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Dental spurs diet *update- now gi stasis*

Beebop

Warren Veteran
Hello

I believe Peter has dental spurs and I have him booked in for a dental tomorrow morning! He is only 19months old! :(

I am really upset if this is the case as I thought he had such a good diet! :( In hindsight I am beginning to think he had too many veg in his diet- can veg contribute to teeth issues in the same way too many pellets do? He is a french lop so I always fed him extra veg and about an egg cup of pellets a day. He also gets a small handful of flaked peas every other day to keep weight on him as he looks underweight otherwise.

Also I never see any caecotrophs lying about but I do notice him eating them a couple of times a day- is that normal?

And finally, if I have caught this quickly enough is it likely if he gets these filed down now that he won't require regular dentals? How common are molar spurs with rabbits??

Grateful for all advice!
 
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Hello

I believe Peter has dental spurs and I have him booked in for a dental tomorrow morning! He is only 19months old! :(

I am really upset if this is the case as I thought he had such a good diet! :( In hindsight I am beginning to think he had too many veg in his diet- can veg contribute to teeth issues in the same way too many pellets do? He is a french lop so I always fed him extra veg and about an egg cup of pellets a day. He also gets a small handful of flaked peas every other day to keep weight on him as he looks underweight otherwise.

Also I never see any caecotrophs lying about but I do notice him eating them a couple of times a day- is that normal?

And finally, if I have caught this quickly enough is it likely if he gets these filed down now that he won't require regular dentals? How common are molar spurs with rabbits??

Grateful for all advice!

Dental problems can be due to congenital issues aswell as to diet. Flat faced Rabbits are more prone to Dental problems than are Rabbits who's facial structure more closely resembles that of a Wild Rabbit.

These links may be useful to read :

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Dental_diseases/Differential/Rabbit_dentistry.pdf

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Dental_diseases/Differential/D_problems1.htm

http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00dis/Miscellaneous/AcquiredIncisorAbnRabbits.htm

http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00dis/Miscellaneous/AcquiredMolarAbnRabbits.htm

http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00dis/Miscellaneous/CongenIncisorAbnRabbits.htm

This is a Blog that my Vet has been doing which addresses some Dental problems in Rabbits

http://www.twickenhamvets.com/rabbit-dental-problems-part-1-malocclusion-cheek-teeth/

http://www.twickenhamvets.com/rabbit-dental-problems-part-2-malocclusion-incisors/

http://www.twickenhamvets.com/rabbit-dental-problems-part-3-abscesses-fractures/

It is good that you never see any cecal poos left uneaten :thumb: A diet that is 80%-90% hay/grass is the best thing for both dental health and GI tract health. So the more hay/grass the Rabbit eats the better.
 
Hello

I believe Peter has dental spurs and I have him booked in for a dental tomorrow morning! He is only 19months old! :(

I am really upset if this is the case as I thought he had such a good diet! :( In hindsight I am beginning to think he had too many veg in his diet- can veg contribute to teeth issues in the same way too many pellets do? He is a french lop so I always fed him extra veg and about an egg cup of pellets a day. He also gets a small handful of flaked peas every other day to keep weight on him as he looks underweight otherwise.

Also I never see any caecotrophs lying about but I do notice him eating them a couple of times a day- is that normal?

And finally, if I have caught this quickly enough is it likely if he gets these filed down now that he won't require regular dentals? How common are molar spurs with rabbits??

Grateful for all advice!


Hi there Beebop :)

It's not uncommon for rabbits to have dental issues, especially such as lops who are bred to have a flattish face - appealing thought it is!

The main question to ask is how much hay does he eat? In this I would count fresh grass - which of course is the moisture-filled version of hay. Readigrass is also good for the teeth, and if you want to keep his weight up without giving the flaked peas, that might be an alternative.

It's quite possible that having caught his molar spurs at this stage, with a good diet you may evade the problem in future.

Tamsin - the admin of this site, has a very good website devoted to rabbit care:

http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/

Well worth a read!

