Not chewing

[Blackiesmum]

Blackie doesn't seem to chew. I have tried wood.chew toys from the pet store and fresh apple branchs. I am worriedabout his teeth growing to long. Can chewing hay and pelletsbe enough to keep his teeth worn down?

Thank you

Mary

 

[dreamgal042]

I dun know what to tell ya. Wish I could help. Ihad 2 rats a few months ago that both died, most likely because theywerent chewing their wood, therefore not able to eat cuz of theirteeth, and died of starvation. I hope this doesnt happen to your bun.Try different kinds of wood...different flavers and stuff. i have about3 different kinds in my closet...corn for bunny, carrot for hamsters,and plain for guinea pig.

 

[Emmits_mom]

if your bunny isn't grinding his little teethdown enough from chewing on wood, your vet can help out.He/she can clip the teeth i believe...i know my neighbor had to do thiswith a hamster.

Also, to get your bun to chew on things more (that he should be chewingon), you might try to soak some of your bun's toys in organic applejuice. It needs to bed the kind that says organic, no extrasugar added...just basically apple juice that the farmers didn't addpestisides to. You can find this in most grocerystores. I found it in Giant and in Wegmans if you have any ofthose near you. Let a wood toy soak in the juice over night,dry completely, then give it back to the bunny. I bet he'lllove chewing on his new apple-flavored treat for sure! We didthe same for Emmit, mostly to keep him quiet at night, and he'll munchon his toys until the apple taste is gone (which thankfully takes awhile).

Hope this helps!

-Carrie

 

[dajeti2]

Unless I am mistaken pellets and hay are usually enough to keep bunn's teeth down.

You can also try toilet paper or paper towel tubes. You can stuffthem with hay as a chew treat. Newspaper and old telephone books worktoo.

Something I do for Apollo is I make popsicle stick treats. I add onepacket unsweetened koolaid to a bowl of water. Put a handful ofuntreated craft sticks and let them soak 2-3 days. You use whateverflavor your bunn likes.

I'm sure the others will have more ideas for you.

Tina

 

[pamnock]

A rabbit's teeth, if properlyaligned,will wear down adequately on a regular diet ofpellets. Hay will also help normal wear.

Teeth should be checked weekly to be sure they are not broken, missing, overgrownor out of alignment.

Bunny Fun Fact: Did you know that a rabbit's teeth can grow 1/2 inch or more per month?



Pam

 

[BunnyMommy]

Carrie and Tina, good GRAVY ...:shock:... these are excellent ideas! I never wouldhave thought of these.

Can't wait to try them on Sherman!

 

[BunnyMommy]

Good GRAVY, Pam! ... :shock:...A 1/2 inch or more amonth??????

 

[pamnock]

BunnyMommy wrote:

Good GRAVY, Pam! ... :shock:... A 1/2 inchor more amonth??????

Totally serious LOL

I've seen rabbits knock out their front incisors and completely grow them back within a month.

Pam

 

[Dolores Lindvall]

If you have to.....You can trim your rabbitsteeth yourself. Just use some old-fashioned commonsense. I have an elderly Dutch buck whose teeth went nutsyseveral years ago. I used a wire cutter until I got my handson one of those little clippers used to cut the eye teeth on baby pigs(sometimes used to castrate with, also). It is a lot smallerthan the wire cutter. Now, my elderly Dutch doe has to haveher teeth trimmed, also. It's not just that they grow solong, but they get to growing cock-eyed, and could go down thru thelower jaw, or up into whatever is up. And that is not a gooddeal. I've never had the money to run to a vet every timesomething came up, so have had to learn how to do some of these thingsmyself.

 

[2bunmom]

This is a good question! I have oftenwondered about it myself because I have one bun who chews like crazyand the other could care less about chewing. Although whenthere is an apple branch around she will chew onthat. In my mind I guess I had decided that herteeth must grow at a slower rate than his. She doeslike to eat a lot and eats more hay than he does so I guess that takescare of her needs. Beckie

Dolores, What part of Iowa is Newell in? I ask because I amoriginally from Muscatine,Iowa. I haven'tlived there for almost 20 years but Newell rings a bell forme. I keep thinking that I will get out a map and look it upbut then I forget. I still have relatives who live inMuscatine. Beckie

 

[Dolores Lindvall]

I'm not too terribly far from Fort Dodge.

 

[gjsara]

can rabbits have rawhide??? if so would soaking that in apple juice work???

emmits mom what do you soak in apple juice cause that is a great idealyla dosnt chew on the apple branchs i get her from the apple tree orthe salt weels

 

[pamnock]

I wouldn't give rawhide to rabbits.Soaking it can present a choking hazardas it softens and isdifficult to break apart. I don't even like the stuff fordogs and no longer buy it due to our Jack Russell choking on rawhide acouple times.

Willow, maple and fruit tree sticks provide excellent chew toys forrabbits as well as some of the commercial fruit flavored wooden chewtoys for rabbits. Be sure to remove small pieces when therabbit has chewed it down. Untreated blocks of wood can alsobe given to the rabbit.

Pam

 

[gjsara]

thank you pam

 

[CuddlesMom]

Ok when i look in my buns mouth i just see his 2front teeth.....i mean how do you open there mouth too look insidethere im afraid he will biteme

 

[pamnock]

CuddlesMom wrote:

Ok when i look in my buns mouth i just see his 2 frontteeth.....i mean how do you open there mouth too look inside there imafraid he will biteme

Here's a good article on teeth . . .

http://www.rabbit.org/chapters/san-diego/health/dental_disease.html



Pam