Hi. I had to take Domino to the vet this morning as I noticed yesterday his front teeth were quite badly overgrown and although he was still eating, he was having trouble picking up his food. I was expecting for his teeth to be burred. The vet said to me I had two options, which was to have the teeth repeatedly burred (she said probably every 3 to 4 weeks) or have the teeth removed. My initial reaction to removal was shock because I didn't think it would be something that would have been suggested at that point, i.e this is the first time he has ever had problems with his teeth (he's 5). Domino is a very nervous rabbit and hates being handled and gets extremely stressed just going in his carrier, let alone actually seeing the vet. I said I was concerned about his stress levels as they would burr without general anaesthetic She said if I were to ask what she would do if it was her rabbit in that situation, she said she would opt to have the teeth removed because he gets so stressed. Now based on that advice, I went ahead and agreed to have his incisors removed. He did stop breathing at one point under the anaesthetic but they managed to bring him round and he's ok and they've kept him in overnight for pain relief.
What I'm upset about is that now I've actually had a bit of time to research the condition and rabbits without incisors, I'm concerned to see that my vet never advised me that the teeth could have been burred to see whether they realigned themselves initially or at least to see how long they took to grow back. After finding out this bit of information, I'm actually very upset that I was advised to have the teeth removed when perhaps less invasive measures could have been looked into first. Obviously I'm aware of how painful this operation will have been for Domino and I've been left feeling that I made totally the wrong decision for him.
Any opinions/comments?
What I'm upset about is that now I've actually had a bit of time to research the condition and rabbits without incisors, I'm concerned to see that my vet never advised me that the teeth could have been burred to see whether they realigned themselves initially or at least to see how long they took to grow back. After finding out this bit of information, I'm actually very upset that I was advised to have the teeth removed when perhaps less invasive measures could have been looked into first. Obviously I'm aware of how painful this operation will have been for Domino and I've been left feeling that I made totally the wrong decision for him.
Any opinions/comments?