his lack of eating, but he'll still be weaker for the op that he would have been 7 weeks ago when he had a healthy appetite. :?

I also don't know what to do about his diet now either. :roll: He currently has at least 3 different types of herbs/veg/fruit each evening for his tea, and about half a handful of pellets in the morning for breakfast. He doesn't eat hay, no matter how hard I try to make him, but there is always plenty available as Treacle loves the stuff. They also have and indoor garden (a tray of soil with grass growing in it). :)

As they live indoors and only go outside during the summer (I am worried about dramatic temperature changes any other time of the year between inside and out) They need their pellets really for any goodness that they dont get from being in the sunshine etc. Any suggestions on anything else I could try diet wise? I mean they mainly eat herbs and veg, and have their grass tray so I thought this would help to wear his teeth down naturally as he wont eat hay. Or is it possible for spurs to be caused even when they are on a good diet?

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Hi,

My rabbit Max had an operation for molar spurs in august. He is 3 years old and has never had any problems before, however, I noticed he was wet under his chin - this was the only sympton as he was still eating normally. He recovered really quickly from the operation, however, since then he will not eat any hay or grass (naughty bunny! I changed his pellets from Burgess to Science Selective as I read somewhere on this forum that they can help wear down the back teeth more effectively. I took him for a check up this week and the vet was really pleased with his teeth. My previous rabbit, Noah, was born with maloclussion, and had to have his front teeth burred about every 6 weeks - if I knew then what I know now I would have had them removed.

Jane
 
Depending on how bad the spurs are or how quickly they regrow it can be a six monthly thing ... but minehave only ever had them done once.

Its a shame your bun wont eat hay as it really is the best thing to help grind down his teeth .... I'm sorry I havent got any ideas how you can get him to eat it ... hopefully someone will come along in a while with some tips ... Have you ever tried cutting it into shorter lengths maybe he finds the long pieces to difficult or painful to eat!
 
Well the nurse said that they wont decide until he's under aneasthetic as to whether to remove the tooth entirely or to just file it. I want what's best for my lil' man obviously, but I would rather have it removed if there's a chance of it becomming a regular occurance. Do they get on OK without their teeth? If it was removed would I have to change his diet to make it easier for him to eat? Sorry for all the questions, but this is new stuff to me. :?

I'm just so glad that they were more than happy to let treacle stay in with him tomorrow, he'll be so glad of the company, especially as she licks and kisses him so much!!! :)



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I think I've tried every sort of hay the shops/farms sell!! I bought burgess super forage, timothy hay, meadow hay, cheap hay from the supermarket, green hay from a pet shop etc etc :roll: :roll: I was thinking about ordering some hay from West Wales Willows but am worried that it is rather expensive if he doesn't eat it.

Jane
 
maxbun said:
I think I've tried every sort of hay the shops/farms sell!! I bought burgess super forage, timothy hay, meadow hay, cheap hay from the supermarket, green hay from a pet shop etc etc :roll: :roll: I was thinking about ordering some hay from West Wales Willows but am worried that it is rather expensive if he doesn't eat it.

Jane

Ditto, he's just never really got a taste for it. I've tried putting it in his litter tray, his bed, mixing it in with his food, putting it in his toys. He will have a nibble at it when I first buy a new lot, but that is it, he wont touch it after that!! :roll:

I was hoping that he might pick up the habbit from treacle as she loves her hay, but so far, no luck!! :?
buns.jpg
 
When my bun was 5 years old, she had a couple of spurs filed down on her back teeth. This was during an op to remove an abcess from her foot, and they checked her teeth at the same time. This was about a year + a half ago and during her last op in August they checked her teeth again and everything was fine. She does eat hay like it's going out of fashion though so I'm very lucky!!!

Vet said that my youngest Amy had a spur forming on her back teeth when I last took her for a check up, so I've cut down her dry food + she now eats LOTS more hay! I did notice her chin was slightly damp today though so I'm gonna take her to the vet, but it could have been cos of the wet grass, I'm not sure!

I'm sure ur bun will come through fine as he shouldn't be under too long. My bun wasn't expected to survive her op in August but now she is as right as rain :)

Good luck.

Nicola
 
I was hoping that he might pick up the habbit from treacle as she loves her hay, but so far, no luck!!

Ditto - I thought the same when I had Millie - when they are in their hutches at night, all you can hear is Millie munching on her hay :lol:

Jane
 
nicolar said:
When my bun was 5 years old, she had a couple of spurs filed down on her back teeth. This was during an op to remove an abcess from her foot, and they checked her teeth at the same time. This was about a year + a half ago and during her last op in August they checked her teeth again and everything was fine. She does eat hay like it's going out of fashion though so I'm very lucky!!!

Vet said that my youngest Amy had a spur forming on her back teeth when I last took her for a check up, so I've cut down her dry food + she now eats LOTS more hay! I did notice her chin was slightly damp today though so I'm gonna take her to the vet, but it could have been cos of the wet grass, I'm not sure!

I'm sure ur bun will come through fine as he shouldn't be under too long. My bun wasn't expected to survive her op in August but now she is as right as rain :)

Good luck.

