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Rabbit Dental

N

NikkiGrant_17

New Kit
I really need some help. :(

My rabbit Olly is 4 years old and is like my little baby, I love him to pieces.
Up until now he's never been into a vet with any issue, but about 6 months ago he started getting problems with his molars. He's been getting his teeth filed down every four weeks at £80 a time which just is becoming difficult to keep paying. The vet suggested to me that if it kept up this way he'd have a bad life and would have to be put down. To me that's not an option, he is the happiest and healthiest rabbit despite of this and I just could put him down because of one small issue. I asked to have his teeth filed right down and the vet said he wouldn't need to return for about 6 months which I was happy with, however he got his teeth down about 5 weeks ago and again he is in pain, I don't want to keep putting him through these vet trips. What do you suggest I do? I thought about getting a second vet opinion, and I thought about teeth extraction but I wasn't sure if his molar could be taken out? One of his molars isn't aligned very well causing him pain as it grows. I just want my boy to be okay, please let me know any suggestions!! :(
 
Firstly, I would suggest you find a rabbit savvy vet. I had a bun who had molar spurs and the vet who I first took him to said I was on a hiding to nothing with them. Bunny was 6 years old then. Devestated, I took him to another vet, who specialised in rabbits and it completely transferred my bun's life. He lived to be over 11 years old in the end! The new vet could do conscious dentals, which were done very quickly and gradually the length between dentals increased, which was excellent. Also, get your bun eating as much hay as possible, as this will help with wearing down spurs. Four years old is no age at all for a bun, so I would definitely advise finding another vet. If you post your location on here I am sure there will be someone who can recommend a rabbit savvy vet in your area. Dont give up hope - I am sure an alternative vet will be more positive.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the advise. I'm living in Angus, Scotland. I live in a really little town with only one vet so it looks like I'll have to go outwith town to somewhere else. I'll go anywhere if it will help him. Like you say he's only four so he's still very young and I was so upset when they mentioned putting him down. I'll look for another vet, thanks. He doesn't eat much hay which doesn't help as he just doesnt seems interested in it, I'll have to try find ways to get more of it into his diet.
 
Besides regular dentals and tooth removal there is another option but it would depend on exactly what is causing your rabbit's teeth to form spurs as to whether it would be suitable. It's a pulpectomy. The tooth itself isn't removed but the root of the tooth is killed off so the affected tooth is still there but as it is dead it won't form spurs (I think it can only be done on teeth in the lower jaw). It's a very specialist procedure but could be a one-off procedure to resolve the problem. A second opinion with a specialist would definitely be worth looking into. Some specialists will give advice without needing to see the patient - your vet could send them the information/x-rays etc for their expert opinion.
 
Removing molar teeth is a specialist job and will cause problems with the other teeth. Rabbit teeth are constantly growing and need to grind against each other. With some missing, others will overgrow and you will probably still be left with some dental problems.

Changing the diet to include more fibre to grind the teeth down naturally will lengthen the time between dentals, so it is well worth persevering with more hay or grass. You may also find that the interval between dentals will naturally change. A combination of good dentistry and more fibre (hay) in the diet can give you several months - mine usually ended up with 2 or 3 full dentals a year once things had settled down.

The other thing worth doing is weighing him every week. Sometimes the signs of a dental bunny slowing down are very subtle. Keeping track of his weight will tell you how well he is eating. A small continuous drop over a couple of weeks would mean a check up is due.
 
NikkiGrant_17 said:
I really need some help. :(

My rabbit Olly is 4 years old and is like my little baby, I love him to pieces.
Up until now he's never been into a vet with any issue, but about 6 months ago he started getting problems with his molars. He's been getting his teeth filed down every four weeks at £80 a time which just is becoming difficult to keep paying. The vet suggested to me that if it kept up this way he'd have a bad life and would have to be put down. To me that's not an option, he is the happiest and healthiest rabbit despite of this and I just could put him down because of one small issue. I asked to have his teeth filed right down and the vet said he wouldn't need to return for about 6 months which I was happy with, however he got his teeth down about 5 weeks ago and again he is in pain, I don't want to keep putting him through these vet trips. What do you suggest I do? I thought about getting a second vet opinion, and I thought about teeth extraction but I wasn't sure if his molar could be taken out? One of his molars isn't aligned very well causing him pain as it grows. I just want my boy to be okay, please let me know any suggestions!! :(
Click to expand...

So sorry to hear about Olly. A dental every month is hard on both of you.

The truth is, that even if teeth are filed down to the gums, it may be that the nature of the way in which Olly's teeth grow still make it difficult or impossible for him to eat hay. So it's not as simple as saying 'feed more hay to grind down his teeth'.

However, you could encourage any small move towards eating beneficial fibre by perhaps substituting hay for the much tastier readigrass. Most rabbits absolutely love it, so it would be a test to see how his teeth might be working between dentals.

I would also suggest that at least once you get a second opinion on his teeth, and perhaps have a dental done by a very rabbit savvy vet/hospital. This would then put your mind at rest that you had tried the very best solution for him.

Good luck, and I hope some of our advice will help you :wave:
 
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