New bunny lover!

HI all, joined this forum as we have just bought two adorable bunnies for our children. The bunnies are Max (boy) 14 weeks, and Sandy (girl) 14 weeks. I would like to be able to ask questions on how to look after them properly and help them lead a healthy life. I felt not enough info was given to us when buying them from Pets at Home, in fact we've already had problems from getting them there.... We took them to the vets within the store for their free vaccinations, and we were told that Max has dodgy teeth and we were given the option to 'swap the bunny!!!' there was no way we were swapping as we'd had him a week and me and my daughter in particular have fallen in love with him. Apparently his teeth are lining up and touching each other and not the top overlapping the bottom as they should be, they reckon that he will 95% need them removing and pets at home have agreed to pay for that if that happens. grrrrrrr....

I would like to know a few things to help start us off...

1. how many greens do I feed each day? I havent' given them alot for the last 2 weeks as was told just hay and the odd dandelion leaf but I know they need more than that and are constantly hungy... not sure how much and what is best to give.

2. does anyone have any experience with the teeth thing? Do you think they were overreacting in saying they may need to come out, would they just need filing every now and then? any thoughts would be appreciated!

Anyway sorry for the long intro,
Thanks
Mel

Hi Mel!

I too have just joined the forum, so hello and welcome :wave:

I've heard a lot of bad things about PAH, I have a friend who works there who sometimes states that their "stock" isn't particularly from good breeders.
I haven't had any issues with teeth with my current bunnies, but my last bunny had many problems, and in the end it turned out to be expensive. If PAH are willing to pay, and the treatment is necessary to his quality of life I would definitely take the vets advice.

As for the greens, I give my rabbits a handful in the morning, and a smaller handful at night. Carrot tops, and romaine lettuce are their favourites. Occasionally spring greens and some different herb types. I know they really like broccoli too - but this is extremely gassy for their stomach and gives them aches and pains - so best to avoid that!

I hope everything goes well, keep us updated!

HI thank you for your reply, I had heard bad things initially but once I spoken to the PAH manager about things I'd felt better - kind of wish now that I'd gone to a proper breeder but you learn from your mistakes don't you and have to say that the bunnies are so lovely I will just deal with the problems as they come because they are worth it

Thanks for the greens advice! Keep in touch x

Hi Mel, welcome to the crazy bunny gang!

Did you pick up one of the feeding guide leaflets with your bunnies in PAH? I know they are new so you might have just missed out. I would stick to the 2 week just hay rule as this is advised to try and avoid your rabbits going into statis. A lot of the initial problems with rabbits going into a new home from being in an indoor environment is gut statis from stress and also the change in diet. Some people put the rabbits straight on grass which needs to be built up slowly. After 2 weeks then you can introduce small amounts of pellets again and some small amounts of veg.

Are you getting your bunnies neutered? If so then as they are around the correct age it might be worth having Max's teeth sorted at the same time as his castration and then you are only having him under GA the once.

Domesticated rabbits do tend to suffer teeth problems as congenital problems do not get bred out like in wild rabbits so these are passed on to the young. I have 3 rescue rabbits one is a pure breed beveren and his teeth are awful plus he has had one eye removed and he had a ring on when he came to me so the breeder must have been part of the BRC. The only way you are sure to get a healthy rabbit is to go to a rescue and take on an older rabbit that has been fully vet checked and had their teeth previously checked.

Sounds like your fees are going to be reimbursed so hopefully you can get him sorted out without any more complications. My brother had a bunny with misaligned teeth at the front and they decided to have his front teeth removed. He could eat fine without those teeth as all they are used for is to pass food to the back of the mouth for chewing. Maybe ask your vet if it's his front incisors or molars that are the problem so you can research about the problem.

Hi and welcome to the forum

With greens it's best to introduce them one at a time and a little at a time to see if it'll upset their tummies. If you want to add a bit of variety to shop bought veg then you could try forraging for Willow, Hawthorn and Apple as sticks, branches and leaves go down well.

When you say they are always hungry have they always got a pile of hay or grass to eat? Pellets and veg/forage are great but hay/grass should make up the majority of their diet. Also helps with keeping teeth worn down.

Re teeth, I can't give any advice there as I haven't had a dental bunny so I'll leave that for more experienced members to comment on but it may be worth you posting a thread for recommendations of a rabbit specialist vet in you area. Rabbits are considered exotics so not all vets are fully trained with how to treat them and with a dental bunny regular visits may be needed.

The dental problems are mainly genetic and PAH don't get their rabbits from the best of places! The rescue I volunteer for has had lots of wonky teeth issues, including 3 in within the last month from the same place, suspect all related, two had teeth like elephant tusks! They have both had their incisors removed now and are MUCH happier for it, the remaining bun is just a baby and having his teeth out when he's old enough. For yours and the bunny's sake, it's probably going to be easier to splash out and having the incisors completely removed than have to put the bun through the trauma of having them filed every 3-6 weeks at the vets (they should never ever be clipped!)

As your buns are 14 weeks now they will need to be separated until they're both spayed/neutered but kept side by side, the boy bun will likely be fertile now and the girl bun won't be far off either!!

This is what happens when dental malocclusion (technical name for wonky teeth) is left to get out of control. This is one of the three rabbits I mentioned previously. They were abandoned in a back garden.

Hello there and welcome! It is so nice to hear of a parent who means to do the best she can for the bunnies. As your boy is 14 weeks his testicles may have descended and if your Vet is willing to castrate him he could be done and you could put him back with the female. Otherwise if you leave it you will have to separate them to prevent him getting her pregnant. Your bunnies should be getting around 60 grams of food per day each plus hay. Our PAH gaive the bunnies a little portion of veg every day so if yours does this then you can give a tiny bit to start with and build up to a bigger portion.