Does Maple need a dental?

Since Toby has gone she has only been drinking a little from her bowl (she usually drinks half a bowl which I thought was excessive over night)

She's eating everything lots of poops.

Also if she does need a dental I don't want to do that trip to anton. Especially if she doesn't need one. Do you think it's a good idea to take her to a local vet that's five minutes away to see if they can see any spurs? Worried why she's drinking less. I gave her some metacam and then she took four syringes of water (willingly) just so I can go to work today knowing she has had some fluids. I'll be back to check on her with some fresh noms.

Thoughts? Am I over thinking?

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All my animals have been drinking significantly less at the moment as it is a lot cooler than it was.


If Maple is eating food of all consistencies as usual I personally wouldn't take her to the vet and stress her out but others may disagree with me. I know what you mean about the long trip to Anton. It is difficult to balance the anxiety caused by a long journey with the expertise of John. Is Maple a dental bun? I was fortunate with mine as she would let the vet feel inside her mouth right to the back so she could check for spurs but she got used to it as she needed regular dentals. I know with some buns the only way the vet can check all the teeth is if the bun is under sedation.

loobers25 said:

Since Toby has gone she has only been drinking a little from her bowl (she usually drinks half a bowl which I thought was excessive over night)

She's eating everything lots of poops.

Also if she does need a dental I don't want to do that trip to anton. Especially if she doesn't need one. Do you think it's a good idea to take her to a local vet that's five minutes away to see if they can see any spurs? Worried why she's drinking less. I gave her some metacam and then she took four syringes of water (willingly) just so I can go to work today knowing she has had some fluids. I'll be back to check on her with some fresh noms.

Thoughts? Am I over thinking?

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I haven't had a dental rabbit for a long time, so am not used to seeing the clues, but I'm not sure that drinking less would be an indication of a sore mouth if she is still eating lots. I think you need to observe her for a bit longer and see how she is.

Personally, I'm not a fan of using different vets, but can understand why you don't want to drive to Anton. It depends I suppose how much confidence you have in your local vet. Dental issues are not always easy to spot on examination.

C'mon Maple don't start causing concern, you've got to be feeling OK for Dennis this weekend!

I found two small poops strung together this morning?

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Rhianna said:

All my animals have been drinking significantly less at the moment as it is a lot cooler than it was.


If Maple is eating food of all consistencies as usual I personally wouldn't take her to the vet and stress her out but others may disagree with me. I know what you mean about the long trip to Anton. It is difficult to balance the anxiety caused by a long journey with the expertise of John. Is Maple a dental bun? I was fortunate with mine as she would let the vet feel inside her mouth right to the back so she could check for spurs but she got used to it as she needed regular dentals. I know with some buns the only way the vet can check all the teeth is if the bun is under sedation.

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No maples never had a dental xx

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loobers25 said:

I found two small poops strung together this morning?

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Is she moulting?

It's weird because overnight her bowl had only gone down a cm. Usually she drinks half a bowl. That trip to anton has traumatised me

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Omi said:

Is she moulting?

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Yeah she's having a moult, has been to a while. I'm worried she's stressed because Tobys not be there anymore. She's acting stampy and skittish

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Omi said:

Is she moulting?

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Yeah she's having a moult, has been to a while. I'm worried she's stressed because Tobys not be there anymore. She's acting stampy and skittish

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I would try a bit of distraction and move her things around a bit.

I am not sure if they were bonded, so please forgive me!

I think she is missing Toby, as she would right now. Luna became very subdued and stampy, skittish, not willing to do much. her case she also lost her "eyes" - but many buns seem to be this way after losing their best friend.

its really hard to say as a lot of the signs of a dental needed, is also associated with a bunny who is grieving the loss of their friend.

usually dental signs include lack of eating hard foods, pickiness with food, refusing all food, drooling, eating or drinking less, weight loss & so fourth. but the most common sign is refusing to eat. if she is eating food with no issues, and her appetite is as normal as it can be right now, I don't think it would be a dental. she just may be feeling very depressed and down. a bit like humans when we're down.

I wouldn't suggest using a local vet if they are not rabbit savvy. they may not know what to look out for, they may even misjudge the teeth and say she needs a dental when she doesn't. I've heard a story of somebody not having a rabbit savvy vet, the rabbit had dentals every 8 weeks, she went to a different vet for advice due to the sheer amount of money, to discover that he didn't need dentals at all, his teeth were perfectly fine. there are too many risks, if they don't know what they're doing they may say she is fine (when she isn't) or she isn't fine (when she is).

I'm not sure if she was bonded with Toby, but of course two of them would be drinking from the same bowl, so it would go down quicker.

if you can, try and take a cm of water out of the bowl and see how many ML (roughly) that adds up too. it may not be easy but it will give you am idea. rabbits don't need too much to drink, it works out roughly 50-100ml per KG of body weight.

you can also check if she is dehydrated, pinch the skin, if it goes straight back down fairly quickly, all is normal. if it takes a while to go down, or a hump stays for quite some time, its a sign of possible dehydration. I'm not sure if it works with rabbits, but you could also check her gums, if they are white/extremely pale, that could be a sign of dehydration.

