Tooth issues at young age?

[Jenk]

Is it common/possible for young buns to require tooth trimming?

In December, our vet said that some of our Mini Rexgirl's right-hand side teeth are angled the wrong way and should be watched closely. (Shdwanted to check our girl's teeth again by last month; we've decided to not incur anymore vet billsunless/until we see signs of a problem.) Our girl is 2 yrs., 8-mos. old.

Then last month, our vet said that our Cali male--who was being checked for his particulardigestive issues--has a few teeth on the left-hand side that are abnormally long. She noted that the teeth, though long, seem to meet up evenly. He is around two years old.

I am worried because our boy hasbeen eating less hay for the last few weeks; we can't afford regular tooth trims on top of all the repetitive digestive bouts that they have.My husband is just about ready to throw in the towel in terms of rabbit ownership.

I should note that our buns get 1st-cut timothy hay and a minimal amount of pellets and greens (due to gut issues). You'd think that with all the fiber, they wouldn't have teeth issues.

Jenk

 

[pamnock]

Hereditary disorders are primarily to blame for malocclusion, which can begin to cause problems at a very young age. Hay/wood blocks/sticks are not an effective way of preventing or correcting malocclusion.

 

[Haley]

Are they molar teeth or front incisor? Incisors can often be removed which would be costly up front but save you time, money and stress for the rabbit in the long run. If they are molars theres not much you can do. It's frustrating, I know. Rabbit teeth problems are pretty commmon, it's just that not many owners are thorough enough in their exams (or even take their rabbits to the vet to find out why he/she stopped eating) so you dont hear about it all that much. My trouble has been mouth abscesses, which 3 of my 5 rabbits have had problems with in the past few years.

 

[Pipp]

One key point here is that when the genetics make the teeth not meet properly, sometimes just hay alone won't help much because it wears the same areas, so they really need variety to ensure even wearing. I'd try multiple cuts of hays and grasses, I'd try again to introduce a few veggies (fresh grass, carrot stems, kale, whatever) and definitely go for fruit tree branches and other odd ball things.

And for the record, my Vet tells me almost every time he sees one of my rabbits that they have bad teeth. (I think its a Vet thing).

I have yet to have a problem not solved by diet, including my dwarf who previously needed bi-monthly spur trims.


sas :clover:

 

[Jenk]

pamnock wrote:

Hereditary disorders are primarily to blame for malocclusion, which can begin to cause problems at a very young age. Hay/wood blocks/sticks are not an effective way of preventing or correcting malocclusion.

It's disheartening to learn this news about young rabbits developing malocclusion issues. I have, though, already read somewhere that hay and other wood-chew items aren't helpful in treating them.

Why, oh, why can't there be a quick-fix--i.e., inexpensive solution--for rabbit issues?

 

[Jenk]

Haley wrote:

Are they molar teeth or front incisor? Incisors can often be removed which would be costly up front but save you time, money and stress for the rabbit in the long run. If they are molars theres not much you can do.

I don't exactly remember; I want to say that the vet said they were molars, but I'd have to ask to make sure.

When you say that "there's not much you can do" about molars, you're saying that they require regular trims, yes?

It's frustrating, I know. Rabbit teeth problems are pretty commmon, it's just that not many owners are thorough enough in their exams (or even take their rabbits to the vet to find out why he/she stopped eating) so you dont hear about it all that much. My trouble has been mouth abscesses, which 3 of my 5 rabbits have had problems with in the past few years.

If we do learn that our boy has official teeth issues that require regular trims, I just might lose my lil' mind. (Our bun crew has already cost us $8K in two years' time. That figure is extremely high in part due to my anxiety and a vet who took immense advantage of said anxiety. ) So the thought of spending even more on a regular basis is rather stressful/distasteful.

We've had enough stressful/expensive experiences with rabbits since day one that dog ownership is looking pretty attractive....I love our buns' personalities, but I think that their health issues--and their resulting costs--have overshadowed the positives.

