Marlee's first real check-up!

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 12sd replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 15 years, 10 months ago by Beka27.

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- 05/03/2010 at 8:23 AM
  Kiley Rose
  Participant
  267 posts
  So Marlee has her first check up scheduled with a very rabbit savvy vet today (she even does bunny acupunture). I’ve heard nothing but excellent things about her and everytime she sees a new bun she schedules a full one hour appointment!
  
  I’m going to bring a poo sample, but I was just wondering if anyone had ideas of any questions I should ask? I have just a few, but I don’t want to forget any…checkups aren’t cheap… $54 and with a sanitary shave, $70. I can’t believe I won’t spend even $20 on a dress but I spend sooo much on my rabbits (just got them a bunch of new toys yesterday)
  
  Thanks
- 05/03/2010 at 8:29 AM
  Elrohwen
  Participant
  7318 posts
  I hate checkups – mine are $90! 🙁
  
  I don’t know if there are any specific questions you might have. I usually let my doctor lead and ask me questions about the bunny’s health and eating habits. If you don’t have any concerns I don’t know that you need to ask many questions.
- 05/03/2010 at 2:58 PM
  Kiley Rose
  Participant
  267 posts
  So my total ended up being $112! Totally wasn’t ready for that. She did get the full treatment though, eye, ear, and mouth check, nails, clean glands, sanitary shave, and a good brushing. She’s a little overweight (due to her old food, but she’s on Oxbow bunny basics T now) so I have to cut her pellets down to 1/8 cup a day. She seems a little happier and not extremely mad at me, so that’s good.
  
  She did get “Pro-Biotic” medicine cause she’s been a little stopped up, so I’m supposed to put 2 drops on her pellets a night. They also said that she’s got the beginning of molar spurs that will have to be taken care of eventually. The vet let me look in her mouth at them, it was pretty neat, such a cute little tongue. I go back in 2-3 weeks for another check-up to see how the medication is working and how her teeth look after she’s done shedding so much.
- 05/03/2010 at 3:47 PM
  Elrohwen
  Participant
  7318 posts
  Healthy teeth vibes!
  
  I took Hannah in for her first check up and she had mild molar spurs too that we had to take care of. $250 bill for me right there *headdesk*
- 05/03/2010 at 4:41 PM
  Kiley Rose
  Participant
  267 posts
  Gah! What causes molar spurs? Is it just genetic?
- 05/03/2010 at 5:22 PM
  Beka27
  Participant
  16016 posts
  Some rabbits just don’t occlude their teeth properly. Give a variety of hays and hard things to chew and eat and that may decrease the frequency they need to be trimmed. Why did the vet do a sanitary shave, has she been having poopy butt issues?
- 05/03/2010 at 8:23 PM
  Kiley Rose
  Participant
  267 posts
  Yeah, everytime I picked her up she had to be cleaned. I think since there was so much hair she couldn’t really clean herself that well. Her glands were really bad. But all night she’s been surprisingly active and has been coming up to me more in the past few hours than she has in the past month! I’m glad she’s feeling better. Oh, and I finally picked some leaves off my kale plant I got about a month ago… they both loved it!
  
  Are paper towel/ TP rolls good for her teeth? Those and pinecones are really the only things she likes to chew on a regular basis. She has other blocks and some throw toys, but rarely plays with them.
- 05/04/2010 at 4:59 AM
  Beka27
  Participant
  16016 posts
  No, those are too soft. Can you get large wood blocks or 2×4 untreated planks of wood? Those would help her incisors. For the molars, you’d probably be better off with willow toys, since that’s something she’d actually grind up with her back teeth. Plus, like I said, different types of hay, and different cuts should help. If you usually feed really soft, leafy hays, try to get thicker, stalkier hay that has to be ground up more. I’m not a hay expert, so maybe someone else can recommend a particular type/cut?
  
  But like I said, chewing alone may or may not help with molar spurs, or it may just decrease the frequency. Has she ever had teeth problems before?
- 05/04/2010 at 5:01 AM
  Beka27
  Participant
  16016 posts
  Here is the Dana Krempel link about dental health. http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/dental.html
- 05/04/2010 at 5:29 AM
  Kiley Rose
  Participant
  267 posts
  I’m not sure about her teeth…I’ve only had her since September and this was her first checkup where the vet actually looked at her teeth and all. The vet where she had her spay wasn’t as rabbit savvy as I thought. :/
  
  I can definatley get her larger blocks to chew on and I have the willow basket from BB in her cage, although she never really chews it.
  
  I usually just feed her the timothy hay and sometimes the one with mint (when they’re bogo) that come from Petco, Kaytee I think? I can’t remember right this second. Are those too soft?
  
  Thanks for the link.
- 05/04/2010 at 5:43 AM
  Beka27
  Participant
  16016 posts
  There are some hays, and again… I’m not a hay expert, that have thicker stalks. I believe oat is thicker, but it’s also more fattening. Petstore hay is usually poor quality, the Kaytee especially. Can you get bales of horse hay from farms or order better quality hay/different cuts online?
- 05/04/2010 at 5:44 AM
  Sarita
  Participant
  18851 posts
  Hay would be the best for the teeth. My rabbit Pepe gets molar trims every 4 to 5 weeks. He has slight malocclusion and probably would not have to go as frequently if he would eat hay more. His teeth are really bad and my vet has to be very aggressive for his trims…he has weird teeth she says.
- 05/04/2010 at 5:49 AM
  Beka27
  Participant
  16016 posts
  When I reread the Dana Krempel’s dental article before I posted the link, I was intrigued by the mention of bone loss in older rabbits. Just like with humans, rabbits begin to lose bone as they age, this can result in a “bunny periodontal disease”, causing the teeth to become slightly mobile and affect occlusion, preventing them from being worn down properly. This could be a big clue why some buns go years without dental problems and then all of a sudden, seem to develop molar spurs.
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