Diet and teeth problem

[Karla]

What do you feed your bunnies that have problems with the teeth?

I read yesterday that for instance grass is much better than hay because it contains more fibre and  wears the teeth down better than hay. But is there anything else that might be good?

What about chew sticks vs. cardboard boxes?

[bunnytowne]

Hi Karla I saw your other post about the teeth with your new bun.    Yes hay is great and grass  wood chews  cardboard boxes.

Cotton loves newspaper.  I dont’ think newspaper does much good though.    I have bought nearly every wood chew there is and the only ones my buns chew are the ones from BB.   The willow items and the siskabob  wood blocks and the 3 wood blocks by themselves all different flavors.

Your rabbits might like any wood chew  made for rabbits from a pet store some do.  Mine dont’ but  yours might.

also is you have in  your yard hibiscus those are safe for bunnies.   Louisiana is full of willow trees but florida is a bit scarce. Drat.  For you would see bald willow trees all over near my home   lol

Wetting Jack’s pellets is a great idea so he can eat.  I know you must feel better since he is eating something. 

[Deleted User]

Posted By Karla on 10/25/2009 11:34 AM

What do you feed your bunnies that have problems with the teeth?

I read yesterday that for instance grass is much better than hay because it contains more fibre and  wears the teeth down better than hay. But is there anything else that might be good?

What about chew sticks vs. cardboard boxes?

 

If your rabbit has teeth issues have his teeth checked regularly by a vet for sure.

But here’s a link I found interesting and you might too.

http://www.vrra.org/dental.htm

[RabbitPam]

What kind of issues? Are they too long or misaligned?
You may need routine visits to the vet for trimming, but meantime the suggestions above are the best. I really like willow toys since they appeal greatly to Sammy, and therefore she is chewing daily because she likes them and has fun.

[Sarita]

Well, it really does depend on if it genetic or not. Hay may not ALWAYS help the problem if they are misaligned. Overall hay is the best but do keep in mind that it won’t always help. Pellets are probably the worst though for wearing down teeth – they just don’t. I think your best bet at this point is to get a dental evaluation and see what the dental vet says about the possible reason for his dental problems. Obviously if it’s the incisors (front teeth) nothing is going to correct this. You MAY be able to decrease molar trims with a good hay eater. Either way most dental problems require regular care from the vet. Dental problems could be a precursor to stasis as well.

[Karla]

Jack is at the vet now – his incissors are being removed. They were in a pretty bad shape apparently and curling around (and apparently his lower incissiors were already partly removed). His molars needed a good trim as well. Then we will be back in 3 months and the vet will look at his teeth again.

I just want to make sure that I can do anything possible to help him with his teeth and help him daily keep them down. For instance, I didn’t know that grass was better than hay.

I will check out your link later, Petzy!

[Sarita]

You will want to get pain meds for when he gets home. I suggest you hand feed him for a few days after this procedure – his mouth will most likely hurt and you want to keep the gut moving by hand feeding him. Glad you got him quickly to the dentist too. I imagine this was a problem due to genetics more than diet. Hopefully with those incisors removed it will help.

You will need to cut his greens up for him though.

[Karla]

I hope so. I’m really worried and the vet wasn’t exactly helpful, so I feel like a bad rabbit owner for not putting him to sleep.

But I’ve checked out Petzy’s link – it seems that high-silicate vegetables are good for abrading the teeth. So that means celery, cauliflower, bean sprouts – and not that many pellets. And then I have to get him loads of grass. If any of you know of other vegetables or have other tips, let me know

How small pieces should his greens be, Sarita? I guess it is permanent and not just in the beginning, right?

[Sarita]

Without the incisors you need to cut the greens up forever from what I understand. The incisors are used for cutting the food into manageable pieces so without them well they cannot do this. So you will need to cut them into bite size pieces forever. I guess a bite size piece would be rather small for a rabbit’s mouth. You may have to adjust to see how large or small they need to be – I imagine start smaller and then see if you can go larger.

Make sure he sends you home with pain meds – don’t leave without them. Don’t feel like a bad rabbit owner for not putting him to sleep – perhaps after this procedure he will have a better chance of survival because he sure didn’t before!

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Make sure he sends you home with pain meds – don’t leave without them. Don’t feel like a bad rabbit owner for not putting him to sleep – perhaps after this procedure he will have a better chance of survival because he sure didn’t before!

DITTO on the pain meds
DITTO on not putting him down

[Author]

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