Andy's Teeth

[Elizabeth]

Hey there,

Can anyone tell me if Andy's teeth look too long? Tonight heactually tried to eat some hay but he looked weird doing it.He kept twisting his head from side to side when he was trying to eatit. It was very weird. I don't think he actuallygot any hay in his mouth although I know he ate a bunch of pellets lastnight. Here's a picture of his teeth. I'm wonderingif a trip to the vet might be in order for a teeth trimming?

 

[JimD]

Hi Elizabeth!

I laughed out loud when I saw this pic....becuase we have one of Binkie just like it, except mine is kind of fuzzy.

It's kind of hard to tell if they're too long by looking at the pic.It's also important that the teeth line up. Back teeth can also causechewing problems due to spurs and such.

How old is he?
Has he ever been to the vet before?

~Jim

 

[Elizabeth]

Hi Jim,

Thanks so much for your help! It is a funny picture isn'tit? It seems so, I don't know, undignified for the poorbuns...

Andy is my foster bunny from our local SPCA so I have no ideaifhis former owners took himto the vet ornot. He's apparently three years old, notneuteredand in pretty good health.

After I took a look at his teeth, I looked at my own bunnies, Eva andJack's, teeth. Their teeth were much, much shorter andcompletely even. I know it's hard to tell from the picturebut I think Andy's front teeth are fairly even, just extremelylong. It was the saddest thing watching him trying to eat haylast night. Poor baby. No wonder he's been eatingso many pellets.

In any case, I've booked Andy into see my own vet tomorrow, they'vetrimmed bunny teeth before and they're also going to take a look at hisbum and see if they can remove the huge mat that is there.It's hard to tell from this picture but Andy is a very fluffy angorabunny with a dirty bum. *L* If you look at thegeneral rabbit section you'll see my Meet Andy post and canseesome "dignified" photo's of the poor fellow.

I guess what I'm really wondering is if Andy will need regular teethtrimming or if once he starts eating hay on a regular basis, that willhelp keep his teeth down? Jack and Eva have never neededteeth trimming. Mind you, all they get are hay and veggies, Idon't give them any pellets at all.

Thanks again Jim!

 

[JimD]

It sounds like you got a plan.
I'm not experienced at all with teeth trimming.

Maybe some chew toys would help.

I'm trying timothy cubes to give the buns something extra to chew on. I don't know if it's working, but they love the cubes.



Here's Binkie ........

 

[Elizabeth]

*tee-hee* That's a very cute picture of Binkie!

We managed to get Andy to the vet today. I had to just drophim off for the day but they took a quick look at his teeth while I wasthere and said they didn't actually look that bad. Now we'rewondering if it might be spurs on his molars so they're going to take alook at them as well.

 

[naturestee]

They do look a bit long, although if the vetthought they weren't too bad maybe they don't need trimmingyet? I know if the front teeth grow too long they make thejaw move different and can cause molar spurs. So if he doesneed some tooth trimming, he may only need it a few times before aproper diet can keep them in check.

Was he eating only pellets and getting no chew toys at theshelter? I have heard of malocclusion being caused by that,but like I said it's probably correctable without needing treatment forthe rest of his life.

I've got my fingers crossed!

 

[Elizabeth]

Thanks naturestee! I heard back fromthe vet; he thinks it's either one of two things. His frontteeth are fine, not too long but he does have some spurs on hismolars. There aren't any punctures or blood or infections inhis mouth but there are definitely some sharp spots. He wantsto sedate Andy and go in and file the teeth down so I have a call intoour SPCA to see if they'll pay for it.

The other thing it could be is that he's in a mild state ofstasis. He's still eating pellets but he's got some prettysmall, dark coloured poo. We're going to give him that stuffthat helps his intenstine muscles contract to see if we can ease anyfurballs out, as well as getting him really hydrated and syringefeeding him some fresh pineapple juice and possibly some critical careas well. Anything to get that gut moving. If aftera week, he's still not eating hay and the SPCA is willing to pay for itthen we'll have his molars filed down (they'll need to be eventuallyanyway). Odds are if the SPCA won't pay for it thenI'll just pay it myself because I have sucker written in very largeletters across my forehead. *L*

As far as I know, he was given only pellets and limited hay at theSPCA. No chew toys. They're a little misguided whenit comes to buns and thought the combination of hay and too manyveggies was giving him diarrhea when it was probably just theveggies. He's quite interested in hay at my house so perhapsgiven a few days of medicine and rehydration will help convince him toeat more.

 

[naturestee]

Betcha the stasis is cause he hurts too much toeat enough. :sigh SAS's Pipp has had the sameproblem. Will he eat softened pellets or stuff like pumpkinwillingly? Some will eat more of that on their own then hardpellets, others turn their noses up at it.

