Food in the beard

[Huckleberry]

 I’ve noticed that Huckleberry gets a lot of little crusty clumps of fur around her mouth. I try to use a wet wash cloth to clean them out but eventually it just leads to me either yanking them out (which hurts, I can tell) or leaving them alone. I think they bother her because she scratches her cheeks alot. Is there any way to prevent this? I assume its just her getting her face wet in the water bowl and then eating pellets that may have some dust. Do any of you have this problem?

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Hmmmm no that’s definitely weird. I’m thinking drooling bunny or sick bunny…They are festidious groomers and wouldn’t let that happen, or would clean it up properly. When was the last checkup? I’m thinking teeth issues… We always use bowls here and never a dirty beard so this seems strange.

[Huckleberry]

Her last checkup was in the spring. At all of her visits, they have said that her teeth have a few small points but that as long as she didn’t show any changes in eating habits or behavior then it was not that big of a deal. I think I first noticed it happening around that time but it seems to be increasing.
I wondered about it being her teeth as well. I don’t think that is the case though because she is still eating without any change. She doesn’t favor one side over the other from what I can see. When I massage the area she never responds as if it were tender. She is a decent groomer. She has never been very obsessed about it but she does stay clean. Maybe I should get her to a vet soon anyway… she isn’t really giving me any reason to worry but do you think this could be a sign of something?

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

They can still eat with bad teeth, it’s just a common indication that they don’t or will eat less. I think since you’ve been advised to watch for issues indicating the teeth are a problem, this is it. I would say see a vet soon. Yeah I really think it is a sign, bunnies just do not have dirty mouths {{{Vibes}}} Keep us posted!!

[BB Administrator]

OOPS!  Sorry, this is BinkyBunny in Admin mode again.  

The fact that points (aka: molar spurs), were noted in the Spring and it is now Fall and this issue of crusties around her mouth seem to be increasing makes me think that she needs the points/spurs trimmed off.

My bunny had to get them taken off several times a year, until she got older and she needed it less. For Rucy, I could always tell when they were getting worse, when her chin and mouth area would create drool and some crusties under her chin(for each bunny it may be a bit different). Also Rucy’s eyes used to water as well.

She would still eat though — but it just would become increasingly uncomfortable.

Is your vet rabbit savvy? Do they know how to trim molar spurs?

Helloworld!!

[KatnipCrzy]

I agree- rabbits are like cats and like to keep themselves clean. A dirty or crusty chin is a sign of a problem. I give Schroeder a liquid med once a day that is sticky and sometimes he gets some on his lips or chin as he licks it from the syringe but he grooms it off and is clean.

The only time I ever had a bunny with a dirty chin was when Schroeder was sick and I had to give a lot of meds and force feed him Critical Care and he did not clean his face as he was not feeling well- so I have to use a washcloth and then comb out some of the crust. But he clearly was not feeling well otherwise he would have kept himself clean.

[Sarita]

I would definitely say teeth! I echo BB as well about the fact that the points were noted in Spring. Sometimes with dental problems, you may not notice any change at all.

I’d love to dispel this idea as well that as long as a rabbit is eating, they aren’t ill or uncomfortable. I guess it’s because we are always told when a rabbit is NOT eating they are sick, and you don’t want them to get to that point.

[Beka27]

Yes. It’s definitely better to get it checked BEFORE eating stops. Once eating is an issue, it becomes a more urgent thing. If it’s checked along the way, you might be able to catch it early, and then have more time to prepare for it.

[Elrohwen]

Yep, sounds like teeth, unfortunately! Otto definitely gets some green crud under his chin when he eats veggies, but he cleans it up within an hour or so. It seems like she might have molar issues that are causing her to drool much more than usual so she can’t clean it up.

[Huckleberry]

We have an check-up set for Wednesday morning. She goes to the teaching hospital at the college. They have an exotics/zoological specialist on staff. The students are usually handling her but they are closely supervised by the teaching vet. I trust the vet, she seems to know what she is talking about, and when I spoke with her on the phone she repeated what you all said. I like that it also gives the students a chance to be aware of rabbits and their special needs. Hopefully it is not a big deal and I just have a slob for a bunny but I am glad that I will catch anything early on. Thanks, everyone!

[LoveChaCha]

That is so great Huckle! What a great chance for students to learn about Huckleberry.. and squeal at her!

*Crossing fingers and ears that everything goes well*

[Sarita]

That’s very cool! I think that they should teach more about rabbits as pets. Some vet schools don’t even teach about pet rabbits – I’ve heard Kansas State University has a great exotics curriculum.

Keep us updated.

[Beka27]

I just got my degree for Dental Hygiene and it was a very valuable resource having real patients to work on. That’s great that you take your bun to the school, and in my experience, teaching hospitals/clinics are very often BETTER because you have multiple brains working together, and the students are very closely supervised so mistakes are less likely to occur. Keep us posted on what they say/do.

[Huckleberry]

Huckleberry went to the vet this morning. Her teeth are veryovergrown. They are filing them down today. Thank you, everyone, for the advice! I’ll let you all know how it goes, until then, please send vibes.

[Sarita]

Vibes to Huckleberry.

[Huckleberry]

Huckleberry is out of anesthesia and doing fine. The vet said that it all went very well and I can pick her up later today!

[LoveChaCha]

Poor Hucklebunnah Chacha and I send hugs and vibes!! Get well big girl!

[Beka27]

VIBES!!! Keep us posted!

[Huckleberry]

Huckleberry is home and doing ok. The vets were great, today. They told me about their resident bun who apparently doesn’t care much for the litter box and is a little overweight. They told me that she has a little malocclusion so she will always be predisposed to dental problems. We made a plan to have her rechecked every 4-6 months. They also said she had gained back the weight she had lost, so she is back to around 13 lbs. I don’t know what I can do to make her lose weight though! Already, she only gets a little over half of the recommended amount of pellets (which for her size is 2/3 cup) and she gets a couple leaves of collards every day. Are phonebooks fattening? She eats a lot of phonebooks haha.
Anyway, she still seems groggy but she has already eaten and pooped so the anesthesia did not cause any G.I. stasis. She sounds like her breathing is a little labored, which worries me, she was huffing when I brought her home but now she just sounds like she has a runny nose or something. Her eyes also seem a little watery. Is this normal for buns that went under anesthesia and then had a dose of (I think they said) metacam, an anti-inflammatory med. Ill watch her closely all night. She is a tough girl so I think she will be ok.
Thanks again, everyone, for your help and support!

[Beka27]

She’ll probably be out of sorts for a day or two. And the watery eye look is something they put on to protect her eyes during surgery. You could use a damp washcloth, or she’ll groom it off eventually.

She’s a big girl! Wow! Have you tried reducing her pellets further and supplementing with more greens? A couple leaves a day doesn’t sound like enough anyways. She should be getting at least 4 cups a day.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Glad she came through the procedure okay.

[Sarita]

Definitely cut out the pellets or greatly reduce them and increase her greens.

[Huckleberry]

Oh! Thanks, Beka. I thought she was supposed to be getting 2 cups of fresh veggies. I will start giving her more. I started cutting her pellets in half yesterday. I’m not sure what the amount is now but it looks like around an 1/8 cup, maybe a little bit more.
She came out of her room today and it looks like she cleaned that stuff out of her eyes. I did not know they put something in there, thanks for that info!

[Beka27]

Lol… yeah. After my Meadows spay I was wondering what the heck happened to her eyes.

The minimum amount of greens is 2 cups per 6 pounds of bunny. So at double that weight, you can safely feed 4-6 cups a day.

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