Harvey has had his incisors removed...advice please

Hello,

I made the decision last week to take Harvey in to have his front teeth removed. He is a wild bunny and due to trauma to the side of his face had misaligned inciors and molars on one side of his face. When I took him to the Vet last week she was very 'to the point' and basically said that Harvey should have his teeth removed as he is at a greater risk of getting an infection in his teeth with the constant burring of his front teeth. Also it may help his back teeth grind together better.

I picked him up from the Vets on Friday and he looked so sorry for himself. I felt so guilty and I haven't eaten much for the last few days. His face looked puffy and his nose was running. The swelling has gone down a bit more now and his nose isn't as bad as it was. Is this normal?

Can I ask anyone else whose bunny has had this op what they fed their bunnies on? Harvey has eaten some of his excel pellets. What can I give him to entice him to eat? Also, how long did it take their bunnies to get back to normal? Harvey won't eat any of the soft food such as critical care formula on his own. I have tried to syringe feed him but he gets very stressed. I would prefer him to try and eat his food on his own as he prefers that to me syringe feeding him.

What kind of food can I offer him that he will find irresistible? Any particular veggies or herbs? Also, how do your bunnies cope without their front teeth?

Any advice is much appreciated.

Nicola and Harvey xxx

Could you try to soften his normal Excel with some water? He might prefer that to the Recovery stuff. Also porridge oats in water seem to be a popular one?

Grated carrot might be easier for him. And any other veg cut up small. Rocket leaves were one that I could tempt Evo with when he wasn't feeling well too.

Maybe he needs more pain relief if he still isn't eating well, or do you have all that?

Hope Harvey feels better soon, are you still using the same vet that you found when you wanted to get his teeth burred?

Awww bless him. We took the decision to have Squidgy's teeth removed soon after we got him, and he has been much happier since.
I was told to make sure I kept the sockets clean with a cotton bud (this was 3 years ago though, so I don't know if opinions changed?)
Try him with a bit of pureed/grated veg. The pellets soaked with water is a good idea. It shouldn't take long for him to get back to normal.
hope he feels better soon.

Hi Nicola and Harvey. I would ask your Vet for some pain relief for Harvey if he does not already have some. I expect his mouth feels sore. I do not have an incisorless bun but I do have Muirne with just one molar tooth remaining. Herbs my buns like are Basil and Parsley. You can buy little plastic pots of growing herbs in Tesco and Sainsbugs. They cost about £1.10. I guess it is just going to be a case of trying different foods to see what Harvey will eat. Obviously introducing each new food individually and in small portions to ensure he doesn't get an upset tum. Once he gets used to not having incisors and his mouth heals up I am sure he will start to eat more. I dont know if Jay at Ebony Eyes has any toothless buns amongst the Hairy Mob but you could PM her as she is bound to have some good advice. Do give Harvey a snuggle from me and please keep us posted as to how he is doing. Jane and Buns xx

Forgot to say - Squidgy eats pretty normally now. We have to make sure everything's cut up into manageable bits for him (we even chop his hay), but he eats exactly the same as my other bunnies.

Hello,

I've tried Harvey on oats with water and he won't eat them. I've also tried softening his burgess but he doesn't seem to like moist food. I ended up taking Harvey to a different Vet at the Hillcrest Veterinary practice in Plympton to have the procedure carried out. She is supposed to be very knowledgable about rabbits. She just seemed slightly more knowledgable about the procedure.

The sockets were flushed out and stitched as she said that they heal better that way. He is on 5 days of baytril to help protect against infection. He only had one painkiller injection on the day of the op. I phoned up the following day and asked for some medication so that I could administer an injection myself but they wouldn't allow me to do that. I didn't want to drag him back to the vet as he is stressed and I want him to settle. The woman I spoke to then suggested metacam which I have a bottle of at home. How much would you recommend I give him? I would prefer he had an injection as that would go straight into his bloodstream and not irritate his tum. Also it is less stressful as I don't have to poke his mouth around.

Any other words of advice greatfully received. Thank you all so much for replying.

L of L,

Nicola and Harvey xx

Alfie was castrated and had a dental last mon,by tue morning he still hadnt eaten,i too had a bottle of metacam.the vet said he could have 8 drops which was 0.2ml on a syringe,he is a dwarf lop and weighs 2.45 kgs

It varied a bit with my buns
Mary took a few days - he stayed a few nights at the vet as he wasn't eating willingly or pooing, and when he came home he had a lot of meds I had to give to keep his gut going, and pain relief (Metacam).
However, the other two were eating and pooing the same day. Rex had to stay overnight as he had a bleed (not to do with the teeth, I got these two neutered at the same time as having the incisors extracted and it was that bleeding - ouch!). I think with Rex I gave him a syringe or two of soaked pellets as he came home with a collar on (because of the bleed), but by the evening I took it off and he was eating fine. The vet gave painkillers by injection at the surgery but I wasn't given any to take home.
They all eat fine now, just with a few special considerations, like cutting up the veg (or tearing it if it's something like cabbage, so that they get nice long strips of it which help wear the molars down). They manage SS pellets fine so I use that as a guideline for what size to cut the veg. I also make sure I get quite soft hay that is straight, so it's easier for them to pick up. They get a mix of meadow hay and timothy hay (for their molars), and also short chopped hay and grasses. They only get the minimum amount of pellets they need, to encourage them to eat lots of hay for their molars. Other than that, they're fine (and perfect housebuns - no chewing carpets, furniture or wires! :lol

Hi Karly,

Thank you so much for responding. Makes me feel a bit better hearing from people who have already been through it all. I've been worrying myself silly and feel so guilty. I hope he will be back to his usual lively self soon.

