Drooling

[lilnaugrim]

It's not active drooling, no disease there.

I pet Wiki when he's on my bed and he loves it; presses his head into my hand to snuggle with it. But when he's relaxed so much, he ends up leaving a drool spot. Just wondering if it may be something to do with his teeth? Seems like he can close his mouth no problem, doesn't have any soreness or anything but I was just curious if other bunnies do this or anything like it.

He does lick everything instead of chewing. He doesn't chew a whole heck of a lot other than hard treats I give him. I have wood blocks for him, paper towel rolls, the hard cardboard tube thing, grass mat and he has no interest in chewing them >.> I've yet to try smearing banana on them yet though, something I know I should try.

He's getting neutered on the 22nd of this month and she's going to also do some dental work on him since he had some wave teeth going on due to his previous parents who rarely gave him hay and only fed pellets. It's been difficult to get him to eat hay more often, I don't give him pellets every day for this reason. He gets all the hay he can eat, rarely runs out but can get low so he is doing better with it lately, and he gets veggies almost daily. Mostly from the Chicory family. He doesn't do well with the Cauliflower family as usual.

So, it's not an immediate concern but just wondering if maybe it's something else or a sign of something such as dental or something else. I've had him only 3 months now, adopted him from his previous family which they had him for a year. He was purchased from a breeder at 12 weeks they said.

He's a 9.5 pound English Lop (currently featured as Rabbit of the month ;-D) about a year old now.

 

[lilnaugrim]

No thoughts?

 

[kksdad]

It has been my understanding that teeth problems can be one cause of drooling.

http://rabbit.org/dental-disorders-in-rabbits/

"SIGNS OF DENTAL DISORDERS

Though dental problems are common, our little prey companions often mask the condition so as not to appear vulnerable. Thus, it’s incumbent upon caregivers to note changes to behavior and appearance, including:

Pickiness about food or sudden change in food preferences
Dropping food
Drooling
Wet fur or matting on face and forelimbs
Eating or drinking less, with corresponding change in fecal output
Change in weight
Bad breath
Reduced activity
Reduced grooming behavior
Poor coat condition and loss of fur
Accumulation of cecotropes around the anus"

 

[lilnaugrim]

Ah, thank you for the link.

He did refuse banana the other day which I found super strange. He had no interest at all, though this is the first time he's smelled banana before so maybe he was just cautious. Nothing else matched up thankfully, he still eats normally and happily. Just introduced Dill and he loved it. Fur is good, still grooms all day.

So, probably just the start of problems. He doesn't like to chew much so that doesn't help. I thought getting him to eat some banana and smearing it on his toys would help but nah, he doesn't care for it >.< Good thing he's getting dental done in two weeks.

Thanks!

 

[Aki]

Yeah, if you hear 'drooling', you think 'dental problem'. Aki doesn't like banana either ^^. But I don't think encouraging him to chew things is a good idea. You are lucky he is not interested in wood and the like because if he gets into it he won't make a difference between wooden cubes and your furniture. Moreover hard things aren't good to wear teeth down. Hard things aren't a good choice, they can even damage the teeth. To be worn correctly, teeth needs fibers. Leaves, hay, fresh green thin branches are the best because the rabbit has to chew and that the fibers will wear the teeth evenly without risking to crush the roots or damaging the teeth. If your vet reports dental problems and that it's only the beginning, it might go away after just one dental and a regular hay consumption. There is a thing called 'cunipic dental', don't know if you can find it where you are, that you can look up. People with rabbits who tend not to eat enough hay and / or to have dental problems reported very positive effects by adding it to their rabbit's diet (it's like a very appetent mix of fibers designed to wear teeth). I don't have personnal experience with it but I know a rabbit who had teeth problems after being rescued from a situation where she wasn't eating hay and it helped her tremendously.

 

[JBun]

It could be dental or it could just be he's very relaxed. I have a bun that leaves a wet spot after I've been petting him. He has no other symptoms that would point to the drooling being dental issues, so I just presume it's from being so relaxed. If it were my bun and he had no other symptoms of dental issues, I wouldn't worry about it, especially since your bun will be having a dental soon anyways.

As long as he's eating hay well, I wouldn't worry about no other chewing going on. Like Aki said, if he starts to like chewing wood, he might not care that it's your furniture he's chewing. If after he has his dental done and he develops dental issues again, then you may need to revisit the chewing thing to help promote better tooth wear, but not necessarily the things you've been trying. Ripping up cardboard doesn't affect tooth wear significantly, and you certainly don't want him chewing and ingesting more than a very minuscule amount(blockage concern). There are better things for encouraging tooth wear if you find you need recommendations at a later time, some being what Aki recommended(safe leaves and small branches).

 

[lilnaugrim]

Yeah, it's more of just leaving a wet spot after petting. He doesn't actively drool.

The only thing he's ever chewed on is they gym equipment in my brother's old room, he likes foam. Had to ban him from that room.

I've tried some willow sticks but he doesn't care for them, nor apple tree sticks.

I was always under the assumption that the wood would help grind his teeth down, but understandable that it could end up hurting him. I really don't have any wooden furniture so all is well there lol, everything is pretty much metal frame.

He's certainly not the best hay eater, prefers greens and his pellets. I've been cutting way back on pellets, he usually only gets about 1/4 or less twice a day, breakfast and dinner. Dinner gets less because he usually gets his greens then. But he always has unlimited Timothy hay. I found Kaytee (though, I don't like the brand as a whole) has stringier Timothy hay versus the DuMor I was using from Tractor Supply (was cheap but still green and fresh hay), so hopefully that will help too.

Thanks for the suggestion guys.