Hello, I'm Ant and I'm a bad rabbit father :-(

[Ant]

Well this is my rabbit sunny. I got him this year for my gf, but he lives with me and he's my baby boy.

I had a block and a log made from alfalfa and honey to chew on, but the last couple of months he hasn't had anything to chew on. My uncle and his family needed to move in for a bit and they brought 2 fat cats and a dog. So poor sunny can't get out much till they move out.ssd:

Anyways I noticed his teeth have grown really long. I bought him some chew toys and a new log 2 weeks ago but I don't think hes chewed on them at all. The good thing is that hes eating, but when he eats he has to tilt his head back to eat. I feel so bad I'm in tears over it but I can't afford to take him to the vet till the 30th.

Is there anything I can do? I feel terrible.

 

[Ant]

If a moderator can delete my last pic that would be great.

 

[Bville]

If you can find some fresh willow tree or apple tree twigs (that haven't had pesticides on them) around your neighborhood, my rabbits LOVE chewing on those.

 

[Ant]

I have a bunch from my LPS. I don't think hes chewing because I let them get to bad. I hate to classify myself as a pet owner that doesn't know how to take care of his pets, but I think I might have been. I'm glad I found this website.

 

[ladysown]

does your rabbit have a malocclusion?

if so, CAREFULLY take some wire cutters and cut them back. Be gentle and careful. And if you can't do it, find someone who can. Ask around at pet stores, rabbit rescues and the like. Someone should be able to help you get it done.

No amount of "chewables" is going to prevent him from having bad teeth if it is a malocclusion. That's either a genetic thing OR from pulling on the cage wires.

If you don't cut them back he'll slowly starve to death.

 

[Ant]

There is no way i can do it. He would pull on his cage wires ALL the time. He is still eating A LOT. I put a full bowl of feed in last night and hes near eaten it all. Also in the first pic he was eating his poo. Do you think he will make it to the 30th? I work every day till then. I MIGHT be able to take him this Monday but I will have to borrow funds if so.

How come I can edit this post and not the other? O well.

 

[JBun]

I know that some people will cut their own rabbits teeth with cutters, however I wouldn't suggest it as being the best option. Cutting their teeth with wire cutters can possibly cause fractures in the teeth, that can then leave it open to infection. The best way to have overgrown incisors trimmed is by a rabbit vet that burrs them down. This helps eliminate the possibility of fractures. But your rabbit would most likely have to get a GA to have it done.

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/dental.html
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Dental_diseases/Treatment/Clipping.htm

Since you can't get him into the vet til the 30th, you will just need to keep a really close eye on him to make sure he can still eat his food ok. If you have to you can also syringe feed, either his soaked pellets, or pick up Oxbow critical care food mix from your vet, so that you will have something on hand to be able to syringe feed him if needed. Also keep an eye on his water consumption to make sure he is still drinking enough.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iGZVYVm5Bg[/ame]
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f28/finding-vet-13366/
http://rabbit.org/vet-listings/

Sugary chew blocks aren't the best thing for rabbits. If you want to encourage chewing to help keep his incisors worn down in the future, I would suggest apple branches that are larger than 1/8", so that he will have to use his front teeth to strip the bark off. That will help keep them worn down. You can also try 1x2's from somewhere like Home Depot. You just want to make sure they are thoroughly dried out. That, along with your vet trimming them when needed, will help keep your bun healthy.

 

[Ant]

Thank you so much Jbun for the good advice! I didn't even think of his chew log being bad, but I know that almost a little sugar can be too much for them. I have to constantly stop my gma from giving him ANY fruit.

I'm just going to have to take him in Monday, its cruel to wait till the 30th. It's bad enough I let him get so bad, but I didn't know better. But not knowing isn't an excuse. Thanks again!

 

[JBun]

Posts can be edited for 5 minutes after submitting them.

If your rabbit has the tendency to pull and chew on his cage bars, that isn't going to be good for those teeth. I would suggest getting some sort of wire mesh, like 1/2" hardware cloth, to prevent him from doing it. Just be careful with the edges as they are sharp after you cut them. You either need to make sure they go into a corner where the edge can't scratch your rabbit, or fold the top half inch under, so it will be facing away from your rabbit. Then you can just ziptie the mesh to the sides of the cage.

Another thing you can use for chewing, that would wear the incisors, is plain timothy hay cubes. I wouldn't suggest the alfalfa if your bun is over 6 months, as mature rabbits don't need the extra protein and calcium that is in alfalfa. You can sometimes get large 50 lb bags of them from a livestock feed store for a good price. Or you can pay a lot more for a small bag at a pet store.

ETA: I'm glad your taking him in. Better to do it sooner, than have him stop eating and risk possible GI stasis. Good luck at the vets

 

[Ant]

Ty, I'll keep an update. He has the cubes too, I keep all types of food on habd for him, but didn't realize the cubes helped. Once my uncle moves back out he will have his own room again.

Maybe I'll get him a companion to make it up to him.

 

[pani]

I'm glad to hear you're getting him into the vet's to have his teeth checked out.