 

[Jenk]

Pipp wrote:

...When the genetics make the teeth not meet properly, sometimes just hay alone won't help much because it wears the same areas, so they really need variety to ensure even wearing. I'd try multiple cuts of hays and grasses, I'd try again to introduce a few veggies (fresh grass, carrot stems, kale, whatever) and definitely go for fruit tree branches and other odd ball things.

The hay-cut suggestion is a bit tricky, though; our boy has shown signs of gut discomfort shortly after eating softer-cut hay, such as sweet meadow hay. If he eats something softer than 1st-cut hay, he tends to pass dark, shiney fecals (which someone on EtherBun told me is a sign of not enough dietary fiber).

It may sound weird, but our guy has had enough gas bouts after soft-cut hay to make me rethink feeding it to him.

...My Vet tells me almost every time he sees one of my rabbits that they have bad teeth. (I think its a Vet thing).

I'm thisclose to not trusting most vets (in my area, anyway). As I've mentioned in another post in this thread, I had one take major financial advantage of me (i.e., of my anxiety). I find that many of them (again, in my area) are looking at things from a business, rather than a medical, viewpoint.

I have yet to have a problem not solved by diet, including my dwarf who previously needed bi-monthly spur trims.

What did you manage to feed your dwarf that ended his need for bi-monthly spur trims? I've never heard of any mechanical means (besides tooth trims) that help. And I know of someone who's dwarf bun's trims cost a minimum of $1K per year; that'sa depressing thought.

 

[Pipp]

Pipp, the little :censored2:, does not eat any hay (or drink water). Nor does she eat grass (she just digs up the seeds), chew tree bark or wood, or consume much in the way of stems (she chews off the leaves), which are all ways NORMAL bunnies have of wearing down their teeth.

So I've been giving her good, firm kale, broccoli leaves and stems, celery leaves, and at least the tops of the stemmy veggies like parsley, carrot tops and cilantro. I also give her cabbage, raddichio, chard, a little collard, lettuce, and anything else that I can round up that she may nibble on.

The key has been the variety. She gets a salad the size of the one in my avatar every day and it has seven or eight different veggies in there. I give her just a tablespoon full of Martins pellets or a mix of different types of pellets.

(I also started experimenting with various seeds and grains thinking they might help wear the teeth, but she put on too much weight so I stopped, and it didn't make a difference to her teeth).

She stopped needing surgery when I started this regime. The only time she's had to go back in is when something put her off her food -- I think I was sick and she got a couple of substandard salads in a row and the spurs came back.

I've also give up micro-managing Pipp's poop. They're very often tiny, misshapen things, but I've come to realize she's healthy as a horse even with the that going on. I can give her pumpkin to make them bigger and fluffier, but it makes no difference in her overall health.

This leads me to believe we're paying far too much attention to poops!

I'd try to experiment more with the diet and try and really only react to the more serious signs of gut issues -- which is hard to do, I know, because its a gamble. But its probably worth a shot to see if a few days of increasing varieties of hays and veggies will see their systems adjust and their overall health (including teeth) improve.

I'm about to start looking for a lot more things for my rabbits in terms of grasses, vines, leaves, flowers, weeds, etc.. I'm pretty much convinced that current attitudes re: feeding a handful of veggies, handfuls of timothy hay and some pellets just aren't sufficient.

This may not be relevant, but I buy hay by the bale (two bales or more, actually), and I can't imagine buying pet store bags. Mister and Darry alone go through close a half flake a day. They're very active rabbits, they forage (and nest) constantly. Sherry and Marvin come close. Most of my bunnies came to me with digestive or other health issues that are now under control.


sas :clover:

 

[pamnock]

Jenk wrote:

Why, oh, why can't there be a quick-fix--i.e., inexpensive solution--for rabbit issues?

It's just like having kids - it's not easy and it's not cheap.

 

[Jenk]

Pipp wrote:

I've also give up micro-managing Pipp's poop. They're very often tiny, misshapen things, but I've come to realize she's healthy as a horse even with the that going on. I can give her pumpkin to make them bigger and fluffier, but it makes no difference in her overall health.

