Need help re one of my buns eventually becoming toothless..

(Sorry for cross posting - this has been posted to a couple of UK lists)

Hi

Am having a emotional time at the moment, Smokey (my 7 year old dutch that I have had for 5 years) is currently in the vet hospital for his second night.

I noticed him dribbling last week and got him into the vets, there the vet spotted pus in the back of his mouth due to 2 gum abscesses, plus his back teeth were overgrown, and one was wobbling in it's socket, so to cut a long story short he has had 4 back teeth taken out and following the x-ray the vet says that all of his teeth need to come out - over time that is - not straight away . None of them are good. He has no front teeth as they were removed 5 years ago as he was found in a neglected state having been dumped in a box....

Please don't think I have let this go on, I was not aware at all that Smokey was quite in this bad state, he had his teeth checked before we moved house - 4 months ago - and the vet in our last area said they were fine........... My current vet said that this should have been picked up a long time ago and is surprised that a vet missed it. I'm angry of course that this wasn't picked up on, but to be honest Smokey hasn't really given me any signs of things, he has continued to eat well, perky and is lively.

Anyway, I went to see him in hospital tonight (which was very emotional), took a teddy, some specially prepared pureed pellets, chopped veggies so the veterinary nurses can continue with their wonderful care of him. They adore him and said what a chilled rabbit he is compared to most! He is on a drip, painkillers, anti-inflammatories and antibiotics.

The vet phoned me up today with some bad news as Smokey is very swollen, much more than they expected. When I saw him he looked very tired, closed his eyes as I stroked him and rather than sitting in the back of the cage with his hay, apparantely he moved all his hay to the front of the cage so he could see everyone!!! He has also been nibbling on hay which is good news, and also took a raisin off me!

Do any of you have any toothless buns or have been through a similar experience that can pass on any advice to me at all? I'd much appreciate it.

Christine

Hiya. I have a 5 year old Doe, Muirne, who only has one molar remaining. She does, however, still have her incisors. She has not been able to eat hay for over 2 years but appears to manage to maintain her weight and GI function on what would normally be considered to be a poor diet for a rabbit. The ONLY mix she will eat is the bulk standard rubbishy Pet Shop sort. She also manages carrot/apple and the crunchy end of spring greens. I am not at all sure how a rabbit with no teeth would cope but you appear to have very good Vets so I would be guided by what they say. Jane and Buns xx

poor little bunny .
no advice im afraid i ve no knowledge of buns with no teeth at all .
but do send you good wishes and hope every thing goes well for your bun .

Angie