How can I get my dental and nearly dental bunny to eat more hay/good dental foods?

runhardlivelong · May 19, 2014

Hi,

Ralph is having his first dental on thursday having lost some weight, and the vet said he has an abrasion on his tongue. He is having some bloods taken as well just to be sure its nothing else.

Question is: how can I get him to eat more hay? They are fed very little pellets, some herbs, but mainly hay. They eat hayforpets T and R.

Are there any good foods for wearing down bunnies back teeth you would recommend?

They feed SS at the moment, does anyone think Fibafirst is better for dental bunnies?

MightyMax · May 19, 2014

I live with dental bunnies, and the best thing I have found is the dried grass/ readigrass. It's higher in protein than hay, but is abrasive in the same way and has worked for mine.

Good luck :thumb:

Tamsin · May 19, 2014

Have you tried fresh grass? It's just as good for wear but a lot of bunnies treat it as tasty as fresh greens

MightyMax · May 19, 2014

Tamsin said:
Have you tried fresh grass? It's just as good for wear but a lot of bunnies treat it as tasty as fresh greens

Hi Tamsin,

I was told by a HouseRabbit Advisor - back in 'those days' that fresh grass isn't as good for wearing teeth, unless it's REALLY coarse. That is, not the sort we usually have in our gardens ..

Tamsin · May 20, 2014

Drying in itself doesn't make grass any better, I know hay feels rougher because it's dry but it's the original surface texture of the grass that's the key thing.

Most lawns are a mix of grasses, just can test it by running your fingers down the blades backwards. The more your fingers catch the rougher the surface. It does vary between types but even the softer feeling stuff has some catch and seems to do the job. The first picture is here is grass from my garden:

http://www.therabbithouse.com/blog/2011/10/07/grass-hay-tooth-wear/

Meadow hay is basically a mix of grasses, so there is no guarantee of roughness just because it came from a field and depending on the cut it can be more stalky (stalks aren't particularly rough) or leafy (the roughest part) so hay varies too.

I'd guess the key is volume - if they eat enough, whether hay or grass, it does the job

runhardlivelong · May 23, 2014

Tamsin said:
Drying in itself doesn't make grass any better, I know hay feels rougher because it's dry but it's the original surface texture of the grass that's the key thing.

Most lawns are a mix of grasses, just can test it by running your fingers down the blades backwards. The more your fingers catch the rougher the surface. It does vary between types but even the softer feeling stuff has some catch and seems to do the job. The first picture is here is grass from my garden:

http://www.therabbithouse.com/blog/2011/10/07/grass-hay-tooth-wear/

Meadow hay is basically a mix of grasses, so there is no guarantee of roughness just because it came from a field and depending on the cut it can be more stalky (stalks aren't particularly rough) or leafy (the roughest part) so hay varies too.

I'd guess the key is volume - if they eat enough, whether hay or grass, it does the job

Thanks Tamsin, sadly the dental bunny Ralph died, under the anaesthetic, possibly with a liver problem which caused him not to metabolise the anaesthetic. Thats an idea the vet had, so who knows. Either way its just Lola now, so will stick with hay hay hay and grass! I live in inner city Liverpool and she is a house rabbit, so grass isn't the easiest to source!!

How can I get my dental and nearly dental bunny to eat more hay/good dental foods?

runhardlivelong

Warren Scout

MightyMax

Banned

Tamsin

Administrator