Also, I recently began a thread which has proved helpful.

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?463961-Dental-Disease-a-Vet-s-Blog-)


My vet has started to do a blog and this thread is all about dental disease. She sees lots of rabbits as she is often called upon to be the vet associated with the rescue 'Animal Rescue and Care' (for which I have volunteered :))

Good luck for his dental tomorrow! xx
 
I've just had this through from the RWAF concerning the breeding of rabbits and their health issues:

Richard Saunders, head vet at RWAF, said,

“Breeds like the Netherland dwarf and the popular Lionhead breed have become more and more brachycephalic. In rabbits this is disastrous. Rabbits’ teeth grow continuously throughout their whole lives and must line up exactly to wear down evenly. The short face means the bottom jaw is longer than the top one, just the same as in bulldogs and pugs and the teeth do not line up. Teeth soon overgrow causing chronic pain, lacerated mouths, abscesses and in many cases death. The tear duct is also distorted (as it is in brachycephalic cats) and the rabbits often have tears and even pus overflowing onto their faces. Hand in hand with the short faces come the lop ears, rather than the wild, natural upright ears. These rabbits have a high level of middle ear infections and can’t communicate with other rabbits normally, leading to behavioural problems.

We would like to see an end to selection for "cute" faces and lop ears, and to preferentially breed rabbits with a more "wild type" face shape, which is associated with far fewer genetically induced diseases.”



I thought it was a coincidence that it should arrive in my Inbox just as you posted about Peter's dental :)
 
While it's true flat-faced rabbits are more prone, it doesn't mean rabbits with a more wild-type face shape don't have these problems! Lopsy has OK teeth for a lop but Aboleth's are awful according to our vet! All over the place! However, we've had no teeth problems (we've had Lopsy since August 2014, Aboleth July 2015): both are very good hay eaters unless there's grass to be had (they love grass), and they enjoy chewing lots of sticks. We don't feed veg (except peelings, offcuts of what we have) but we do forage. Hay and grass, as MightyMax and Jacks-Jane have said, are the best: I believe the blades of grass contain silicates which cause the wearing action, so it might not feel 'gritty' as such but it's doing a great job! Having something interesting to chew can't be bad either :thumb: Mine got some pinecones today!
 
While it's true flat-faced rabbits are more prone, it doesn't mean rabbits with a more wild-type face shape don't have these problems! Lopsy has OK teeth for a lop but Aboleth's are awful according to our vet! All over the place! However, we've had no teeth problems (we've had Lopsy since August 2014, Aboleth July 2015): both are very good hay eaters unless there's grass to be had (they love grass), and they enjoy chewing lots of sticks. We don't feed veg (except peelings, offcuts of what we have) but we do forage. Hay and grass, as MightyMax and Jacks-Jane have said, are the best: I believe the blades of grass contain silicates which cause the wearing action, so it might not feel 'gritty' as such but it's doing a great job! Having something interesting to chew can't be bad either :thumb: Mine got some pinecones today!


Yes, under a microscope a blade of grass looks very abrasive indeed!
 
Thanks for all the advice guys! You guys are stars!!! Thankfuy peter only had tiny molar spurs so i caught onto it quickly enough before any damage! His teeth other than that are in good shape so ive dramatically cut down his fresh foods much to Pete's dismay!

He seems to only want to eat readigrass now though, and is ignoring his lovely hay from hay for pets! Ive tried putting dried herbs and all through it but he seems to be hoking those out! Any other ideas to get him to eat hay? I'm worried if i hold off on readigrass he just wont eat!!! :(
 
I've no idea why he's ignoring his hay but I know if I gave doughnut the choice of fresh grass or hay she would pick the grass so could he be just going for his favourite it is also the freshest and most rabbits prefer fresh stuff. Have you got access to fresh grass.
You're doing all the right things to tempt him with the fresh herbs. Doughnut loves rose petals so I sometimes sprinkle them through her hay. If you have access to ones you know haven't been treated or dandelions are another favourite
 
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Thanks for all the advice guys! You guys are stars!!! Thankfuy peter only had tiny molar spurs so i caught onto it quickly enough before any damage! His teeth other than that are in good shape so ive dramatically cut down his fresh foods much to Pete's dismay!