Good luck getting the SPCA to pay! Some are better thanothers. My local shelter has been known to put down otherwisehealthy kittens for ringworm. I can't imagine them payinganything beyond spay/neuter for a bunny.

 

[Elizabeth]

Well that's the weird thing. He'seating plenty of pellets, it's the hay he won't touch. I'mthinking of picking up some pumpkin for him anyway and I have somecritical care left over from the last time Jack went into stasis soI'll mix a bit of that up and syringe it in his mouth as well.

What type of pumpkin do you give them? Just canned pumpkin from the grocery store?

Yeah, I have a feeling they're not going to pay. Oy.

 

[naturestee]

I use the 100% pure canned pumpkin, not the piemix pumpkin. My buns get it as a treat and they loveit. Which means that I've gotten away with mixing nastytasting meds in it.

The vet was sure his incisors weren't too long? Maybe his molar spurs are making it difficult to eat hay.

 

[Pipp]

I posted this over at the SARSBC board (SmallAnimal Rescue Society of BC) as well (Elizabeth is a 'neighbour'), butafter all that typing, figured I'd cut n' paste it in here, more bangfor the buck.

Safeway has a cheaper brand available in smaller cans. The EDSmith stuff (I think that's what it is) only seems to come in thebigger can and is over $4 in my neighbourhood, which is a bit much whenyou only need teaspoons of it.

You can take the leftovers, though, and stick them in an icecube tray,cover them to keep the air out and freeze them for future use.

Its not a bad idea to get all the bunnies used to having a littlepumpkin as a treat, that makes it easier when they're not well. (Youcan hide meds in it too).

The pumpkin is heavy fibre and it's moist, so it helps with both bulk and hydration (as well as calories). Its great stuff.

And fresh pineapple juice is fine, but you may also want to tryPedialyte if he's not drinking. It does a better job and my bunnieslove it.

It's really a good idea to have them make friends with the syringe withfun stuff before they have to get yucky stuff they don't want. 'Forcefeeding' is a drag. Having them lap food up out of a syringe is a joy.

Warning: Pipp HATES Critical Care. We went back to square one with the'scary' syringe when I tried it. <sigh>. If Andy doesn'tappear to like it on its own, try fixing it up with banana or honey orsomething so he does like it. (Actually, 20/20 hindsight, I would havemade my own slurry for Pipp and just added a little probiotics and B12,would have been the same thing, just a LOT cheaper).

As for the spurs, when Pipp gets the slightest little spur, she stopseating hay and then veggies, and will only eat pellets, although sheeventually stops eating those, too.

She gobbled up well-grated carrot, broccoli, cauliflower and her otherfavourite veggies, though. (Leafy greens were a bit of achallenge).


Good luck with Andy!!


sas and the gang :bunnydance::bunnydance::bunnydance::bunnydance::bunnydance:

 

[JimD]

Elizabeth wrote:

Well that's the weird thing. He's eating plenty ofpellets, it's the hay he won't touch. I'm thinking of pickingup some pumpkin for him anyway and I have some critical care left overfrom the last time Jack went into stasis so I'll mix a bit of that upand syringe it in his mouth as well.

What type of pumpkin do you give them? Just canned pumpkin from the grocery store?

Yeah, I have a feeling they're not going to pay. Oy.

If you can't find canned pumpkin, you can use baby food. If you'relucky you can find some with pumpkin in it (pumpkin &peaches...i think), but most veggies have fiber.

I have a can of pumpkin in the emergency kit. I alsokeep acouple of jars of banana baby food in our kit......mixes well withthose nasty tasting things like Nutrical, Baytril, etc. (NOTE!!: Justkeep checking on the freshness dates if you do this).

~Jim

 

[Elizabeth]

(sas, I left this message on the sars board but decided to cut and paste it here too. )

Thank you sas for the excellent information!

I picked up some pumpkin last night (the Safeway brand!) and syringefed a bit of it to Andy, he liked it just fine. Jack and Evathought it was pretty tasty as well.

I also syringe fed him some Critical Care. I was prepared fora battle as, like your Pipp, Jack hated critical care and it was a hugepain in the bum to get him to eat it when he went into stasis a whileback. Andy however, was pretty good about it. Hedidn't love the taste but he did eat it. I also cut up someyellow pepper into small pieces and some romaine lettuce and he atesome of that as well. Still wouldn't touch the haythough. This morning it didn't look like he had eaten manypellets but I stuffed him pretty full last night of critical care andpumpkin so I wasn't too surprised by that. There were lots ofpooters in his cage as well, although they were much too small for myliking. I'll keep him on the medicine for a week or so whileI'm waiting to hear back from the SPCA but if they say no, I'm going topocket the expense myself and pay to have the spurs grounddown. He's such a friendly, kind little fellow I hate to seehim in pain and not enjoying his hay like he should.

