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Spurs?

Bunny Magoo

Bunny Magoo

Warren Scout
Hi all, I'll try and keep this brief! Yesterday morning got up to find bunny hadn't eaten any hay or pooped all night, he didn't even want his normal morning feed of pellets. So he went to vets in afternoon (his normal vet wasn't in). Couple of days before this he made a weird choking sound when eating hay, seemed a bit spooked then snapped out of it. I thought he might of cut inside of mouth. Vet checked and said all looked ok but gave him jab for pain relief, anti inflammatory and to get gut moving. Last night his behaviour was normal and started to eat again and poop! Was advised to take him back today (to see normal vet) who now says he has spurs on back teeth! My poor bun broke his jaw when very young (due to vet not handling him properly! )so always extra cautious with him and wary of all vets! He currently has 1/2 egg cup excel burgess pellets, timothy hay (from timothy hay.co.uk) and small amount of veg. Any advice on what I can do?
 
Bunny Magoo said:
Hi all, I'll try and keep this brief! Yesterday morning got up to find bunny hadn't eaten any hay or pooped all night, he didn't even want his normal morning feed of pellets. So he went to vets in afternoon (his normal vet wasn't in). Couple of days before this he made a weird choking sound when eating hay, seemed a bit spooked then snapped out of it. I thought he might of cut inside of mouth. Vet checked and said all looked ok but gave him jab for pain relief, anti inflammatory and to get gut moving. Last night his behaviour was normal and started to eat again and poop! Was advised to take him back today (to see normal vet) who now says he has spurs on back teeth! My poor bun broke his jaw when very young (due to vet not handling him properly! )so always extra cautious with him and wary of all vets! He currently has 1/2 egg cup excel burgess pellets, timothy hay (from timothy hay.co.uk) and small amount of veg. Any advice on what I can do?
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If your Bunny now has a misaligned jaw due to the previous fracture then unfortunately no amount of dietary manipulation will prevent some spurs/crown elongation because the top and bottom teeth are not occluding in the correct way. Although trying to get the Rabbit to eat the maximum amount of hays/grass possible is still needed.

Has the Vet mentioned anything about the alignment of Bunny's jaw ? Is the Vet going to do a Dental under GA to remove the spurs ? If the jaw is misaligned then that would be the only way to sort the spurs out.
 
Bunny Magoo said:
Hi all, I'll try and keep this brief! Yesterday morning got up to find bunny hadn't eaten any hay or pooped all night, he didn't even want his normal morning feed of pellets. So he went to vets in afternoon (his normal vet wasn't in). Couple of days before this he made a weird choking sound when eating hay, seemed a bit spooked then snapped out of it. I thought he might of cut inside of mouth. Vet checked and said all looked ok but gave him jab for pain relief, anti inflammatory and to get gut moving. Last night his behaviour was normal and started to eat again and poop! Was advised to take him back today (to see normal vet) who now says he has spurs on back teeth! My poor bun broke his jaw when very young (due to vet not handling him properly! )so always extra cautious with him and wary of all vets! He currently has 1/2 egg cup excel burgess pellets, timothy hay (from timothy hay.co.uk) and small amount of veg. Any advice on what I can do?
Click to expand...

Once dental spurs have developed on a rabbit's teeth, the only way to bring the situation back to 'normal' is to have those spurs removed. Do I understand that he has been managing to eat hay until recently? In which case the spurs might be relatively recent.

Once the dental is done, then you can encourage your rabbit to eat as much long strand fibre as possible - hays of all sorts, fresh grass and dried readigrass. This will help prolong the interval between dentals and help to wear the teeth down as much as possible.

It's not possible to say whether dentals would be a thing you'd have to have done regularly from now (i.e. after having this dental done). The teeth may be able to wear down by grinding the hay, or they may not be so efficient. Even your vet probably won't be entirely sure!
 
Vet said teeth are slightly out of line but almost perfect. He can eat hay absolutely fine and has no problem chewing, the jaw fracture was over 18 months ago. Vet previously said to stick to timothy hay as nutrients (especially calcium can be high ) in other hays?
 
If the jaw is slightly out of alignment then it may be that a Dental will be necessary to remove the spurs. Has the Vet advised you to take your Rabbit back for a re-check in 3-4 weeks time and to weigh him every 3-4 days in the meantime ?

Is your Rabbit able to graze fresh grass daily ?
 
Bunny Magoo said:
Vet said teeth are slightly out of line but almost perfect. He can eat hay absolutely fine and has no problem chewing, the jaw fracture was over 18 months ago. Vet previously said to stick to timothy hay as nutrients (especially calcium can be high ) in other hays?
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So pleased to hear that he eats hay normally :thumb: Some other hays can be high in calcium, like alfalfa, but they can be fed sparingly. Readigrass is fine to free feed (I have done for the last 20 years - no problems).
 
Thanks guys. Vet has advised to keep an eye on him and encourage him to eat as much hay as possible, which we are doing. I've got him some readigrass and oxbow timothy hay, so he has choice! Just a fussy fluff! He's lucky he survived the broken jaw, was syringe fed for just over a month when it happened and in between had his teeth filed down! So since then have always been particularly concerned about teeth probs! But he's a tough cookie! He's a house bunny so doesn't have grass.
 
Bunny Magoo said:
Thanks guys. Vet has advised to keep an eye on him and encourage him to eat as much hay as possible, which we are doing. I've got him some readigrass and oxbow timothy hay, so he has choice! Just a fussy fluff! He's lucky he survived the broken jaw, was syringe fed for just over a month when it happened and in between had his teeth filed down! So since then have always been particularly concerned about teeth probs! But he's a tough cookie! He's a house bunny so doesn't have grass.
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My house bunnies get their slave to cut the grass for them :lol:

At this time of year, the Spring grass is quite rich, so I am going steady - a little at a time .. but it would also help file his teeth down if you gave some to yours!

