Leo has bad teeth, which is why I got pet insurance.  I did list his tooth drama on my application.  At the time, my vet thought that he may need filings or trims every few months.  The insurance co said that as long as I didn’t have any teeth incidents for 6 months, future teeth issues would be covered.  I haven’t needed anything since, but I don’t think that it would be an issue.  I wouldn’t lie about it though.  My cat has pet insurance and recently required some pretty extensive medical tests & was diagnosed w/ early renal disease.  When I submitted this to VPI, they requested 1 yrs worth of medical records.  Once they saw that this was not a concern b/f they gave me my check.  No biggie, just took extra time.

In addition, I believe the deductible is possibly high enough that it wouldn’t cover monthly trims?  I don’t remember the exact amt, but I remember that when I submitted for a visit or bloodwork or something, it was below the deductible amt.  So check this out as well.

That’s a tough question, BT.
I would think putting the bunny down would be the option of last resort.

I think I would start by asking my vet if they knew of any pet assistance programs. Maybe there’s financial aide for animals who need chronic care.
Possibly a vet would reduce their fee knowing it is a routine visit.

Or possibly bring the bunny to a veterinary school so students can practice procedures at no cost. Usually a senior is trained very well in the latest techniques and is ready for new patients to work on.

It may be necessary to remove some of the teeth if it means the others will grow well and not require frequent work, but I’m not sure that’s possible.
I actually learned that when Spockie had a tooth problem that needed filing, he ended up not needing more visits because at his age (7 then) his teeth had finally stopped growing. Sometimes a bun of advanced years may have that happen.

That is a hard question. I would look into the pet insurance and talk to my vet about the situation and hope to work something out with them.  My husband works and I stay at home, but if it came down to trying to afford tooth trimmings, then I would start looking for a part time job or go back to my old summer job as a baseball concession stand worker.  And at last resort, I might think about taking it to a shelter for someone else that could afford to take care of them to adopt; but I love mine so much that I could never give them up. 

I am still trying to figure this out myself. For the first bill I really did think to myself ‘hey, if this is going to be monthly I might need to put him down’. When I do take him back in a couple of weeks (July) the vet will tell me how much growth there is and how frequent he will probably need trimming. At this point though, Hubble has proven that he is a rabbit, not a rock. His personality is wonderful, he’s sweet as pie, and perfect with his litterbox habits. The decision to put him down will only happen if a really have exhausted all other options as he has really become a special rabbit to me. I will be talking with my vet next time and discussing the price and whatnot, as well as asking if his practice accepts VPI (is that the right one?). Does anyone know if Banifield (in Petsmart) accepts it?

Sorry I didn’t read the whole post….I’d be very surprised if a vet would euthanize an animal if that was the only issue and the family couldn’t afford to pay for that regular service.  Most vets I know would work w/ the owner, attempt to legitimately gain custody of the pet to locate a new owner, or tell the owner they would dispose of the pet and rehome w/ a staff member.  I have seen all of the above happen.  I also located a list of organizations.  I got this through the grapevine here in philly, but maybe some are not local:

American Animal Hospital Association http://www.aahahelpingpets.org/home / ” Through the AAHA Helping Pets Fund, veterinary care is possible for sick or injured pets even if they have been abandoned or if their owner is experiencing financial hardship.”
Angels 4 Animals http://www.Angels4Animals.org “Our services range from financial aid to complete treatment to those pets and pet owners in need.”
Care Credit http://www.carecredit.com A credit card company for health care, including veterinary care. “With a comprehensive range of plan options, for treatment or procedure fees from $1 to over $25,000, we offer a plan and a low monthly payment to fit comfortably into almost every budget.”
God’s Creatures Ministry http://www.all-creatures.org/gcm/help-cf.html “This fund helps pay for veterinarian bills for those who need help.”
Help-A-Pet http://www.help-a-pet.org/home.html “Our efforts focus on serving the elderly, the disabled, and the working poor.”
IMOM http://www.imom.org “We are dedicated to insure that no companion animal has to be euthanized simply because their caretaker is financially challenged.”
The Pet Fund http://thepetfund.com/ “The Pet Fund is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit association that provides financial assistance to owners of domestic animals who need urgent veterinary care.”
United Animal Nations http://www.uan.org/lifeline/index.html “The m ission of LifeLine is to help homeless or recently rescued animals suffering from life-threatening conditions that require specific and immediate emergency veterinary care. We strive to serve Good Samaritans and rescue groups who take in sick or injured animals. In certain cases, LifeLine can also assist senior citizens and low-income families pay for immediate emergency veterinary care.”
UK Assistance with Veterinary Bills http://www.petloversonline.co.uk/financial.htm “Most of us can cope with the financial commitment involved in the day to day care of our pets. However, how many of us come out in a cold sweat when our pet is ill or injured and we know we have to take it to the vet? Most of us are fortunate enough to be able to afford it but, some of us who love our animals dearly cannot. Unfortunately we do not have a PDSA or a RSPCA Centre within our area, but there are a few charities who may be able to help.”
http://www.petsamaritan.org/Medical/

It is something to consider. My Toby has to go in every 4-6 weeks depending on how fast they grow. Luckily my vet only charges me $12 each time, probably because I bring all the bunnies and cats into her now when they need something. She looks him over really well so he kinda gets a quick checkup thrown in for free.