I've got a mineral stone for Felix - it's shaped like a banana, and (allegedly!) tastes like one too. The ingredients list didn't show any sugar added, just vitamins/minerals/kitchen sink/etc, so I assume it should be good... although Felix just about straight-up ignores it. Might be worth looking into something similar for Sunny?

 

[Ant]

Thanks pani, but I bought a cube stone for sunny and he ignored it too.

 

[Azerane]

Yep, mineral blocks aren't much use for rabbits anyway, and I've never seen a rabbit use one. The simply don't need them.

Is your bunny eating lots of hay, most of Bandit's diet is hay so he's constantly wearing those teeth down. However as JBun said, if the teeth are misaligned they won't be getting worn down properly anyway. But see what the vet says, hopefully it's not too serious and you don't have to get the teeth trimmed too often. Best of luck.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Ours eat a ton of orchard grass so we haven't had any dental issue, except for Molly and she's over 15 now and doesn't eat or chew nearly as much as our younger bunnies.

 

[Imbrium]

There is no way i can do it. He would pull on his cage wires ALL the time. He is still eating A LOT. I put a full bowl of feed in last night and hes near eaten it all. Also in the first pic he was eating his poo. Do you think he will make it to the 30th? I work every day till then. I MIGHT be able to take him this Monday but I will have to borrow funds if so.

Many vets will allow you to do a payment plan or to delay payment for a short period as long as you ask about it/make arrangements *before* your visit. Failing that, you could look into CareCredit (pretty much a variation on credit cards, though not all vets accept it so you'd want to check first; they have some financing offers for purchases over $200 that can potentially give you 6 months or more to pay without being charged interest).

Another thing worth looking into is Pet Assure... it looks like a really great program but has one *massive* catch - very few vets accept it. Houston is the 4th biggest city in the US and only 22 vets here give the Pet Assure discount out of 219 listed vets (so 10% of the vets accept it). San Antonio is the 7th largest city and only has 5 vets who accept Pet Assure out of 148 (3.4%). In both cities, some of the vets who accept it only treat cats/dogs. Neither my Houston vet nor my SA vet accept the plan .

Basically, with Pet Assure you get 25% off of every vet bill if your vet accepts the plan. It's definitely a better deal for multi-pet households (it's $79/year for one cat or small animal; I have 8 pets (cats and small animals) and it would cost $229/year for all of them (so about $29/year per pet))... but with just one pet, it still only takes $316 worth of vet bills per year to break even.

There is one huge perk to balance out that catch, though - only one pet insurance company in the US accepts bunnies/exotics (VPI, who uses a benefit schedule (which is something to avoid!)), and NO pet insurance company covers "pre-existing conditions". Because Pet Assure is a discount program rather than insurance, it DOES cover pre-existing conditions.

Rabbits rarely need tooth trims simply due to not chewing (in other words, it's generally not a one-time/fixable issue) - usually a rabbit with tooth problems that require trimming will continue to need their teeth trimmed throughout their life. If you find out that your rabbit will need regular tooth trims, then it's definitely worth looking into Pet Assure - you'd most likely save money by getting Pet Assure even if you *only* went to a vet that accepts it for dental issues and used your regular vet (assuming they don't accept it) for everything else.

 

[Michelledickerhoff]

My bunny ignores the mineral block I got him too, does anyone know about the salt wheels? Do bunnies need them? And if so why?

 

[Ant]

Great news! Sunny is back and his old happy self again! It only cost 12 $ to snip his teeth, and they didn't charge me to clip his nails! There was a 1 timepphysical check up charge, but the whole process was only 59 $!

I was appalled to see how long the tooth was when they cut it but he hadnt hurt himself which is great. Heres Sunny eating his hay salad with a couple dried cranberries as a special treat!:

 

[Imbrium]

Wow, $12?? Most vets charge more than that to trim nails (and $47 is very low as exotic vet exam fees go)! Since you seem to be satisfied with their expertise, that vet is definitely a keeper .

If you don't mind, could you go to http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f21/ (our database of rabbit-savvy vets) and post the vet's info in the appropriate thread along with a mention of the great exam and tooth trim rates?

 

[Rabbit Lover02]

@michelledickerhoff. The salt wheels are VERY good for your rabbit, and is also a tasty treat. But I wouldn't say he NEEDS it, but the rabbit definantly would like it. My bun, Digby, ignored his salt wheel too, but I'm gonna keep trying.

My bun has never had any dental problems because there is always hay, straw (for bedding), willow/apple sticks in his pen. And I give him a neat little treat that looks like them Pillsbury Crescent Rolls, but there very crunchy and tasty (I'm assuming so, he gobbles them up)

Also, even though the person who started this thread has had their problem resolved, keep this thread on here Mods!, if a certain someone reads this thread, they can find some easy, in-expensive ways to keep there bun from Malloclusion.

 

[Michelledickerhoff]

Have yu tried giving your bunny the yogurt drops they sell at pet stores/walmart? I call them yogies, my buns absolutely loves them! He usually gets one a day sometimes every other day.