Jim, I'll pick up some banana baby food tonight aswell.I was also thinking of trying to tempt himwith some oats, although he's not underweight at all somaybeit's a bit too fattening?

Can I just say that my vet is so awesome?!? He did an exam onAndy, checked his teeth, clipped his nails and took off the huge mat onhis bum and didn't charge me a thing. Did it all for freebecause I'm fostering him for the SPCA. How nice isthat? And he'll probably give me a discount on the teethgrinding if the SPCA won't pay for it. I love myvet.

Andywas very cute last night. Since we startedfostering him,he spends most of his time relaxing under thekitchen table or sitting on my lap being brushed and petted.He doesn't explore or run much but I figured that was due to his ageand because he probably wasn't feeling great. Last night,after the dogs had gone to bed I let my cats out of thebedroom. They came wandering into the kitchen and as soon asAndy saw Smokey it was love. Smokey,however, is wise to the ways of the unneutered bunny and didn't giveAndy the chance to hump him, he jumped right up on to the kitchen chairwhere Andy couldn't reach him. But just seeing the cats didwonders for Andy's spirit. He spent the next 30 minutesrunning back and forth from the kitchen to our bedroom. Heran around and around the bedroom and then he'd flop down in front ofthe bed for a bit of a rest and then race back into the kitchen and goskidding under the table. It was very cute and did my heartgood to see him having such a fun time.

 

[LuvaBun]

Aww, Bless his little heart - he sounds such asweetie. All the running around he did after Smokey will help ingetting his gut up and moving.

Your vet is amazing - what a nice guy not to charge. How are Jack and Eva reacting to another bunny in the house?

Jan

 

[Pipp]

Elizabeth wrote:

Jim, I'll pick up some banana baby food tonight aswell.I was also thinking of trying to tempt himwith some oats, although he's not underweight at all somaybeit's a bit too fattening?

Don't worry about weight issues, Pipp's weightdrops like arock when she gets spurs, a little extra meat on thoseboneshelped her. I had no qualms about giving herthe Critical Care laced with honey or banana (the vet's advice), andshe got a lot ofthe grated carrot (it's another oneof those moist things,helps hydratethe bun andfluff up thosepoops. (Don't know about Andy, butPipp also stopped drinking). You just have to ease into allof it tokeep his system inbalance.

Elizabeth wrote:

Can I just say that myvet is so awesome?!? He did an exam on Andy, checked histeeth, clipped his nails and took off the huge mat on his bum anddidn't charge me a thing. Did it all for free because I'mfostering him for the SPCA. How nice is that? Andhe'll probably give me a discount on the teeth grinding if the SPCAwon't pay for it. I love my vet.

Hey, feel free to put those comments in the Rabbit Savvy Vets section, give kudos where kudos are due.

Elizabeth wrote:

... They came wandering into the kitchen and as soon as Andy sawSmokey it was love.

Poor Smokey's such a bunny babe magnet! (Maybe it'shis aftershave?)

sas and the gang :bunnydance::bunnydance::bunnydance::bunnydance::bunnydance:

 

[Elizabeth]

Jan, that's what I thought too. I wasreally happy to see him running; the more exercise the better youknow? I think I'll put him on the heating pad for a bittonight as well.

Jack and Eva are not very pleased, truth be told. Well, moreJack. It's fine if they don't smell him but the minute theydo they start bickering with each other. :? Sillybunnies. Not terribly or anything but more than they everhave before. Again though, it's only if they smell him andthat happens only when they're out exploring and they go into thekitchen and smell his scent. Then Jack has to run arounddropping pooters all over the kitchen and then try and humpEva. As she's the boss and does 90% of the humpingnormally, you can imagine how she feels about that! *L*

I've started blocking their access to the kitchen, which is not thatbig of a deal, they prefer to run on the carpeted living roomanyway. That's helping to keep things peaceful with them.

I feel badly because they've always gotten along so well until now (andeven now, the bickering isn't bad at all, mostly just chasing) but thespoiled little brats that they are need to suck it upandface the cold hard truth that there are a lot of bunniesin this world that don't have it as easy as they do and their mom isplanning on making a difference in those poor bunnies lives.And since I'll be doing the "fostering bunnies in need" thing for thenext few years they're just going to have to get used to strange bunnysmells in the house.

Sas, I'm beginning to think Smokey must have been a bunny in a previouslife. It would explain the instant attraction they have forhim.