I do think that given she isn't showing any other "signs" of a dental, its just her being a bit upset.

as for the stringy poop, its often caused by bunnies moulting. the fur clumps the poops together. if you can, try brushing her a bit more so she isn't ingesting so much of it. its not too much of a cause for concern, unless her stomach fills up with fur causing a blockage, but you'd know that instantly.

loobers25 said:

Since Toby has gone she has only been drinking a little from her bowl (she usually drinks half a bowl which I thought was excessive over night)

She's eating everything lots of poops.

Also if she does need a dental I don't want to do that trip to anton. Especially if she doesn't need one. Do you think it's a good idea to take her to a local vet that's five minutes away to see if they can see any spurs? Worried why she's drinking less. I gave her some metacam and then she took four syringes of water (willingly) just so I can go to work today knowing she has had some fluids. I'll be back to check on her with some fresh noms.

Thoughts? Am I over thinking?

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Poor Maple

Personally wouldn't use a local vet if not savvy, I understand exactly not wanting to go back to antons rn though had a similar thing after losing Fleur

She could be sensing and noticing he is not there, I know they shared a room but were separated.

If she's eating and pooping I wouldn't worry too much. Could you add something sweet to her water to help her want to drink more?

I've had one offs where I've woken up in the morning and I'm like 'have you guys actually drank anything?!' changed the water as normal come back later and loads has gone [emoji38]

Hope she's okay, but obviously if you think something is wrong I'd get her to your vet xxx

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Grace reminded me, as i wanted to say you could put some squash or juice in the water. not too much, but just enough to have some taste. it encouraged mine to drink when they had a slump


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Gosh guys I am major stressed out I really can't do this anymore. The small poops would indicate her gut slowly though surely? I want to bond her and Dennis tomorrow.

Toby and Maple weren't bonded as such but used to sleep side by side in their enclosures.

Thankfully she is eating a lot. She was munching hay when I left. Weird though she took lots of water from the syringe. I phoned anton and asked for advice and they said I could take her local to check for spurs then book in for dental at anton.

My worry is travelling down there and they saying no bad spurs keep and eye them maples done thar big journey and she stops eating after travelling.

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To me it doesn't sound dental. Boo stops drinking when she needs a dental but it wasn't a symptom seen before by my vet - I think typically they drink more. I'd just keep a close eye on her if it was me. If her appetite & poos are fine I'm inclined to think she is missing Toby or can sense how everyone is feeling xx

It doesn’t sound as though she needs a dental to me, either. I would just keep a close eye on her. I probably wouldn’t attempt bonding just yet though, if there is even a niggle of doubt that she isn’t 100% xx

the small poops can also signify stress I believe. Luna being blind finds her cage being cleaned out incredibly stressful for her, so always after her poops go tiny for a couple of hours. it wouldn't make sense for her every time her cage is cleaned out for her gut to slow down. it could also be because of ingesting more fur due to moulting.

I feel bad, but she needs to be cleaned, so I try to make it as stress free as I can, but even so I can't make it totally stress free. I don't think her gut is slowing down or that she needs a dental, she likely can sense how you are feeling, she misses Toby not being there. rabbits are very very good at picking up on emotions, Luna always knew when I was on the verge of a breakdown and would start licking me, or when I was having a panic attack she'd jump up on me and allow me to cry into her....she knew, I am sure of it. if she was in her pen, she'd shake it violently as she wanted to be with me.

hugs xx

loobers25 said:

Since Toby has gone she has only been drinking a little from her bowl (she usually drinks half a bowl which I thought was excessive over night)

She's eating everything lots of poops.

Also if she does need a dental I don't want to do that trip to anton. Especially if she doesn't need one. Do you think it's a good idea to take her to a local vet that's five minutes away to see if they can see any spurs? Worried why she's drinking less. I gave her some metacam and then she took four syringes of water (willingly) just so I can go to work today knowing she has had some fluids. I'll be back to check on her with some fresh noms.

Thoughts? Am I over thinking?

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I'm late to the party here and you've probably already gone to work.
If you're worried about incipient stasis I would give a couple of doses of Infacol as it does no harm.

Has she been having more green food of late? (ie more moisture)

Why would you think dental if she's eating everything? A dental rabbit would most likely drink *more* to ease the pain.
They might also drool.

You know where I am if I can help at all xx

I wanted to add also, your mind may well be in overdrive.
If you've any rescue remedy I would take it x hugs x

loobers25 said:

Gosh guys I am major stressed out I really can't do this anymore. The small poops would indicate her gut slowly though surely? I want to bond her and Dennis tomorrow.

Toby and Maple weren't bonded as such but used to sleep side by side in their enclosures.

Thankfully she is eating a lot. She was munching hay when I left. Weird though she took lots of water from the syringe. I phoned anton and asked for advice and they said I could take her local to check for spurs then book in for dental at anton.

My worry is travelling down there and they saying no bad spurs keep and eye them maples done thar big journey and she stops eating after travelling.

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Small poops could be because she's moulting maybe?

Clementine has had smaller strung together poops as she's having a mad moult rn. But is eating lots and still passing them. I'm wondering if the moulting is causing her a bit of a problem?

Pineapple added to water? Isn't there an idea something in pineapple an enzyme maybe? Helps break down the ingested fur? I think Papaya too..? Sorry if this is wrong x

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