He seems to only want to eat readigrass now though, and is ignoring his lovely hay from hay for pets! Ive tried putting dried herbs and all through it but he seems to be hoking those out! Any other ideas to get him to eat hay? I'm worried if i hold off on readigrass he just wont eat!!! :(


You're very welcome :wave:

Readigrass is absolutely fine for wearing down teeth :) I have had rabbits who will eat nothing else and have never had dental issues, so that's a bonus.

You could chop the hay and readigrass up together so he may take it alongside the readigrass?

How is he with fresh grass?
 
I mix the readigrass in with the hay. They do eat a little of the normal hay with the readigrass this way.

Sent from my GT-S7275R using Tapatalk
 
My Spenser likes the Timothy and Green oat versions of readigrass. I buy them from The Hay Experts online. He had his first dental last year, but the spurs are growing back. He's not a lop but his molars are misaligned so this causes the spurs in his case as his teeth don't wear down evenly.
 
Thanks for all the advice guys! You guys are stars!!! Thankfuy peter only had tiny molar spurs so i caught onto it quickly enough before any damage! His teeth other than that are in good shape so ive dramatically cut down his fresh foods much to Pete's dismay!

He seems to only want to eat readigrass now though, and is ignoring his lovely hay from hay for pets! Ive tried putting dried herbs and all through it but he seems to be hoking those out! Any other ideas to get him to eat hay? I'm worried if i hold off on readigrass he just wont eat!!! :(


Does he not want to eat fresh grass? Could you mix fresh grass in with his hay?

http://www.therabbithouse.com/blog/2011/10/07/grass-hay-tooth-wear/
 
Thanks for all the advice guys! You guys are stars!!! Thankfuy peter only had tiny molar spurs so i caught onto it quickly enough before any damage! His teeth other than that are in good shape so ive dramatically cut down his fresh foods much to Pete's dismay!

He seems to only want to eat readigrass now though, and is ignoring his lovely hay from hay for pets! Ive tried putting dried herbs and all through it but he seems to be hoking those out! Any other ideas to get him to eat hay? I'm worried if i hold off on readigrass he just wont eat!!! :(
Mine hate the hay for pets hay - it always smells slightly musky.
Could you try some different hay from different shops? B&M do a hay that most buns seem to like :)

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Guys i dont know what im doing wrong! I feel like such a bad bunny mum! Peter is acting off this morning again! I think he has gas now so im going to have to take him down to the vet again! He had gas back in september!

He got a lot of fresh grass last night, but no more than usual! He ate some pellets this morning but then hopped away! Hes very quiet!

I keep messing up with him! Ive nvr had so much trouble with a rabbit! :(
 
It might not be anything you're doing wrong, I thought I was doing something wrong but it turns out my bun is just very unlucky :( he prolapsed almost 2 weeks ago and he's been taken back in today with bad stasis
The vet said there was no other way I could have helped him at home
 
Guys i dont know what im doing wrong! I feel like such a bad bunny mum! Peter is acting off this morning again! I think he has gas now so im going to have to take him down to the vet again! He had gas back in september!

He got a lot of fresh grass last night, but no more than usual! He ate some pellets this morning but then hopped away! Hes very quiet!

I keep messing up with him! Ive nvr had so much trouble with a rabbit! :(


You know, I doubt it's anything at all that you're doing!

Ask the vet if this time they can determine a cause for the issue. Dental problems?
 
He had a bit of tummy bother, vet said it shudnt be his teeth as the spurs last time were only minor and that was only about 6weeks ago. So hes had some meds to get him back on track.

I think maybe the richness of the grass caused it, he did get a lot which hes bn fine with in the last 2weeks but maybe he ate some leftovers this morning which had wilted a bit??? Could that cause gas??
 
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