Huge vet bills for dental bunny. Advice needed!

[abbymarysmokey]

One of my buns has a molar spur done every 2 weeks. She never had a problem with her teeth until she was 5 years old...then her teeth must have moved slightly...and now she has one molar which grows at a strange angle and needs regular treatment.

 

[fiona3]

The reason for all this chat. photo.

Just so we all know who we are discussing-
i thought id post a photo.
Thanks for all your advice. I will take it all on board.
I will let you know how he gets on.
fingers crossed. Any advice is welcome.

 

[kayj]

If it helps I took a 10wk old french lop in who had to have his 4 front teeth out and he is now 14wks and he is doing really well. You may find after a couple of dentals close together that eventually the problem may go longer and longer as I know someone who got a bun out of a newspaper free to good home and withing 6wks he needed two dentals and then went 3mths and touch wood he as been fine for 12mths as he is getting the right diet, so hopefully this will happen with yours

 

[fiona3]

kayj

Thanks. all this positive stuff helps. I hate seeing the wee man suffer and off his food. I worry all the time i wont notice it in time and he will get stasis and that will be it.
I lost an older much loved bun early this year to stasis. So i want to do the best for him. I do hope that the dental yesterday will go some way to fix the last one. (ex dental nurse head on)

I hope you are right and there are lots of posts on the forum about dental bunnies getting better or going longer between so here is hoping. I feel much better about it all now with all the comments i have had tonite. Lots of great advice which i will heed!

 

[sillyrabbit]

No advice But what a gorgeous bunny!

 

[Foofy]

Aw he looks lovely. My bun is now stable even with his bad mouth/dental problems so there is hope lets hope he can go longer and longer in between dentals with the right diet etc. My other rabbit had to have a dental when I first got her she is now 4 and has gone for 3 years without another dental (she was a rescue at 1 yr old) I think it was because she was feed a poor diet in her previous home. Let us know how you get on :wave:

 

[winnies angel]

gorgeous

Hi vets should do discount! My dentals are around £120ish Angel needs them every 4ish months. Win once a year if that. Angel has deformed mouth teeth growing in all directions even under her gums that have not come out (shes now 3) she also has mouth disease.
Last year she needed constant flushing of her eye some under g/a in Nov/dec last year alone I spent £400 just on her. She now has eyedrops which seem to be working no more flushing thank god. Win has med every day which is £20ish every 2 months.
I think the goverment should cut vat on animal stuff as its ridiculous and would encourage more people to go to vets etc.
Last week Angel had to have lump removed, not a big problem £120ish again then to send it off to lab was £50 I looked at the bill (apart from nearly having heart attack) £30 was vat. Its disgusting.
In total I have had them 2 years and spent about £3,000 I can see why people get rid of them (although never an option for me)
Could you not get insurance??
But if you do say you have just got bun! and take to new vet that way they wont know about previous work and will cover for it I would imagine. You have healthy bun no problems as far as you know!!!
We dont have insurance wouldn't cover us for our problems.

 

[FudgeMallow]

I have a bunny, Fudge, who has had her teeth filed twice also. First one done in july and second last month both dentals cost me £60 each. I do struggle to afford it as im only 18 and on weekend pay as im at college during the week, and because i wanted bunnies my mum and dad dont pay anything for them as they dont want bunnies!!!

I was going to get insurance but didnt and i feel so stupid for not getting it!

Anyway i hav decided every so often i am going to take her to the vet for a check up and try to encourage her to eat more hay.

So far its been working, She has hay in her litter tray, in a hay rack, a hay ball but she doesnt eat it, so i put a bundle of hay on my floor in her run and she has been enjoying it.

Also I cut up her peppermint hay into tiny pieces and added grated carrot and apple, and she loves it. (the hay sticks to the carrot and apple. Also it smells nice:lol

i have shredded fresh herbs and added that to her hay and she seems to be eating more.

I have also cut down her pellets (again) and she is eating more hay.

I hope something works for your bun, i am in the same boat as you and hope that one day she wont need dentals.

Good luck:wave:

 

[Captainsfluff]

I don't know if anyone has already written about this, but I know that people recieving any kind of government financial help like housing, unemployment or mental health/incapacity benefits can go to the RSPCA for free for vetinary service.

I also think that they may treat animals for free or donations rather than standard fees if they have on going medical problems for the rest of their lives. It is worth enquiring if this is treatment your bunny is going to have to have every few months for the forseeable future.

 

[blaisey]

Could you not get insurance??
But if you do say you have just got bun! and take to new vet that way they wont know about previous work and will cover for it I would imagine. You have healthy bun no problems as far as you know!!!
We dont have insurance wouldn't cover us for our problems.

:shock: Thats fraud and is the kind of behaviour that drives up premiums for other people!

 

[fiona3]

dental bunny update.

Nutmeg is much brighter today. Even eating hay! I grated apple and carrot into the hay in his litter box (at the clean end) I picked some willow today and will be making some willow balls/chews at the weekend.He now has a crisp box to munch on and two different types of hay as well as some treats to just get him EATING!

I wouldnt have taken on a rabbit if i couldnt afford it. As i said before getting insurance for buns and being truthful isnt always easy.

