Zippy dental,**** Need 2 pick ur brains strange outcome*****

Saturday morning I noticed Zippy wasn't well. She was eating and going to the toilet, but I knew she was different, as she was very quiet. The emergency vet said there was nothing wrong so I felt really stupid. On Sunday I wasn't convinced, she was again quiet. One minute she was taking her self off to the run and playing with her toys, but the next minute she was sittng on her own looking unhappy.

Anyway this morning I thought she had blood on her dewlap, so I booked her into the vets for tonight. It turned out to be carrot juice, but I told Mel (my vet) all about her charecter change and she did a full check, stuck thermometer up her bum etc, everythg was fine. She checked her teeth front were fine but once she got the thingy in her mouth, she said she had one over grown molar, and it was sticking in her. She is booked in for a GA on Wednesday and having it clipped.

What I need to know is this my fault :?: :?: :?: :?:

Mel said it isn't as it's just the one overgrown moral, but I aint so sure. PLease, please tell me how this could of happened. I feel terrible that I could of caused this, but I need to know the truth so I don't do this again. Zippy eats hay, so I am just gutted this has happned. I just need to know if I've caused it and what I can do to ensure this doesn't happen again.

Thank you

Oh Tree IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT!! Some bunnies do develop dental problems despite our BEST efforts to ensure they have a good diet. YOU noticed the problem and even after a Vet checked her YOU knew there was something wrong. One of my buns just had very vague oral discomfort and when she was put under GA it turned out she had HUGE molar spurs digging into her cheeks and tongue causing ulceration. You noticed a problem and have ensured it is treated. In my book that makes for an A1 Bunny Mummy!! Jane and Buns xx

Thanks Jane, I just feel incredibly guilty, she is eating and is quite plump. I just feel so evil. Thank you for teling me about your bunny thats made me feel better, I was just thinking that I'd just done something terrible.

SOAD ... of course you have not caused this, as you know some rabbits are more susceptible to dental problems than others. It just happens that Zippy has developed a spur, the important thing is that you followed your gut instinct and got someone to look at him and more importantly now you have found out what the problem is.

Do not blame yourself.

Janice

Spurs can be caused by genetics or an incorrect diet - or a mix of both.

Feeding little/no hay and lots of dry food make rabbits more at risk of them. It sounds like she's a hay eater though

Genetics can also be the cause, Lops and netherlands are particularly prone. If you compare the skull shape of some pet bunnies to wild bunnies you can see they are very very different. That can effect how successfully the teeth wear. If the teeth don't line up, even a bale of hay isn't going to get them to wear.

Encouraging her to eat as much hay as possible will help but it's something that you'll need to keep an eye on as it's likely it may need doing every now and then.

Alfie's teeth don't quite line up, the vet always comments he's got little spurs. So far they've never got long enough to need treating though. There isn't anything I can do to fix them, just got to keep an eye. You'll know for next time the symptoms, you did right to take him to the vet when you did. I hope you're going to have words with the emergency vet :evil:

Tam

Thanks Janice/Tamsin

I am annoyed with the emergency vet, they're at a different practice so I'll complain tomorrow. I will keep an eye on her teeth from now on. I am alway quite proud that I get through a bail of hay a week, but thinking about it I do chuck away lots when I change the bedding. I think I will cut all of the pellets right down, I've made it to easy for them to snack on pellets and not eat enough hay. I've not even had Zippy a year and I've damaged her teeth , the emergency vet made me believe old age was getting to her, when all the time she was in pain. Poor Zippy

Hiya tree
please dont blame yourself
Alfie had to have a dental when he was castrated two weeks ago,i felt terrible as the vet said his teeth were really bad,but he had been fine in himself and only had his teeth checked 2 weeks previous to this and that vet said his teeth were fine.
He has been very happy and eating much better since
your lucky zippy eats hay alfie doesnt

SOAD says

I've not even had Zippy a year and I've damaged her teeth ,

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You have not damaged her teeth, it is just unfortunate that Zippy has a spur. You do really well with getting them to eat their hay you are a good bunny mummy to them

Janice

Cheers Marie, it's horrible isn't it? I just never knew all that was going on in her mouth, as she has been fine, it's only this weekend she's been different. Awwww at least Alfie has got you to look after him, these bunnies are a worry.

jrn1310 said:

SOAD says

I've not even had Zippy a year and I've damaged her teeth ,

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You have not damaged her teeth, it is just unfortunate that Zippy has a spur. You do really well with getting them to eat their hay you are a good bunny mummy to them

Janice

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Thank you, I am going to get a load of biting blocks tomorrow and they'll start having less pellets..