This leads me to believe we're paying far too much attention to poops!

I don't disagree with your comments about micromanaging bunnies' poop. If something seems"off" with my crew's fecals, I switch my focus to their food/water consumption and overall behavior, which usually gives me more information.

I'd try to experiment more with the diet and try and really only react to the more serious signs of gut issues -- which is hard to do, I know, because its a gamble. But its probably worth a shot to see if a few days of increasing varieties of hays and veggies will see their systems adjust and their overall health (including teeth) improve.

I won't give my guy any veggies known for producing gas; he's had gas issues just from soft-cut hay (e.g., sweet meadow hay). But I should mention that he does get a handful of other hay--usually oat or orchard grass--at times. I will try to step up his consumption of other hay types besides 1st-cut timothy, but it's hard when finances are a factor.

This may not be relevant, but I buy hay by the bale (two bales or more, actually), and I can't imagine buying pet store bags. Mister and Darry alone go through close a half flake a day. They're very active rabbits, they forage (and nest) constantly. Sherry and Marvin come close. Most of my bunnies came to me with digestive or other health issues that are now under control.

Here's our problem: our pets/house once got mites from an $8hay bale bought from a local distributor. We can't risk going through that ordeal again; so we buy hay from Sweet Meadow Farm--and shipping costs more than the hay itself.

 

[Jenk]

pamnock wrote:

It's just like having kids - it's not easy and it's not cheap.

I can't quite make that comparison, since everyone knows that kids need a variety of things related to their successful growth. It just seems wrongthat pets' medical care shouldcost as much as ours has. I can't tell you how many times my hubby and I have run through the "when-is-enough-enough?" debate.

Our cat turns eight this August and has had his fair share of pricey medical stuff (multiple bouts of UTI,etc.);yet, our rabbits have exceeded his vet costs in the nearly three years that we've had them. That statement just seems incredible (in a bad way).

 

[Happi Bun]

Jenk wrote:

Is it common/possible for young buns to require tooth trimming?

Yep! Amber had long top teeth, we suspect because she wasn't given access to hay or things to chew on. She loves to chew on everything! When she went in to be spayed the vet trimmed her teeth, she was only 5 months old. We were worried she would always need teeth trimmings. However, with plenty of hay and things to chew on the problem has yet torepeat itselfand she is now a year old. Amber's situation may be different though, because her teeth were straight but long.

 

[Jenk]

Happi Bun wrote:

Yep! Amber had long top teeth, we suspect because she wasn't given access to hay or things to chew on. She loves to chew on everything! When she went in to be spayed the vet trimmed her teeth, she was only 5 months old. We were worried she would always need teeth trimmings. However, with plenty of hay and things to chew on the problem has yet torepeat itselfand she is now a year old. Amber's situation may be different though, because her teeth were straight but long.

Oh, wow...That's a horribly early stage to have to start dealing with/paying for tooth trimming. I'm still freaking out at the thought of starting this process with a two-year-old bun.

I wonder of our male's situation would be similar to Amber's; our vet did comment that his long teeth didn't seem very angled--just long. I can only hope...

 

[JadeIcing]

I got Dallas in Nov (06) and he was born in Feb (06) his previous owner had already taken him and his brother in for several teeth trimmings. They ended up in the rescue having all their teeth removed before being adopted out.

 

[Jenk]

JadeIcing wrote:

I got Dallas in Nov (06) and he was born in Feb (06) his previous owner had already taken him and his brother in for several teeth trimmings. They ended up in the rescue having all their teeth removed before being adopted out.

:shock:

Holy smokes! What does a bun eat after having all of his teeth removed?

 

[JadeIcing]

Jenk wrote:

JadeIcing wrote:

I got Dallas in Nov (06) and he was born in Feb (06) his previous owner had already taken him and his brother in for several teeth trimmings. They ended up in the rescue having all their teeth removed before being adopted out.

:shock:

Holy smokes! What does a bun eat after having all of his teeth removed?

Same as the others. Just somethings I break up more (hard treats) some veggies I cut up for him.