A question about early signs of molar spurs...

[Jenk]

Do some buns first ignore harder food items--e.g., pellets, crunchy veggies, 1st-cut hay--and choose to eat the softer ones, like softer-cut hay?

My one girl developed a large gas pocket in her stomach about four days after we had a one-time heat wave this month. The vet thinks the atmospheric/weather change is the culprit. He said he's seen many other rabbits for a similar issue around the same time. But I still wonder if molar spurs could also be working against us.

Thank you,

Jenk

 

[tamsin]

Rabbits can have food preferences. The sign of molars spurs is usually a change in preferences, so if your bun previous preferred pallets but now avoids them - then yes they could be a teeth issue. If you're bun has had those preferences from a baby then they might not mean anything.

Any time a bun has a gut related issue, it's a good idea to inspect the teeth. IMO teeth is such a common issue inspecting them should be part of a routine exam anyway.

 

[Jenk]

tamsin wrote:

Any time a bun has a gut related issue, it's a good idea to inspect the teeth. IMO teeth is such a common issue inspecting them should be part of a routine exam anyway.

Her teeth were inspected three times during this current stasis bout but not under anesthesia. Two different vets didn't see anything concerning enough upon inspection to indicate that a tooth check under anesthesia is necessary.

My girl does like her pellets, so the fact that she hadn't been eating them for several weeks did concern me. But when I got home later this morning, I see that she ate the small amount of pellets I gave her earlier.

So, at this point, I'm uncertain if she should still have a tooth/mouth exam under anesthesia. It's a longish haul to the vet's; I don't want to cause her any unnecessary stress. :?

 

[tamsin]

Ahh, if she's already had checks and two different vets have okayed them then I'd probably err away from knocking her out. Usually if teeth issues are bad enough to impact on diet/gut health there are some signs that a vet would see with a standard check as one tooth being out effects the chewing action and has a knock on effect in the rest of the mouth.

 

[Jenk]

tamsin wrote:

Ahh, if she's already had checks and two different vets have okayed them then I'd probably err away from knocking her out. Usually if teeth issues are bad enough to impact on diet/gut health there are some signs that a vet would see with a standard check as one tooth being out effects the chewing action and has a knock on effect in the rest of the mouth.

Truthfully, I'd likely start pulling out my hair if tooth problems were added to the mix of everything else.

So, for now, I'll try to rest a bit easier and just focus on the slow-going process of getting her over this stasis bout.

 

[Sweetie]

There is another sign that there are molar spurs, gunk in the eyes, like mucus. It will be white. Prince had this and when I had him checked by the vet, the vet said that he had molar spurs. So watch the eyes because that can be an indicator also of teeth problems. The way to avoid molar spurs is to give unlimited hay all the time.

 

[Jenk]

Sweetie wrote:

There is another sign that there are molar spurs, gunk in the eyes, like mucus. It will be white. Prince had this and when I had him checked by the vet, the vet said that he had molar spurs. So watch the eyes because that can be an indicator also of teeth problems.

My girl hasn't had any white gunk in the eyes. The only white gunk I've ever seen in either of my girls' eyes turned out to be fur. Heh.

The way to avoid molar spurs is to give unlimited hay all the time.

I've heard that molar spurs are a genetic issue--i.e., some buns are prone to them. All three of my buns receive unlimited hay. Another girl of ours has molar spurs, and her diet is 95% hay. (She's a megacolon [Cow-Pile Syndrome] bun and doesn't handle greens or pellets well.)