Nicola

Thank you, I am glad to hear that it's not always ongoing. Travis is only 18 months old, which is another reason why I don't really know a lot about dental problems. :oops:

The worst thing at the moment is that I can't have any "Travis kisses" as everytime he hops over to me he just looks at me as if to say "I can sniff at your nose and snuggle up to you a bit, but I can't lick you to say thank you for my nose rub!!" :(

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Ah bless him. It will soon be sorted and he will be back to enjoying his grub again :) I don't know that much about dental problems, having had virtually no experience (apart from through work), but I know they do vary a lot. Interesting that your bun was eating fine etc even though you thought his teeth were funny, Amy is eating fine too, all her pellets, veg + lotsa hay. Will take her for a check up anyway, was hoping that the hay would do the trick and get rid of the spur starting!!

Nicola
 
Aww, Travis will be fine when he has his dental. It is actually better not to remove a toothe as buns teeth grow continuously and so if one is missing. say an upper molar, then the corresponding lower molar will have nothing to 'grate against' to wear it down so will develop spurs too. If Travis will eat grass then that is as good as hay for keeping the teeth healthy. Also some buns who are reluctant hay eaters will eat Timothy Hay if you can find a supplier. Keep us posted re the wee man!! :D JCO and Buns xx
 
Squidgy's not a great hay eater (another one who had his front teeth out!). I chop up readigrass, and different types of hay for him and mix some pellets in, and he manages to consume quite a lot this way.
 
JCO said:
Aww, Travis will be fine when he has his dental. It is actually better not to remove a toothe as buns teeth grow continuously and so if one is missing. say an upper molar, then the corresponding lower molar will have nothing to 'grate against' to wear it down so will develop spurs too. If Travis will eat grass then that is as good as hay for keeping the teeth healthy. Also some buns who are reluctant hay eaters will eat Timothy Hay if you can find a supplier. Keep us posted re the wee man!! :D JCO and Buns xx

Thank you for the re-assurance! :) they currently have timothy hay as it's treacle's favourite, but Travis wont touch it!! :roll: I've tried pretty much everything I can get my hands on. :?

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my last bunny cheeky had to get dentals done and he was fine . Its a short procedure and they will just burr the tooth down unless its loose or infected and they will remove it . Either way most bunnies bounce back and start eating quite quick . Cheeky also had snuffles so it was a risky op for him but he was fine and dandy after it . Its natural to be worried but he should be fine . xx
 
hi

I wouldn't have the tooth removed unless it's rotten - make sure you ask the vet to check with you first as they may just go ahead unneccessarily when burring it down would be better (oh what faith I have in vets! :? )

Have you tried burgess forage or readigrass type stuff? Tia, who I adopted a couple of weeks ago, didn't eat much of anything at all when I got her, but the dried grass seemed to get her into the munchy habit, and now she loves her hay too - but I'm very sparing with the pellets (just a small handful a day) so if she's hungry she has no choice but eat hay or dried grass.
 
yup, I have Burgess super forage excel, but after a sniff and a nibble of one piece he ignores the rest!!! Pain in the bum bunny!!! :roll:

They said they'll have to wait until he is under before they can decide what to do with it. They obviously couldn't tell how bad it was as it was hard enough to spot it, lil' wriggler!!!
Generally speaking, I've not had any problems with my vets and they are all "rabbit people" up there, so I've every faith that they'll do the right thing. I just no how much I hate dentists, probably makes it worse!! :?


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My Netherland had malloclussion of the front teeth so had them removed. One grew back and at the same time his appetite decreased, but the incisor didn't seem long enough to be causing this so I got him checked out and he had a rather nasty spur on his mouth. They had to burr it down under anaesthetic, but did it at the same time as removing his incisor so he needed the op anyway. He went back twice about 3 months after each op, and then I changed him onto a mostly hay/grass only diet - he does get some Science Selective pellets as he is on the slim side. He gets timothy hay from bunnybasics.net, bog-standard meadow hay from the petshop, ReadiGrass, JustGrass, timothy chop from Bunnybasics, and Combomix from Chinchillas2Shop! He also gets lots of leafy veg, like carrot tops, Romaine lettuce, parsley, dill, greens, curly kale, cauliflower leaves, etc. and (touch wood) it's done wonders for his teeth, he only went back recently 8 months after his last op as his poos were a bit small (still had a great appetite and was active & shiny coated), and they spotted the beginnings of a spur on the same tooth he's had problems with before, but managed to trim it without anaesthetic. I've got all my buns on this diet, as I have two other incisor-less buns, so thought they should have it as a preventitive incase their molars decide to be problematic too!
I had a chat to one of my vets about removing the molar, as it seems to be the same one having problems and one vet suggested removing it. However, we both agreed that it should be a last-resort thing, as he does fine with the burring and the time between the op has increased a great deal, and removing a molar could cause more problems than it's worth (as the molar above it wouldn't have anything to grind against so may become another problem-tooth spurwise, and the teeth either side may grown incorrectly too, plus it is a bigger op than what he's had before)
 
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