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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

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Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A How to get rabbit to chew on hard stuff?

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    • tjf816
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        Hi,

        I’m new to the forum and desperately need your help. I’d be incredibly grateful if somebody had useful advice.

        I have a 5 year old lop rabbit with a gunky corner eye. I have to squeeze pus out of the corner of his eye every morning. I’ve taken him to 2 different vets the past month and they both gave me antibiotics to give him but the gunky eye didn’t go away. It wasn’t until I gave him an edible log which he chewed on for a few days that the eye stopped producing pus. It completely solved the issue for a while until he lost interest in the log. The eye wasn’t even teary let alone pus-filled.This leads me to believe the problem is due to an overgrown cheek tooth blocking his tear duct. Especially since he has lost interest in the log for the past two weeks and now the pus has returned.

        Is there any hard substance that will wear his teeth down that I can give him? Or is there any thing I can do to induce him to chew on the log again? He currently gets a 1/4 cup of oxbow pellets and unlimited Timothy hay as well as a couple stalks of kale daily but this doesn’t seem to be enough to grind his tooth down.

        Thanks,
        Tj


      • Isabelle
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          Did the vets check his teeth at your visits at all? Back teeth, molars, do not grow all of a bunny’s life and should not be overgrown at all, as far as I know. Only the front teeth grow thoroughout a bun’s life. An infected tooth or abcess would probably need a different kind of treatment than just antibiotics. Perhaps you could call one of the vets that treated him and ask if they believe this could be an issue?


        • tjf816
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            The first vet didn’t check his teeth at all. The second one tried to feel his teeth but said he would need to go someone who could take an X-ray to see if there were any maloclussions..

            I honestly can’t afford to take him to yet another vet. Especially to get an xray done. At least not right away.

            All I know is that the issue resolved itself in days of him chewing on this edible log and came back shortly after losing interest in it. Which is why I’d like to pursue this approach until I can take him to the vet again.


          • peppypoo
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              It’s very possible, especially in older rabbits, that dental problems can lead to eye problems. I understand that funds may be an issue for you right now, but I encourage you to look for a good rabbit-savvy vet in your area. Although I’m sure that the vets you took your bunny to are knowledgeable and experienced in their field, rabbits need to be seen by an exotics vet that is specifically familiar with rabbit medicine. A dental exam should be a standard part of any vet visit, and tooth problems like the ones that your bunny might be experiencing can be a pretty straightforward fix.


            • Isabelle
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                By not getting a thorough dental exam you may be setting your rabbit up for worse dental problems, possible infections/abcesses, and perhaps pain. The chewing and the tearing may be unrelated. At my vet they have a small funnel they insert into the cheek of the rabbit to look at the teeth, I’m surprised yours doesn’t, so I agree with peppypoo that you need a vet that knows rabbits. I know it costs a lot for vet bills, your vet should have a payment plan type thing to help you out. I would really encourage you to at least call a qualified vet to ask their rates and possible ways of payment and explain your situation, I’m sure something can be worked out. We want you to have a healthy bunny!


              • MerlinsMom
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                  My rabbits love to chew on logs but only ones that have bark on, once they have chewed all the bark off they lose interest. You could try giving him a new log to chew on.
                  I do have to second everyone else in saying that you should definately get his teeth checked out though, I know my local vet surgery offers a payment plan if you can’t afford it all right away… May be worth phoning yours and seeing if they do something similar.


                • Elrohwen
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                    Generally xrays aren’t required to check teeth – there is a scope that they use during the exam. Just feeling the teeth isn’t enough.

                    I would find another vet asap that will check his teeth out. He probably needs a trim.

                    There really isn’t any way to get bunnies to eat things that they don’t want to eat.


                  • Bam
                    Moderator
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                      I agree with what everybody else have said, I only want to recommend apple-tree logs to you. My rabbit loves the bark of apple-tree logs. He also loves apple-twigs which he strips completely. If you have anyone in your area who has apple-trees, maybe you could ask if you could have some twigs for your rabbit? I don’t know where in the world you live, but in northern Europe, now is the perfect time to prune apple-trees. The twigs will keep if you can store them outside on f ex a balcony or if you take them inside and put them in a vase, like flowers.

                       

                      You need to make sure the trees have not been treated with pesticides, since that would be poisonous to your rabbit. 


                    • Sarita
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                        Well if it’s an overgrown molar that is causing spurs you need to get that addressed first.

                        And for molars (which do actually continually grow) you need to make sure she is eating hay.

                        Lops are notorious for having dental problems. If however you think it’s an overgrown tooth root (which you would need an x-ray to see but not for molar spurs) then there is not much that can be done about this, but if chewing the log seems to help then try a fresh log.


                      • Isabelle
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                          Good to know the molars still grow, I thought it was only the front teeth. Thanks Sarita for correcting me


                        • BinkyBunny
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                            Others have offered valuable advice. The only thing I wanted to add, is you can try to scrape some banana or apple on the log. Not too much, but a light coating. Your bunny may lick it at first, but the cracks will hold some of the flavor that may entice chewing. Just don’t slather it on as too much can get stuck too deep in cracks and ferment.

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                        Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A How to get rabbit to chew on hard stuff?