She said they would always be very careful clipping them and maybe we’d never have to pull them. (he tolerates it very well) I try to put a little money back here and there just in case, because I don’t have credit cards anymore. If worse came to worse I’d have to find some extra work or something because I couldn’t bear for him to suffer like that again.

when I got yhe call from the shelter that they had received a litter of bunnies that might need fostering, there was a large kennel of 9 beautiful youngsters, then off in the corner of the room was a little cage with poor Toby. He was found starving in a backyard hutch, his overgrown teeth had gone through his lips, into his gums and effectively locked his mouth shut. they said he had food available but he couldn’t eat.

He had just gotten back from the vet and was bleeding from the holes where the teeth had been sticking them. After a week they called and said I could take him to foster and I couldn’t believe the difference. His dry, dead grayish hair was glossy black, he wasn’t all hunched over in the corner I didn’t think it was the same rabbit!

He was only at my house 1 hour before Pringles found him and fell in love and I couldn’t take him back.

Yeah I was under the impression that monthly tooth filings/clippings/etc would only be about $10 each

Sibley, the front teeth might only cost around that much, but it’s the molars that cause problems for grinding hay and are much more expensive to take care of. Somewhere between $150 and $300 is the average range, and the molars can get spurs as quickly as the front incisors get overgrown.

Bunny dentures may be in order.

If it is the front incisors that need trimming those are easily accessable and there is no risk to surround tissue to clip the teeth.  If it is the molars that are involved- sedation/anesthesia is necessary to be able to file the teeth without damaging the tongue and cheek.  It almost impossible to just see the molars without sedation let alone try to do anything to them.

There are some groups that are formed to help people with vet bills- but unfortunately with the way the economy is,  people are donating less  and the requests for assistance are higher than ever.  So there are less funds available and more needy pets.    But it does not hurt to try- but it usually takes awhile for any paperwork to go thru- so something like this would not help in the event of an emergency dental issue- rabbits don’t have the couple of days to wait for paperwork and approval.  There are some specific dog breed assistances- but I don’t think there is anything like this for rabbits considering rescues are battling just to get the rabbits out of bad situations and get them healthy.

Just be sure to be up front with everything when it comes to the insurance and claims because trying to get a claim OK’d by not revealing all info is insurance fraud and they will most likely not overlook that.

BT, I’ve noticed that even though being on BB daily is really fun, it is first and foremost an advisory board for all things bunny.
So most of the posts are requests for advice on various conditions and situations that bunnies have developed that need info.
Happening to your own bunny just once in a while is the norm, but reading lots of posts all at once can make the list of things that can go wrong seem a bit overwhelming. You may want to give yourself a few days of selecting only light or funny or just behavior posts to feel a little better and get the worries under control.

skunkslionshow’s list is amazing. Worth copying and just saving somewhere for a rainy day.

I think before you jump to conclusions and get yourself all worried you should find out what the problem is first. I think even if it is what you think it is, better to know and start making arrangements with the vet and with the insurance if it’s molar trims.

Once you know the problem, you can call and speak to the pet insurance company and you can talk to the vet about costs and arrangements – you would be surprised how much your vet really will work with you if you just talk to them.

I did that with my current vet and she worked with me alot.

BT- if you just think it’s your BP acting up, and none of your bunnies are showing any symptoms, but you are just getting worried with many of the posts lately, then I think Pam’s advice is good. Hang out in the lounge area for awhile to help lighten your mood and worries.

There is also a link I have in the links section that takes you to a great HSUS article that deals with the question of what to do when you can’t afford vet care.  http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/w…_care.html

It’s a great resource for anyone to hang onto!

BT – HHAHAHA. You’re funny! It’s good to be able to laugh about these things sometimes even though I know things worry you. It’s a wonderful coping techique!

BB’s right, and remember bunnytowne, Binkybunny has over 3,500 members now, multiply that number by goodness knows how many bunnies is the average number per owner and that’s a lot of bunnies who don’t have problems or bad teeth. I think Cotton and Ruby are lucky bunnies to have an owner like you. Now go read something funny and laugh!