teeth problems in rabbits

Hi all,

I wondered if anyone has had any experience with chronic tooth problems in rabbits.

I recently had to let one of mine go after 7 operations, countless abscesses in the jaw etc.

i wondered now if there was anything more i couldve done for him.

His molars were slightly malaligned and this caused the spurs on his back teeth to continue growing which ended up with eye problems and abscesses etc, although the vet tried his best to remove the root, this apparently very difficult in buns as the root is so deep and their mouth so small.

Has any one ever had this, and what was done?

Thank you

hi,
touch wood i have been very lucky and only ever had one rabbit with teeth probs and after one op she has been fine ever since.
Now for work experience i went to a big vets by me and have alot of rabbits going in and all have more or less the same problems abcess with was usually caused by teeth or just teeth probs, and what the vets said to me was the majority were house rabbits and that the people werent giving them any thing to chew on cause in a hutch or run the can chew the wood to there hearts content also alot of people dont understand how much hay is important to a rabbit and one reason being the keeps ths teeth in good shape like grazing on grass.
now im not saying this is true with all house rabbits cause there r alot of people on here with them and they look in tip top condition this is just what they have found out by the rabbits that have come in the there vets.
becky

I had a similar problem with a previous rabbit of mine - Jasper. If they have it bad then there doesn't seem to be any cure its just a case of managing it. Making sure they wear there teeth as much as possible with a good diet and being very vigelent so you get them burred before they cut into the tounge. If its just the front teeth often they can successfully be removed and the rabbit goes on to live a normal life.

If the teeth problems have developed because of a bad diet then I image some treatment and a good diet goes a long way to improving it but problems where the teeth just don't line up there isn't much you can do about.

Jasper had several teeth removed, but finally died age six when he got a root abcess that went up behind his eye.

There are some links to info here: http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/rabrefs.html#teeth

Tam

Hi Donna

I went through a similar thing with a Dwarf Lop i had years ago.
She had quite a few dentals to clip down the spurs then her eye started running. Had the affected tooth removed but the infection had already set in . She had to be put to sleep as she developed pasturella and was very poorly
I think after 7 operations then there was not much else that could have been done for your bun.
What breed was the bunny?
Sarah

I have got a British Giant with dental problems. According to my dental specialist vet, it is very unusual for this breed to have problems. Apollo has uneven jaws at the back and therefore his teeth need burring down every three months or so. I monitor his weight every week. That way I know when to bring him in (when he starts to loose weight) before it gets so bad that he stops eating, hopefully preventing any more serious problems for him.

re tooth problems in buns

Hi there,

Just had a look at that site, and its really fantastic info on it. put it in my favourites now, thanks so much for the link.

It wont help poor dougal who was the most gorgeous tricolour lionhead, but if i can pass any info on to anyone regarding bunny teeth, it may help others, to save them from going through the absolute torture i felt when my vet said no more.

I guess i probably added to his suffereing by trying to find a cure for him, I probably shouldve called it a day much sooner, but i just felt it extreme to put a lively otherwise healthy bun down for toothache. not sure how to add a pic of dougal here when i see lots of gorgeous buns at the bottom of posts, but shall put it more pics of some of our permanent residents on the site for pics, gosh cant remember what its called now lol.

Dougal came from a much loved home, possibly genetic? (lionheads i am not aware they have tooth problems like the dwarf breeds), or possibly incorrect feeding as a baby bun. He was only 18months old, and i was devastated, the previous owners vet had already called it, so they thought giving him to me may well have helped him, sadly this wasnt the case, my vet telephoned their vet, and tried twice to remove the roots that were causing his problems unsuccessfully, he developed abscesses and his eyes constantly ran, he was sedated regularly to burr his teeth and my vet removed 5 teeth, the last time his heart stopped, and he says no more, he was such a gorgeous personable wee guy who loved nothing more than sitting on your knee being groomed, he loved to play footie with a plant pot as well, i do miss him, as does his companion paddy.

If rabbit owners in the know can pass on info regarding teeth perhaps we may find a drop in the number of poor buns who have to suffer so needlessly.

Donna, I have a bit on my website about dental problems www.bunnyhugger.co.uk I don't know if there's anything on it you don't already know about.

Feel free to contact me with any questions.

My little girl bunny has had teeth problems all of her life - got much much better when I sorted out her diet, 4 years ago I was told she'd lose either her teeth or an eye, she still has everything! (just about, have recently start different problems with sneezing, so may be losing her front teeth).

My advice is to sort the bunnies diet out - both of my bunnies now only eat timothy grass and supa rabbit pellets - Ferns teeth has shown a drastic improvement, as has Charlie bottom!

When I say timothy grass I mean the pure 100% timothy grass, not timothy hay (which is mostly meadow hay with a handful of timothy grass). Timothy grass has silicon beads in it which wears down the bunnies teeth.

As you probably all know bunnies shouldn't be fed that mix stuff you get form the pet shop as they will selectively feed, pellet food is best, and supa rabbit has been shown to reduce dental problems. However, I only give mine a third of the amount they recommend - to encourage them to eat more hay.

I have recently had to take Fern to a new specialist exotic vets on the recommendation of my normal vet (v excellent vet for anyone in South London - John Hankinson, in New Cross) as she is sneezing and nothing seems to be working. The specialist vet (Chris Hall in East Sheen) has done cultures and we're trying specific antibiotics without much success so she'll probably have to have her front teeth removed. He has suggested that bunnies should only be given timothy hay and water - I can't quite bring myself to do that - yet!

If anyone has problems getting timothy hay drop me a message, I now a few websites and some vets who will order it for you too.

Hope this helps.

Bev

Chris Hall in East Sheen

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Oh, I know Chris Hall. He used to be my bird vet when I lived in Southwest London and he also neutered my chinchilla!

There is another dental vet you may want to try. He is fab, specialises in dental problems only, and has sorted out a friend's bunny's teeth and is also looking after my Apollo's wonky teeth, might be worth a try:
Cedric Tutt http://www.weyreferrals.co.uk/staff_profiles/cedric_tutt.php.
He is not in the country very often, next time in April I think, but he is fab! He is in Sevenoaks and Woking. He says that 80% should be hay and grass, ideally wet grass as that is more abrasive!

Vera