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wooly_queen

wooly_queen

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Feb 15, 2009
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Location
Gaylord, Michigan, USA
My netherland is about... 4 1/2 years old. He has been in perfect health until now, no teeth issues or anything like that.

I noticed that he hasn't been eating much. He never really did anyway, but I just noticed that there is more and more left over pellets. He looked absolutely fine until I picked him up and noticed that he has in fact lost a bit of weight.

I figured that I was going to a 4-H show anyway the next day so I would ask fellow breeder friends there.

One lady told me to give him pineapple juice and some oats and said he might have a hairball or something. I thought we had some juice, but I can't seem to find it..While at the show though, they had a raffle and I ended up winning a bunny treat with oats, sunflower seeds and some sort of pellets inside. Smells pretty good. lol

When I got home I went out to him and put some of the treat in my hand and he started to eat it. He really liked it so I put some more in his bowl so he would eat something at least... I don't know why he wasnt eatingthe regular pellets...he ate ALL of the oats, sunflower seeds and whatever type of pellet was in the treat. He drinks his water too...

So what do I do now?
 
I've heard of buns with teeth problems who will eat some things, but not others. If he had GI issues I imagine he wouldn't be interested in eating period. I don't know if I'd take him to the vet yet, but if it continues I definitely would - at least so they could check his teeth for molar spurs or something.
 
Oh I forgot to mention his eyes are kind of weepy...

I mixed some pineapple juice in his water and he is drinking it all up. I also tried to mix pellets with the oats and al that but he I couldnt tell if he was eating them...I think he was pushing them out of the way. He looks terrible. :( :( :(

I brought him inside the house and he is sitting on the table right now.
 
Weepy eyes + not eating as much = tooth problems. I would get him to a good rabbit vet soon and get a dental x-ray done. Just looking at the teeth with a scope will not tell you what's going on--the teeth are like an iceberg and you can only see the tip of it without looking under the gumline with an x-ray. The roots of the teeth can grow up around the eye sockets and cause watery eyes, or infected tooth roots can swell and put pressure on the eyes and tear ducts. There is no inexpensive solution to this problem.

That treat is not good for him, and lots of oats and pineapple juice will cause more harm than good. They all have a lot of carbohydrates in them, which promote the growth of bad bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract. Fresh pineapple juice can help with hair stuck in the intestines, but if it isn't fresh it isn't any good, and I don't think he has something stuck (GI stasis) because he will eat some things.
 
Also, with nethies, and buns at middle age, tooth issues can crop up suddenly. The tiny jaws of nethies and the years of possible overgrowth that hasn't been noticed in a middle-aged bunny are factors in this.
 
It does cost a lot, and if you can't afford it it's best to try to figure out a different situation for him. This kind of thing is minimum $300, up to the thousand dollar range. I recommend trying to place him with a rescue or surrendering him to the Humane Society--the pain of tooth problems is really extreme and these places may have the resources, via donated vet services, to have the operation done. He really can't go on living like this for much longer. He will either starve because he can't eat, the infection will spread to other areas of his body, or he'll be in too much pain to eat.

I know the Gaylord area and that it's a bit "back woods," so you probably don't have a rescue association there that will help, and I doubt the local Humane Society has a lot of resources with the way things have been going financially in MI these days. You might consider contacting Great Lakes Rabbit Sanctuary or Midwest Rabbit Rescue and Rehome. They're located in the Detroit Metro area, but they might organize a travel chain for this guy if it's his last chance. It's not fair to this guy to keep living like this, and he might have a chance to have several good years left through one of these organizations, so it would be good to try.

Also you may want to post in the local section to see if anyone nearby wants to take on this challenge.
 
Gaylord is not backwoods, but whatever...

Anyway, I doubt he will survive long enough to get transported to Detroit or anywhere else for that matter. Our shelter doesn't take rabbits I dont think and they really have a place for them.

Thanks for all your help. I love him a lot, but I just can't afford that much money so it would probably be for the best just to euthanize him.
 
There have been no diagnositics done yet so it would still be worth it to have him examined by a vet andCONFIRM that he has a teeth issues before you euthanize him; he could be put under anesthesia and have his teeth examined ( or an X-ray) without necessarily having anything major done..it is possible that he has molar spurs that just need filing

Possibly he has another issue. Weepy eyes are not always teeth related.

