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Yalta - Teeth Problem ? - U/D - DILEMA

M

Mart

Mama Doe
Yalta is not eating her Hay at the moment. It started a couple of days ago.

She tries to, but seems to struggle before spittng it out. Pam says it sounds as though she also has a lot of saliva in her mouth too.

She is eating her pellets OK at the moment - so we have up'ed the amount (we had reduced her pellets to a minimum and had Timothy Hay make up the rest of her diet) - so she is hopefully getting enough food.

She is otherwise her usual self - although she does sometimes 'grind' her teeth when resting.

I have just seen her trying to eat a bit oh hay - and she has it in her mouth for a long time - with an exagerated chewing motion - and it does sound 'mushy' after a while as if there is a lot of saliva being produced.


We are taking her to the vets in the morning - as we think it may be a teeth problem.

She doesn't flinch when we stroke her jaw sides, or underneath - so we hope there isn't an abcess or anything causing her pain.

Any ideas on what else it could be ?

thanks

Martin
 
Umm, it does sound a bit suspicious that it could be a teeth issue. Have you peeked at her front teeth, do they look normal? Obviously the vet will need to look at the back. If it's her teeth, most likely it's a spur, a pointy bit of tooth that hasn't worn down so catches her tounge or check when she chews. That makes the chewing action a bit funny, which is one of the first signs of a teeth prob. Well done for being so observant :)

Usually the treatment would be having the spur burred down, which might have to be done regularly though a high hay diet does help reduce the frequency of dental trips.

Tam
 
Hi Pam and Martin

Sounds like she might have some early molar spurs :?
Trouble is it is really hard for a Vet to get an accurate view of a Buns mouth whilst Bun is awake. There are so many pesky folds within the oral cavity and unless the cheeks are retracted a small molar spur can easily be missed. I have sometimes been able to detect a spur by shoving my finger into a co-operative Buns mouth :shock: :roll: But most Buns just start chewing at your finger so I wouldn't recomend you try it!!
Hope all goes well at the Vets

Janex
 
Thanks for the quick response.

We're always paranoid about Yalta - she has these turns fairly frequently (may be bloat we never have been able to identify the exact problem) - so we keep a close eye on her.

She's a ND - and would definitely fall into the 'uncooperative' camp if it came to putting our fingers in.

It doesn't look like a problem with here front teeth (we always look when she yawns).

It seems odd that it is only affecting her eating Hay - and not the pellets, although I guess they are softer.

Would that suggest a particular set of teeth / location for a possible problem ?

Thanks again

Martin
 
Also - maybe a silly question - but what exactly is a spur ? couldn't find anything on it after a very quick search there.

She does have a high hay diet - and she frequently chews on the wood blocks we have for her.

She gets excited every time we get the hay out (she loves the Timothy Hay) but after sticking her nose in, she just wanders off.

We're certain its not a problem with the Hay, its the same stuff she was devouring a couple of days ago.

If it is a teeth problem - hopefully we have caught it early

thanks

Martin
 
Hmmm

She sounds as though she has saliva in her mouth even though she isn't eating (and hasn't for a good few minutes).

Can spurs / teeth probs cause salivating ?

sorry for the 20 questions - just concerned.

thanks

Martin
 
Mart said:
Hmmm


Can spurs / teeth probs cause salivating ?
Click to expand...

YES!! Absolutely, especially if a spur has scratched the cheek/ tongue. I had a bun, Seamus, who started to BUBBLE saliva from his mouth when a spur scratched his cheek :shock: :shock:
He only ever had to have the one Dental in his lifetime.

Janex
 
Hi! Bobby's just been in to have his spurs burred. The vet explained to me that the top and bottom molars wear each other down, but if they're a little uneven, a small part doesn't get worn down like the others and starts to grow outwards into the cheek or the tongue.
Bobby had dirty paws, as he was dropping a lot of food, and he also dribbled a lot, so had a wet chin.
He was in and out of the vet's in a matter of hours for his operation, and started eating normally again almost straight away. He snubbed the grated carrot I put in in favour of the full one! It took him a couple of days to start eating hay again. Luckily he does eat a lot of hay anyway, so this should help his teeth for the future.
Pellets are easier to eat for them, as they don't require the 'grinding' action that hay does (I think :? )
Hope Yalta's feeling better soon.
 
Thanks for the info all.

Definitely seems to be something with her teeth.

