post-dental work…

[Ellien]

Hello!
My poor bunny Binky had his teeth filed down on Tuesday and has a cut in his tongue due to the spikes which developed in his teeth. The vet I saw was fantastic and I’m so glad they helped my little man. They told me to not feed him pellets anymore, just hay, to properly wear down his teeth and prevent this from recurring.
I was wondering how to make him eat more hay? He’s been spoiled with sweet pellets since he was a baby.
Since his surgery I’ve been attempting to feed him Critical Care (he hates the bunny burrito technique) and I bought fresh greens. But he doesn’t seem to eat the hay.
He’s also hiding under the bed. I think all the prodding and poking has made him wary of coming out from his safe place. Will he get over this?
I really want him to recover well and be healthy as I love him so much. I’m afraid to scare him or stress him and would love some advice.
Thanks for your time!

[Beka27]

Is your vet saying to not give him pellets ever again, or during his recovery? Feeding a pellet-free diet is definitely possible, but he will need a large variety of revolving fresh veggies every day to replace the nutrients that pellets would normally provide.

[Sarita]

Yeah, he’ll get over it. My rabbit Bobby has dental trims every other month and he gets over it right away. I agree that a pellet free diet to encourage eating hay is a good idea. I would reduce the greens for a bit to encourage him to eat his hay and then start adding more greens.

[BlueMoods]

If your vet doesn’t want you to ever feed pellets again, your rabbit will need a wide variety of greens, and plenty of them to make up for the nutrition as well as alfalfa hay (50% mixed with his grass hay or offered separately) for the protein he needs. Some of the best greens are dandelion, parsley, basil, clover and grass. blackberry leaves and stems, strawberry leaves and spinach or kale are also easy to grow even in small yards and, are good for rabbits too.

You can mist a little apple juice on his hay to encourage him to eat more of it. Just be sure not to leave the damp hay over 24 hours so it won’t mold.

[Elrohwen]

If this is the first time he’s had his teeth filed, I’m not sure I would stop feeding pellets. Definitely reduce and see if he eats more hay, but pellets provide some necessary nutrients that are hard to replace without a very varied diet of greens.

One of mine had her teeth filed and didn’t eat for 3 days, so I had to feed Critical Care. They get over it.

[Ellien]

Thank you everyone! They told me to NEVER give him pellets, probably assuming its prevent his teeth from overgrowing. He loves dandelion and kale but doesn’t seem to eat much hay. He’s still hiding under the bed mainly but I’m hoping he’ll stop being so stubborn soon. Since his tongue wound is still healing I don’t want to out him under too much stress so I’ve been giving him minimal pellets and lots of veggies. Growing them is a great idea! I keep trying to let him know I won’t hurt him so hopefully he’s okay. Thanks everyone!!

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