I guess i came home from the vets annoyed at the two xrays in a month and all the meds which i still had. I will speak up next time. Although when i enquired about the basic cost of the dental thats when the nurse said "if i cant afford a dental bun adopt/rescue centre etc". red rag to a bull.

I have another rescued bun who is frankly FAT. she is now on the correct diet and hopefully losing some weight although she is a big bunny. I have been at the same vet for years. In the last 5 months i have had 2 emergency call outs, (Why do they always get ill on a weekend? )
2 dentals,one other treatment for another rabbit and 2 visits for infected cat bites to my rescued male cat. I now have to go back next week with same cat for vaccination boosters and ive been there so much they must think i want a job there!

Im sure they pay the staffs wages out of my vet bills alone. Thats what i get for taking on rescued rabbits and cats with problems. I am always a sucker for the wee ones with problems, but i wouldnt have it any other way. Just wish vets bills werent so ridiculously high! I guess i just wanted to let off steam with folk with the same worries. Thanks again.

 

[kayj]

Nutmeg is much brighter today. Even eating hay! I grated apple and carrot into the hay in his litter box (at the clean end) I picked some willow today and will be making some willow balls/chews at the weekend.He now has a crisp box to munch on and two different types of hay as well as some treats to just get him EATING!

I wouldnt have taken on a rabbit if i couldnt afford it. As i said before getting insurance for buns and being truthful isnt always easy.

I guess i came home from the vets annoyed at the two xrays in a month and all the meds which i still had. I will speak up next time. Although when i enquired about the basic cost of the dental thats when the nurse said "if i cant afford a dental bun adopt/rescue centre etc". red rag to a bull.

I have another rescued bun who is frankly FAT. she is now on the correct diet and hopefully losing some weight although she is a big bunny. I have been at the same vet for years. In the last 5 months i have had 2 emergency call outs, (Why do they always get ill on a weekend? )
2 dentals,one other treatment for another rabbit and 2 visits for infected cat bites to my rescued male cat. I now have to go back next week with same cat for vaccination boosters and ive been there so much they must think i want a job there!

Im sure they pay the staffs wages out of my vet bills alone. Thats what i get for taking on rescued rabbits and cats with problems. I am always a sucker for the wee ones with problems, but i wouldnt have it any other way. Just wish vets bills werent so ridiculously high! I guess i just wanted to let off steam with folk with the same worries. Thanks again.

join the club, i am a sucker too
You are a rescues dream though by taking on animals with problems as not many people will and they end up staying in rescue. So from a rescue point of view I will say Your a star

 

[Sooz]

I'm a sucker for a 'problem' bunny too, at my own peril I do love a challenge :lol:. Generally, apart from sheer numbers, thats the reason I don't have insurance....they all had problems that wouldn't be covered so better to save up then pay out as needed.

That said tomorrow is my 9th vets appointment this month, the best laid plans and all that...:roll:

 

[Sooz]

Double Post :evil:

 

[fiona3]

dental bunny and fat wife.

I have the worst combination of buns together. Saying that they are bonded now and love each other. One fat rescued bun who was dumped on a glasgow street. No worse for wear tho! Big cheeky friendly girl. One little shy boy who was bullied by guinea pigs in his last home! that i got at the beginning of the year. Took ages to bond them but Both love each other now.
Now One now wont eat and one will eat everything! Its a challenge.:lol:I cant imagine what i would do without all the great advice on this forum. Learning all the time!

 

[Sooz]

I have two dental bunnies who live together, one is always too thin because she also has permenant respiratory infections and her husbun is too fat because he eats her share of the food as well as his own.

I hoped since having his incisors removed he may slow down a little and give her a chance to catch up but it's been nearly a month and he is still the same weight.

Now that he is feeling better even his jaw abcess isn't stopping him. He ate one side of my Chrysanthium this morning :?.

 

[fiona3]

I am becoming obsessed. Im outside every few hours seeing whos eating what and checking poop, if they are drinking, lying down, eating! I have an outside light and go out with my torch. I bet they are thinking " AW no not her again! just leave us alone!" :roll: :lol:

 

[abbymarysmokey]

I can sympathize about problem bunnies too...if I listed all the ailments mine have it'd probably make me cry! :shock: :roll:

No I shouldn't really complain...I've got a couple of very old buns who are in remarkably good shape (touch wood), and also one with bad respiratory problems who has got to the age of 7 despite the vet thinking she'd have to be PTS years ago

 

[Wilbur]

Your bun is gorgeous. Sounds like you are doing all the right things to get him to eat more hay. I had two dental buns when they got older (7 and 8 ). I found a vet who would do awake dentals and that was much cheaper and safer as they were older.

Mind you it was still £30 a time, but better than £90!

 

[fiona3]

After a break of a few years when i couldnt have buns where i lived i took on two sisters. They lived for 10 years without any vet visits apart from vacc. Guess i was lulled into a false sense of security with those two! My mother even fed them on mashed potato with butter! She used to look after them when i was on holiday. ( i didnt know about mashed potato till years later!) Guess all rabbits are different. I dont love them any less. Probably more because of their problems. Winter doesnt help. They are much healthier out in their run for hours in the summer.