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Front Teeth Removal

This is my first posting and this may have been asked before, but here goes. We have four rabbits all from different litters but they get on really well. The latest one came from the pet shop where two of the others had come from as we have always found they have good pets. As soon as we got the little rabbit home (dwarf lop) we noticed that it was struggling to eat and its front teeth were just awful. One up and one down pointing across the tooth next to it and one broken. We took it to the vet to have them trimmed which he did but after a couple of weeks they had grown back to the extent that they needed doing again and we are now going every two weeks or so just to keep them under control.

In the meantime the girl had rung from the pet shop to ask about the rabbit and said that she had been away for a few days and it should not have been sold. The brother was also a poor specimen, was still in the shop and may well have been put down as it had a swollen abdomen.

My question is this: She is being neutered on Thursday and it would be an ideal opportunity to remove the 4 front teeth. If the teeth come out she won't be able to nibble which is quite an important part of a rabbit's life! Do we - don't we?

My son suggested implants but that would be a bit excessive!
 
My friend had her little bun's front teeth removed by my vet, her vet said it wasn't an option :shock:

Anyway, the little bun is fine, eats with no problem and is so much happier now then when he had his teeth

I'm sure someone with more experience will be along soon to give you more info etc.

Good luck! :wave:
 
My Herbie has had his front incisors removed. He initially had it done when he was getting neutered. One tooth and two peg teeth grew back in.....he had it done again....a peg tooth grew back in, now I just get that burred.

Buns can manage perfectly fine with no incisors, they just use their lips and hums to pick up the food then use their back teeth :)
 
My Snoopy had his removed and he does fine. I have to chop his food up a bit but he manages hay fine, he just gums it up to his back teeth :D
 
This is my first posting and this may have been asked before, but here goes. We have four rabbits all from different litters but they get on really well. The latest one came from the pet shop where two of the others had come from as we have always found they have good pets. As soon as we got the little rabbit home (dwarf lop) we noticed that it was struggling to eat and its front teeth were just awful. One up and one down pointing across the tooth next to it and one broken. We took it to the vet to have them trimmed which he did but after a couple of weeks they had grown back to the extent that they needed doing again and we are now going every two weeks or so just to keep them under control.

In the meantime the girl had rung from the pet shop to ask about the rabbit and said that she had been away for a few days and it should not have been sold. The brother was also a poor specimen, was still in the shop and may well have been put down as it had a swollen abdomen.

My question is this: She is being neutered on Thursday and it would be an ideal opportunity to remove the 4 front teeth. If the teeth come out she won't be able to nibble which is quite an important part of a rabbit's life! Do we - don't we?

My son suggested implants but that would be a bit excessive!

Nibbles is having his out after neutering - vet won't do it when they carry out the neutering for various reasons. Nibbles has already coped OK without his two front teeth so I imagine he'll be fine without the full set. Apparently they only use those teeth as 'lips' so they'll be fine to eat other things :D
 
My Leo had his out a couple of years ago due to the same problem. He manages okay with food, he is on excel pellets so they are small enough to get in his mouth without having to bite them up. We do cut up all his vegetables into little squares though! It can be a bit difficult keeping his weight up as well, but I think this is due to him being a big fussy with grass too. If you feed grass I'd recommend picking it for your bun. Apparently the gums do harden enough that they can pick grass themselves, but I've never found that Leo can do this, especially when the grass is shorter in Winter. He does quite well eating strands of hay, but obviously it's difficult for him to eat multiple strands at once, so perhaps chopping it up a little shorter, or just buying hay that is already fairly short would be a good idea.
On the whole he manages very well, he can actually eat fairly big dandelions whole, as long as I've pulled them out of the ground for him!
The main issue is grooming. With no incisors it can be difficult for them to pull out loose fur, and this can getting matted quite easily. To be honest, this isn't a problem if you can devote a little time every few days or so to giving them a quick brush, especially keeping an eye on 'hidden' bits where it's easier to get matted- e.g. soles of the feet, armpits etc!! Grooming will need to be everyday during moulting. Not always easy on a rabbit! Also I'd keep an eye on dirty bottoms, any wet poo that get's stuck on fur will be almost impossible for a rabbit to chew out once it's dried if they have no teeth!
 
Both my sister and I have rabbits with no front teeth and they get along just fine. My bun needs his food cut up small but my sister's loves big pieces of hay and leaves and just shoves them in. He was neutered and had his out together. At such a young age they adjust really well. I would recommend it if they're that bad. Clipping them can also cause abscesses if the roots splinter. The vet should burr or grind them down.

However be prepared that they might grow back. Grim's grew back twice and Dexter's grew back once. It's quite hard to remove all the tooth and even a few cells will just grow! They can be removed again, I would speak to your vet and see what they think.
 
Teeth

Thank you for your replies.

She has been neutered today but the vet advised against tooth removal at the same time. The have been ground right down so we will have to wait & see!
 
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