I want him to recouperate with minimum poking and prodding from me as I know this stresses the poor little man out and the last thing he wants is plastic syringes in his sore mouth. I will keep an eye on him. I tried to give him some critical care yesterday and he shoved me away and looked very fed up. It looks like he has eaten some excel pellets during the night.

What did your Vet give you to keep your bunnys gut going?

Any other advice on yummy foods to entice him would be greatfully received.

L of L,

Nic and Harvey xxx

It was almost 2 years ago, but recently he was giving Prepulsid after having a dental. I imagine it's the same stuff as he had before. It was being injected at the vets but they made up some oral stuff for me so I could take Mary home as soon as possible.
Have you tried making some some Critical care and putting it in a shallow bowl? This is what I've been doing for Mary while he's been poorly, he loves lapping it up. I got a ceramic saucer-type bowl (for cats) so he doesn't have to lean right over to get to it.
He's been having his pellets (Science Selective) soaked into a mush, and porridge with Weetabix. To tempt him in the beginning I added bits of grated or finely chopped veg as he does love his veg.
I've also been a bit 'naughty' and given him some petshop treats (which is normally a big no-no) - got given some biscuit-y type stick things, I've crushed a small piece and sprinkled it on top of his mush, just to get him to begin to eat it. He's only needed a small sprinkling on the top and then once he's begun to eat it's got his appetite going.
I've seen veggie babyfood recommended - not tried it with the buns but my poorly rats have gone mad for it. And I stupidly let the chinchillas have a bit on the end of my finger..well, they had a bit of my finger too by accident as they loved the taste so much :shock:
I feel bad after Mary has his dentals, especially now I'm facing the possiblity of him having kidney problems, wondering whether all the GAs have contributed to it. But I just think, the alternate would have been weekly trips to the vet having them burred (which is very loud, and could have become very stressful for him) and his molars overgrowing and having him pts to prevent him starving. An op every 3-8 months and a day or two of syringe-feeding is definately the lesser of the evil - he definately enjoys himself once he's recovered.

Metacam doesn't seems to upset the gut the way anti-biotics do.

The roots on the icisors are very long so there was probably a little swelling around where they were removed and that irritated his nose.

Once it's healed up he should feel better and eat normally, just give him little and often of whatever he wants for the next week or so

Tam

Hi Karly,

I tried mixing up the critical care first of all and putting it in a shallow dish but he wouldn't touch it. I also tried mushing the burgess pellets up. Maybe I didn't make the critical care runny enough for him?

Thanks for your little recipes. Will have to try those. I have tried him on porridge oats but he wouldn't eat them but haven't tried wheetabix. When you make the porridge do you just add water to the oats?

What baby food can bunnies have? I did buy an organic heinz baby food at the weekend. All it has in it is cauliflower, brocolli and water so will see what he makes of that.

Thanks for all your handy tips. It's much appreciated.

L of L,
Nic and Harvey xxx

Is it the Oxbow Critical Care you have? In the silver sachet? If not, I recommend that you try that one, as Evo prefered it to the other recovery food when he was sick. Hope Harvey likes his baby food.

Yup, just lukewarm water (cooled from boiled). Some buns can be quite fussy about the consistancy - Mary's been having his quite runny as I wanted to make sure he was getting the water from it too (because of the possible kidney problems), but yours might prefer it more of a mush.
I think as long as there's no meat in it, and the salt levels aren't too high, it should be fine.
Does he like carrot? Mary loves grated carrot - he can't have it at the moment but would go mad for it before. Or grated apple, mushy banana, things like that. Obviously if he's not had those fruit or veg before I'd go careful or try something he has had.

Hi Rallybunny,

Not sure what make the critical care is. I was given it in a poly bag when I took Harv home from the Vets. When I asked if I could buy some the girl at the vet said she only had a big tub of it and would only give me a measured amount in a bag. Where can I get the Oxbow stuff from? Will let you know how he gets on with his baby food : )

Hi Karly,

Thanks for all the yummy suggestions. I've offered him grated carrot but maybe the grated apple might appeal to him?

Thank you all sooooo much !

Nic and Harvey xxx

The Oxbow one smelt quite aniseedy, and really quite yummy when I made it up. You would know from the smell if you had that one. :lol: I bought mine directly from the vets, but there are plenty of places online that sell it. I just looked at the bag I have here, and it went out of date in April 05 . It still smells nice though. :lol:

The critical care I have smells of aniseed and is a greenish colour. The nurse just put some in a bag for me.

L of L,

Nicola and Harvey xxx

i had to syringe guinea when she first had her incisors out then after a while she started eating herself off the end of the syringe so i progressed to a bowl. but she was very reluctant to go back to solids, she now eats ss in the morning and has a bowl of pureed veg in the evening - not ideal but as she never ate veg before i think it's better than nothing. given a choice she'd still refuse any solids :?

You can make you're own green goo by making the pellets wet and then once they're soggy mushing them up. A little apple juice can make it more tempting

Tam