They can be fussy buns ..... Hmmph ;) But you have worked miracles getting him through a month of syringe feeding and a broken jaw. I take my hat off to you :thumb:
 
sounds like he may need dental in not to near future, some rabbits are more sensitive to others with slightest spur and will stop eating others continue like my rabbit does so I have to keep check on her
 
Keeping a close eye on him and encouraging the hay eating, think he's getting the message that there's no pellets until he's had more hay this evening!
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Think I might have spoken too soon, after he improved last night he seems to have gone downhill again. ate pellets and little hay this morning -produced about 8 poops. He sleeps most of the day normally so doesn't normally eat and poop much. He's being very cuddly, eaten a small amount of pellets, been chewing on cardboard but doesn't seem to want hay. Tummy feels squishy and he is moving fine.Just don't what to do!
 
Bunny Magoo said:
Think I might have spoken too soon, after he improved last night he seems to have gone downhill again. ate pellets and little hay this morning -produced about 8 poops. He sleeps most of the day normally so doesn't normally eat and poop much. He's being very cuddly, eaten a small amount of pellets, been chewing on cardboard but doesn't seem to want hay. Tummy feels squishy and he is moving fine.Just don't what to do!
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I think he may need those spurs sorting out under GA. It is far better to address the issue before he stops eating completely. Is he still on pain relief ?
 
Bunny Magoo said:
Think I might have spoken too soon, after he improved last night he seems to have gone downhill again. ate pellets and little hay this morning -produced about 8 poops. He sleeps most of the day normally so doesn't normally eat and poop much. He's being very cuddly, eaten a small amount of pellets, been chewing on cardboard but doesn't seem to want hay. Tummy feels squishy and he is moving fine.Just don't what to do!
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Do you have any Metacam to hand? May be worth a dose if so ... If he doesn't pick up tomorrow I would book in for the vet as soon as you're able. Sorry he's not so good x
 
Jack's-Jane said:
I think he may need those spurs sorting out under GA. It is far better to address the issue before he stops eating completely.
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This. Completely.

Bunny teeth can grow so much in a week. If they start going a bit wrong, a couple of days of extra growth on spurs can make a big difference. The sooner they are sorted, the better. The difference straight after is usually quite amazing. Much better than risking him stopping eating. Eating cardboard is a signal that he is trying to keep the fibre intake up but is struggling with hay. Pain relief may temporarily improve the situation and improve his eating. Meanwhile, I would just make sure he eats something sensible - increase the pellets if he is OK with those - and get him booked in for a dental.
 
Managed to get him to munch some hay and he's pooped so feel a bit calmer knowing that I won't need to call emergency vet tonight. The vets has another surgery which is open a couple of hours on a Sunday, so will call them tomorrow and see if i can get some metacam and rabbit recovery incase needed tomorrow. Then speak to vet on Monday about dental. Just feel so hopeless! Plus he's not covered for dental on his insurance due to his previous broken jaw which was the vets fault! I do everything i can for him and not good enough 😢Just want him to be ok
 
Bunny Magoo said:
Managed to get him to munch some hay and he's pooped so feel a bit calmer knowing that I won't need to call emergency vet tonight. The vets has another surgery which is open a couple of hours on a Sunday, so will call them tomorrow and see if i can get some metacam and rabbit recovery incase needed tomorrow. Then speak to vet on Monday about dental. Just feel so hopeless! Plus he's not covered for dental on his insurance due to his previous broken jaw which was the vets fault! I do everything i can for him and not good enough 😢Just want him to be ok
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Insurance doesn't often cover dentals ... You are doing your best for him and it is good enough. I think what you are doing is wise over the weekend. The vet can examine the teeth on Monday and see how he feels. At least if he's munched on some hay he's not in terrible pain (hopefully) xx Hope you can get some Metacam tomorrow
 
Thanks for your support. He's grazing on hay at the mo and want him to keep ticking along over the weekend and make sure his gut keeps moving.
 
Bunny Magoo said:
Managed to get him to munch some hay and he's pooped so feel a bit calmer knowing that I won't need to call emergency vet tonight. The vets has another surgery which is open a couple of hours on a Sunday, so will call them tomorrow and see if i can get some metacam and rabbit recovery incase needed tomorrow. Then speak to vet on Monday about dental. Just feel so hopeless! Plus he's not covered for dental on his insurance due to his previous broken jaw which was the vets fault! I do everything i can for him and not good enough ��Just want him to be ok
Click to expand...

Fully understand how you feel. My bunny has recently had his back legs broke by a vet, and now suffering with eye ulcers. I'm finding it so hard to trust anyone at the moment, and like you more than anything I just want him to be okay!

I'm sure your doing a brilliant job, and I know it's hard but stay positive! Like others say to me, your little bun has been through so much already & is still fighting!! Trust me, he knows how much you do for him! Xxx
 
Ruthyjones89 said:
Fully understand how you feel. My bunny has recently had his back legs broke by a vet, and now suffering with eye ulcers. I'm finding it so hard to trust anyone at the moment, and like you more than anything I just want him to be okay!

I'm sure your doing a brilliant job, and I know it's hard but stay positive! Like others say to me, your little bun has been through so much already & is still fighting!! Trust me, he knows how much you do for him! Xxx
Click to expand...
So sorry to hear about your bunny, hope he's getting better now, but guess it feels a bit relentless! Xx Mr Magoo is a tough cookie and has been through so much, but rabbits are such sensitive souls and I know how quick they can go downhill and how one problem can lead to another.
 
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