jrn1310 said:

SOAD says

I've not even had Zippy a year and I've damaged her teeth ,

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You have not damaged her teeth, it is just unfortunate that Zippy has a spur. You do really well with getting them to eat their hay you are a good bunny mummy to them

Janice

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hi tree

in my experience most pet shop quality bunnies have bad teeth just some worse than others, i have a couple of dental candidates here but since taking my vets advice and feeding hay and grass and veg once a week as a treat and no pellets (but i do but just 25 grams worth per kilo) there teeth are remaining shorter without needing a dental.... worth a think about

Yep I just said to Bryn, that I think I'm going to reduce the pellets right down and then finally cut them out. I don't want to put the bunsters through dentals if I can help it.

SOAD said:

I think I will cut all of the pellets right down, I've made it to easy for them to snack on pellets and not eat enough hay. I've not even had Zippy a year and I've damaged her teeth

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It wouldn't hurt to cut down on her pellets but I certainly won't say you were responsible for causing it. It's quite likely that it's genetics. You may be able to help control it (reduce the frequency of treatment) by getting her to eat more hay but you'll need to keep an eye still.

Either way, you haven't damaged them. Rabbits teeth wear down continually so you can start again from scratch once they vet files them flat

Tam

I better book Scooby in the vets too, I'll take her Wednesday evening, as if it is genetics, her teeth may be going the same way. I will be very carefull with their diet from now on.

Its difficult when you have a rabbit that wont eat hay
i cant cut pellets out

Yeah it must be such a worry, it's a shame there isn't some other sort of food that would keep Alfie's teeth in check

Tree, don't feel bad at all you big silly! After we discovered that Evo had spurs last year, we totally changed his diet. In the last year, he has had just enough pellets to cover the bottom of his bowl once a day, and apart from that he's had nothing but timothy hay and meadow hay to eat. Even with this diet, I still had to take him to have his teeth done last month.
It's just one of those things, I guess. Now I know the signs of when his teeth are starting to bother him, I can get it sorted quicker.

Awwww cheers. I took them loads of hay this morning and they did seem quite happy about it. I'm just going to give them a hand full of pellets each tonight and more hay and see how they get on. I've just been and bought some veggie baby food, as Zippy is just eating hay at the minute and no pellets, so I'm going to get her to fill her tummy up a bit tonight before her GA tomorrow. Luckily it was Zippy and not Scobby, as Scooby is the quieter one of the two, it would of taken me a lot longer to notice something was wrong with Scooby, it's only because Zippy wasn't Zipping around like she normally does that I could tell there was something quite not right.

Right I picked up Zippy last night, she is fine, but....................


The reason her molars are over grown is because she doesn't have her top back teeth, so the bottom side is continuously growing as she can't grind them down. Mel she was either..

• 1, never born with any, which I think is unlikely, as she's getting on a bit. I would of thought her teeth would of overgrown before now and needed some work. If that was the case and the lady who brought her to me said she'd never been to the vets, so I would of thought she would of had to of gone if her teeth were like that before.

• 2, that she was in the advance stages of dental disease before I'd even had her. Mel said the side where the teeth are missing her gums are completely healed and there is never any sign of teeth ever bening there. Although there could of been at one stage. She said the teeth could of disintegrated the crowns broke off, the roots absorbed and the gums healed over, she said this would of happened, before I'd had her.

Poor Zippy she's booked in for the vets next month to have them checked as dentals are going to have to be a regular thing with her, as nothing is going to stop them growing and she can't regulate them herself.


What do you think could of happened to her teeth? I've not had her for a year yet, she came with her sister Scooby, I had them from rabbits in need section, from a lady who'd split with her husband and they were being left alone for 3-4 days a week as she lift elsewhere and couldn't take them with her, so they stopped at her old flat. I know the lady who owned them loved them very much, but circumstances wasn't ideal and they were quite fat when they came and had mites. She was feeding them RR and they were getting a lot to, so it would last them four days a week while she was away, this happened every week. Could excessive mix rotted her teeth?

Also what can I do to try and delay the growning process, Zippy eats with her front teeth and chews her food with them (front teeth are fine btw) so nothing is grinding her remaining teeth at the back down?

Help! :lol:

Hiya
alfie has the same problem,he is missing a tooth also.the vet said this is prob,where his bone absess came from,as he prob had a rotten tooth which went down to the root and the tooth crumbled away leaving this absess
The tooth opossite the missing tooth carries on growing,but he has a problem with the other side of his mouth to as his teeth are un alined
alfie will need to have regular dentals for the rest of his life