We are not vets and can suggest what the problem could possibly be but without seeing the rabbit no one can diagnose.


 
Some vets have something called care credit ; you can pay a small amount monthly
Could you possiblyask your vet about doing something like that. ?

or even ask the vet clinic if you could do some chores for them in exchange for treatment.
 
Yeah...I have only had him for like 2 years, but he is a sweetie and I love taking him out on his harness to do rabbit hopping. He's pretty cool...my little orange.

I'll have to talk to my parents about everything...
 
I agree, he sounds like a special guy. It's true that diagnostics might rule out tooth issues. Also, if they did show tooth issues, the vet might know someone who wanted a bunny and was willing to pay for the extraction?
 
http://www.otsegocountymi.gov/no-kill-policy--20/
http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/MI725.html

There is also a small chance it is not a tooth root infection, although honestly with the weepy eyes and not eating as much I really think that's what's going on as my non-professional opinion. It could be possible that he has a stomach ache and an upper respiratory infection at the same time.

I do not think that it's useless to take him to a vet; quite the contrary. I would never make a decision on whether to euthanize an animal without a vet's input, that is probably because I come from a pet owner background and wouldn't know how to euthanize on my own. Also, if the vet does think it is molar root infections, euthanization is not his only chance. Many bunnies do very well after having teeth removed in this same situation. However, he needs to get to someone who will pay for that. A rescue or shelter may be able to find someone who will.

I want to differentiate between rescues and shelters too: a shelter may not have the space or resources for him. Shelters usually have a contract with the county to take all animals that are surrendered, seized, or part of criminal investigations. They have to take care of large numbers of animals and often can't afford to keep sick animals. A shelter literally cannot turn you away if you come to them with an animal. I think the Ostego Co shelter is like that.

A rescue is a not-for-profit group that is not associated with the county and doesn't have to take any animals if they don't want to. Several of the rabbit rescues I mentioned previously state on their websites that they are not taking "owner surrenders", but that they routinely take animals out of shelters, especially ones that are "on the euthanization list". This means that they ask around the shelters, see who has a rabbit that they can't afford to give medical care to or who doesn't have the facilities to take care of rabbits, and they pull those animals and take them into their rescues. Therefore, if (after consulting the vet) you decide that you can't afford the medical care he needs (also considering the assistance angieluv mentioned), please consider giving him to the shelter. They will hopefully find him a home, get him to a rescue, something. He would have a chance there.
 
I go to our shelter all the time and and know all of the people who work there...I don't think they would really care about him at all. And I also highly doubt there are any people anywhere near here that would pay that money to have a rabbits teeth taken care of.

My mom said she fed him while I was at school though. He ate some regular pellets...he doesn't seem very interested in them anymore.

And I may be a breeder, but I DO NOT euthanize on my own. I take my rabbits to the vet and pay $15 to get them put to sleep.I have only done had to put a rabbit down once in all my 6 years as a breeder because one of my does had wry neck and could not eat or drink and the medicine was not working.
 
A friend just got her bunny's molar spurs done for $70.

The spurs can cause weepy eyes, may not be an infection.

Or it may just be an infection and not spurs. Antibiotics are even cheaper.

If you have a farm vet in the area, they can probably help you out.

Issues will be comfort - the spurs may be rubbing or cutting into the cheek or tongue -- or pain from a tooth root infection.

Of it could just be that he's having trouble chewing and thus getting the proper nutrition. You can try feeding him a pellet mush mixed with some probiotics like acidophilus, maybe some juice, and especially canned pumpkin may well do wonders.

Meanwhile, though, if you can get him eating a variety of grass, veggies like kale and carrot stems, etc, he may be able to grind down the spurs on his own. A pain killer like Baby Motrin or another form of Ibuprofen (if you don't have Metacam) may help with that.

If not, at least canned pumpkin and some Baby Motrin should keep him more comfortable and his life well worth living regardless.

Good luck, I love little Nethies.

If you don't think any of this is working, I'd suggest taking a stab at rehoming him in our Rescue Me section.


sas :clover:
 
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