Bunny grinds teeth

[Victoria]

Hi

My rabbit Red is 2.5 years old dwarf mix not neutered male. I noticed that lately he grinds his teeth when we are patting him. I dont hear him do it while we are not patting him, he specifically comes to me or my fiance to be patted on the head and grinds his teeth loudly when we do it. He eats normal and is his usual self otherwise. During hot months here he lost a lot of weight but it is coming back now. Recenly he lost his brother Black due to choking on dry pellet food and we stopped giving Red pellets as well because he once about 3 months ago nearly died from the same thing chokin on those pellets.

 

[Pipp]

Awww... The soft grinding/chattering is a bunny 'tooth purr'. That's the sign of a happy bunny. (They do love their pets).

If you hear a loud almost clicking noise when you're NOT petting him, that's a sign that he's in pain.

But Red is content.

Do you think he misses Black? We they living close to each other? He may be appreciating the human contact more now that he's alone.

How is his health these days?


sas :clover:

 

[Victoria]

Hi . HIs health seems ok, but we are scared of giving him any more of those pellets. I am going to get him a salt lick soon to add minerals and salts that are in the pellets I was told. He eats hay, greens, some carrots and fruit, some sultanas rarely etc.
He most probably does not miss Black because he also was not neutered and tried to kill Red few times. I think he might think it is good that Black is gone! (cant be said about us though). before Black died may be two months before he was not biting Red through the cage and I saw Black lie next to the Red's cage without being aggressive. May be he misses him a bit?... he looked concerned when Black died and the day after (probably the smell or picking up our mood). Now he looks just fine. They used to just see each other every day but did not have contact.

 

[Pipp]

Rabbits are very social, even when they're trying to kill each other. I'm sure Red does miss Black.

I find it really odd that both your rabbits had similar problems, so best to ditch whatever pellets you were feeding them, but I'm not sure about ditching them altogether. I don't think a salt lick will replace all the Vitamins in pellets. Indoor bunnies need to make up for the lack of sunlight. Maybe some other Australians can jump in and suggest different brands. You only need a tablespoon full daily, but I think a few might be better than none. How is his weight?

A large variety of hay and veggies will help -- the more different types, the better.

Give him a pat on the head for me!


sas et:

 

[Victoria]

The weight is not too bad but at times he gotten a bit thin. Black choked on just a few pellets, so I am afraid to give any more. Red also had a near fatal episode of choking few months ago. The pellets are just normal pellets, it said on the packet that they are approved by RSPCA here, sold in supermarket. Similar pellets are sold in pet shops.

 

[Victoria]

PS My fiance just gve him a pat from all of us. Mine will have to wait until I come back from my studies tonight . I think he may be is missing Black he is more clingy now wants more pats than usual.

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

Victoria wrote:

Hi

My rabbit Red is 2.5 years old dwarf mix not neutered male. I noticed that lately he grinds his teeth when we are patting him. I dont hear him do it while we are not patting him, he specifically comes to me or my fiance to be patted on the head and grinds his teeth loudly when we do it. He eats normal and is his usual self otherwise. During hot months here he lost a lot of weight but it is coming back now. Recenly he lost his brother Black due to choking on dry pellet food and we stopped giving Red pellets as well because he once about 3 months ago nearly died from the same thing chokin on those pellets.

i have two rex,s left out of a liter of 5,w/mom=6,,names are/were red,gray,hapy,hopy,and D.//.red passed last dec.09,hapy and gray are the survivors,,easter babies will be 6 years in april-2010,..sorry to hear you lost /black,,but i had to coment on the naming/most unique,/,,you still have a red--you can use mirrors-so he won,t be so lonely..,and i wanted to comment on the pellet/choking suffocating::.the mouth/teeth/throat might require an exam,with a supply of water-in a bowl,anda small amount of quality,lowfat pellets daily are needed for nutrition,vitamins./.blacks passing--prey animals hide problems very well--the causes are generally not sudden illness,..tis an excellent time for review and and exam of red/health/situation...sincerely james waller:wave::rose:

 

[tonyshuman]

I worry that there may be something causing his throat to swell leading to the choking issue. I have heard of bunnies getting infections in the throat, particularly abscesses (that you can't see because they're inside the throat) and that leading to swallowing/breathing problems. It may be worthwhile to have a vet look down the throat to make sure his airway is clear and normal.

In addition, I know you are in summer there, but is low humidity a factor? Here we are in winter and I have to have the humidifier running nonstop so that we don't get inflamed airways--similar things could happen to bunnies that have dry throats. Our bunnies usually get dry eyes first if the humidity is low, but dry throats could also occur, and that might cause swelling.

 

[Victoria]

Yes I am thinking the same thing. Black went to the vet several months before his death. The vet took blood and looked at him but did not see any abcsesses at the time. But I didnot see the vet look inside his throat. Then he started to make more gurgling noises when he was drinking. the vet did not like the fact that he was very thin and there were not enough red blood cells made by his bone marrow - vet said it was being suppressed by something but he could not tell what it was - he said many things like cancer, infections, poisoning with lead etc etc. He asked us to admit him to vet hospital which we could not afford at the time as I had a lot of medical problems and was in an out of hospital plus med bills etc.
So during that time the vet also told us by phone that it looks like he has an infection in his throat.
I think if we got him to vet on time may be they would have fixed but we could not do it. ALso abcesses are not that easy to fix in a rabbit I read.
I dont want to have more rabbits for a while because of this. The vets cost more than human doctors they are not covered by anything like medicare.

 

[Pipp]

I have to assume this vet did look in his mouth, teeth problems are probably the number one rabbit health issue. I don't think they'd cause anemia though, even with infected tooth roots, but I don't know how that stuff works.

I'm still concerned that there were two bunnies choking. It is a rare ailment. I'd take a close look at their environment -- how you had them housed, what they may have been eating, breathing, licking, etc. Maybe it was lead poisoning or come cancer-causing agent or something like it.

But do make sure Red's teeth are good. He shouldn't have any lumps around his jaw, a wet chin, odd mouth movements (aside from the happy-bunny-tooth purrs when you're petting him), pick up food and drop it again or change his eating habits in any way.


sas :clover:

 

[Victoria]

Yeah my fiance Robert just told me that the vet did look into his mouth (saw nothing wrong) and also somehow they ruled out lead because there is nothing that is lead in here (eg their cage etc). They eat fresh stuff and they go for walks around the place often, they had two large cages each to themselves. I wonder if it was throat abcsess would they have seen it? Because we did not. The vet said it was slight throat infection. Just before he died Rob put his fingers into his throat to try to remove anything but there was nothing only very small like half of the normal size throat opening. It idd not look swollen or hot. The vet also said that there is no need for him to be admitted after some thought and that he is fine, that the admission was only bfore he spoke to the vet who examined him.

 

[Victoria]

Blacks teeth were checked and they were we are told perfect. No wet chin etc in both rabbits.

 

[tonyshuman]

It might be good to treat with an antibiotic on the assumption that there is an infection. Penicillin G is available very cheaply here in the US, from farm supply stores. All you would need is Penicillin G procaine/benzathine, a lactated Ringer's solution (to dilute it), and several needles/syringes. Total cost here in the states: less than $30. This might be something to look into, or at least ask around about. To get the lactated Ringer's solution you probably have to go through a vet.