When to euthanaze?

[Chrissie]

Hi I am new to this so I hope I am posting in the right place.
Rupert, my 2yr old Netherland Dwarf is a house rabbit. He was neutered recently and on the routine dental check it became apparent that one of his molars was overgrown. Under anaesthetic it was found to be loose and extracted. A check up 2 weeks later showed no evidence of regrowth [yet] but the lower one is overgrowing. Check up in 3 weeks time. If he is going to need regular anaesthetics, should he be euthanazed? So many folk say yes. But he is otherwise fit and I'm confused. Any help welcome.Praying for wisdom ray:

 

[fuzz16]

I would talk to a few different vets about options, they may just need clipped regulary. Which can get expensive. A lot of rabbits get overgrown teeth that need trimmed bc they cant be done by chewing naturally. No reason to put a bun down though. Look into malconclusions

 

[Chrissie]

Thanks for your reply. It's the repeated anaesthetic I am concerned about.

 

[fuzz16]

Did the vet say shed have to be put under everytime?
http://www.lbah.com/rabbits/malocclusion.htm

 

[Chrissie]

Yes as it is a molar. I appreciate your help and looked at the link you gave. Seems it would have been easier if it was at the front. I might ask for an xray. ray:

 

[Chrissie]

Hi again
Just spoke to the vet. He said it is ok to leave Rupert till 2 months after the dental work [13th of April] unless problems arise. I checked the cost of further treatment and possibly an xray and it's sooo expensive. I don't care about the money normally as I chose to have pets I am responsible for their welbeing. But this is really expensive especially if ongoing. ray:

 

[LakeCondo]

I'd rather have all the molars pulled than euthanize. Especially if only the ones on one side were affected. He can live a good life eating softened pellets etc.

 

[Chrissie]

I think you are right. I can't cope with doing that with him being so lively and well. Like ending the life of a happy bunny. It would be different [although still very upsetting] if he was ill.

The teeth can grow back though.

 

[fuzz16]

If pulled from the root they cannot come back. Sometimes a clipping is all thats needed, soometimes

 

[ZRabbits]

Definitely weigh out your options. See how your bunny does with clipping first before I pulled any teeth.

Once teeth are gone, they don't come back. And your bunny needs their teeth to be able to eat.Softening pellets can work, but hopefully your bunny takes to those soft pellets. And pain is a factor too. After pulling teeth, bunny is in pain. Also you still need hay for the front teeth that grow so soft pellets won't do much for them.

Lots to consider. Wishing you luck.

K

 

[gmas rabbit]

That sounds like a good solution to a horrible problem. I would be very, very sad to have to put a otherwise healthy little man down.

 

[bunnychild]

I don't see euthanaztion as an option unless he looks you right in the eye and you can see he is misserable

 

[LakeCondo]

Obviously [to most, anyway] I meant softened pellets to replace hard ones, not the elimination of hay. When the problem is genetic, as it is with Netherland dwarfs, filing or clipping rarely works. And while pulling teeth hurts, the pain doesn't last forever & pain meds help.

 

[Nela]

There is indeed a risk of it growing back if it wasn't all properly taken out. However, most of the time it is a non-issue so I wouldn't stop myself at that. I, myself, would prefer to have the teeth removed rather than face ongoing tooth filing, especially with molars since they require sedation. That is also what my own vet prefers, if the filing is frequently required. Sometimes it can be a once a year thing, other times it can be more.

I imagine that if the bottom one is on the same side as the one that was removed, it might be because it doesn't have the help of the top one to grind it down and therefore grows too much.

I think it is well worth discussing with your vet. He's still young and it can be a good long-term solution. My own little guy has a mouthful of problems so I know what it's like. It's not hopeless although it can be overwhelming for sure. The most important part is that it is maintained/dealt with to avoid risks of abscesses, as those can be much more difficult to deal with.

 

[Chrissie]

Thankyou you for all your replies.

Yes the one already starting to overgrow is the one opposite the extraction site.

The vet said they can still grow back after extraction. Is that untrue?

Clipping isn't an option as it is a molar. So repeated anaesthetic and filing is likely to be needed.

He knows I'm typing about him as he's trying to distract me :big wink:

 

[fuzz16]

Like said above, theres s small chance they can grow back

 

[LakeCondo]

I wish someone would collect & put some figures with possible outcomes, for this & many other situations. If I were deciding what to do, I'd want to know if a small chance means 1%, 20% or somewhere in between. [Just my vent, I guess.]

 

[fuzz16]

I dont know enough but i would do some research and talk to vets and breeders even for their veiws

 

[LakeCondo]

Rabbit Health in the 21st Century has 8 pages about rabbit teeth. Unfortunately the discussion of molars is virtually all about molar spurs needing filing under sedation not pulling. The only mention is extraction is of a rabbit with all incisors removed, who eats hay & pellets with no trouble & greens that are cut up more than usual.

I have quite a bit more familiarity with problem human teeth than I would like. They of course aren't exactly like rabbit teeth, but some things may apply. Even though human teeth don't grow, the removal of one still causes the tooth or teeth above on below it to shift somewhat, as do the adjacent teeth. The teeth aren't all lined up, so a 2nd tooth normally hits a molar when chewing. This is true even though we have the same number of upper & lower teeth, while rabbits have 11 molars on each side, 6 upper & 5 lower. And people have the option of bridges or implanted teeth to fill in the gaps & prevent a domino effect of tooth movement.

So it sounds like a long discussion with your vet & probably a 2nd opinion are in order.

 

[slavetoabunny]

My Sparky had had dental problems for the last 1 1/2 years. She has had a total of 7 molars pulled and needs to go to the vet every 8 weeks to have the opposing teeth filed. She is 8 1/2 years old and is otherwise a happy, healthy bunny. I worry about anesthesia too because of her age, but it's just what has to be done. It costs me about $100 each time I bring her in.