She is salivating - and the grinding seems to be a reaction to it I think.

She's also eating a lot of pellets, and drinking a lot of water.

Not sure if that's a good thing - or whether she is trying to eat / drink to clean her teeth ?

We'll see what the vet thinks in the morning.

thanks

Martin
 
Here is a diagram from the RVC of bunnies teeth:

Rabbit.gif


You can see how far back the mollars are!

This page has excellent photos of normal teeth and ones with spurs:

http://www.vet.uga.edu/mis/exotics/mammals/oral.php

As I'm sure you know, rabbits teeth grow all the time and they are worn down by chewing. Sometimes the teeth don't wear evenly so a sharp spike is left on the edge... this either sticks in the check of tounge depending on what edge it's formed.
 
Tamsin said:
Here is a diagram from the RVC of bunnies teeth:

Rabbit.gif


You can see how far back the mollars are!

This page has excellent photos of normal teeth and ones with spurs:

http://www.vet.uga.edu/mis/exotics/mammals/oral.php

As I'm sure you know, rabbits teeth grow all the time and they are worn down by chewing. Sometimes the teeth don't wear evenly so a sharp spike is left on the edge... this either sticks in the check of tounge depending on what edge it's formed.
Click to expand...


Thanks for that link Tamsin! :thumb:

Janex
 
Thanks Tamsin :D great info and link

at least we are armed before heading to the vets shortly :)

thanks

Martin
 
Just back,

well - it was the least bunny-savvy vet they have there this morning :(

He tried to look into her mouth, but there was no chance - she really struggled.

We're booked in on Tuesday for a GA and X-Rays, and if it shows a dental problem they are going to deal with it then.

Means we have to wait - and nothing is confirmed as to the problem though :(

She is really pee'd with us as the moment too.

She also doesn't seem as eager for her pellets this morning :(

We'll keep an eye on her - and mush them up if necessary.

Thanks

Martin
 
Awwww poor Yalta
Did the Vet give her any pain relief as if she has spurs they may be scratching at her tongue/cheeks. As she's so dribbly I would have thought antibiotics might be a good idea too just incase any soft tissue infection sets in.
Just my unqualified/non-vet opinion!!

Hope all goes well with Yalta's Dental.
Janex
 
nope - no pain relief at all, he didn't give her anything. - As I said - it wasn't one of the slighty more bunny-savvy vets there (more the stick an arm up a cow type :))

She isn't too dribbly - just sounds a little mushy when trying to eat hay.

We might contact them again for this afternoon's surgery - she seems to be struggling a little bit more with eating now.

She's trying to eat hay, but isn't showing any interest in her pellets (she did eat a lot of them yesterday mind).

She has also eaten her pineapple too - I guess because its softer.

She also keeps chewing on her willow rings - so I guess she's hungry.


Would a painkiller help her eat ? I guess it might numb the discomfort and encourage her to eat at least until Tuesday


thanks

Martin
 
Yay - she has just started to eat her pellets - well a few anyway, but at least that's something.

:)

Martin
 
My female, Esmerelda has to have GA's to have her back teeth burred but i'm guess i'm quite lucky as the vets can usually fit her in at short notice if a problem becomes apparent quite suddenly.

Other softs foods you could give her in the meantime are: oats, human baby food (veggie, non dairy), mushed up weetabix.

Good luck for tuesday x

ps. where do you live Martin? Maybe someone knows of a more bunny savvy vet near you? I now take Esmerelda to a vets which is quite clued up about rabbit dental problems.
 
We live in the sticks in Northern Ireland.

There are a few vets at the practice, it's just that the one we got doesn't seem too hot on buns, others there are fine - so hopefully it will be one of the others on Tuesday.

We're very tempted to take her back for painkillers - more as a precaution in case it becomes harder to get her to eat.

thanks all again

Martin
 
Mart said:
We live in the sticks in Northern Ireland.

There are a few vets at the practice, it's just that the one we got doesn't seem too hot on buns, others there are fine - so hopefully it will be one of the others on Tuesday.

We're very tempted to take her back for painkillers - more as a precaution in case it becomes harder to get her to eat.

thanks all again

Martin
Click to expand...

I would Martin as if she is uncomfortable her guts will slow down too.
IF she has spurs that have scratched soft tissue she will feel a bit like we do with a mouth ulcer or if we accidently bite our tongue. The actual tissue damage may be minimal but it flippin well hurts!!

Janex
 
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