I’m calling an animal communicator about Fuzzy

[carrythehare]

As weird as this might seem,   I am going to talk to an animal communicator about Fuzzy not eating his hay.   Its getting bad.   I’ve tried adding alfalfa hay,  and a mixture of hay with rose petal and marigold to get him to eat.   he dove into the alfalfa at first,  then won’t eat any more.   Sounds like dental discomfort.   If it IS dental discomfort, then I suspect he is on his way out.   He did NOT tolerate the most tolerable anti-biotic.   They can’t pull his teeth with dental pockets because they ALL seem to have a tiny pocket on x-ray.   They vet mentioned trying to grind his teeth down again after enough time has passed for them to have grown.   The CC powder feedings do not encourage him to eat hay.   They vet did NOT think the pockets on x-ray were enough to give him this problem,  but he wasnn’t sure.   He isn’t sure he has any abscess around his teeth.  We tried the anti-biotic just to see if it would help.   He was on pain med for a few weeks, and it didn’t help.   I’ll take Fuzzy back to the vet next week to recheck the teeth.   I just don’t know how to get enough fiber into him, unless I really increase his CC powder, but that is fairly short term.  He eats lots of pellets no problem.   They vet said hay is more difficult to eat than pellets.  I tried giving Fuzzy a small amount of veggies.  Again it gave him diarrhea.   After diarrhea,  his digestion is worse: small poos.  The vet had checked his poos for certain common parasites/ bacteria which might cause problems.   As far as I know,  Fuzzy doesn’t really have any other symptoms.   I’ve spent a ton of money on this issue so far.   He had his teeth ground down a couple of months ago.

I am going to ask the animal communicator if Fuzzy reports dental discomfort,  or if he has another reason to NOT eat hay.   Neither the vet nor I know.

[Sarita]

What kind of dental problems does he have? Molar spurs? Many times even eating hay is not going to stop this type of problem.

Does your vet have alot of experience with rabbits? Rabbit dental disease is very common and isn’t always diet related.

My rabbit with molar spurs has to have his teeth filed about every 8 weeks or so for now.

[Beka27]

can someone tell me what the rabbit “pockets” are that the vet is referring to? is it an infection… or…? i’m not sure what that means.

[RabbitPam]

If he’s eating pellets without trouble, try getting Oxbow’s “Bunny Basic T”. It’s a pellet made of ground timothy hay, so was the next best thing to use when my bunny resisted all hays. Lately I’m finding it in the small animals section of PetSmart.

[RabbitPam]

Also, have you tried Orchard Grass? And guys, what’s the softer stuff they recommend; is it Second Cut Timothy Hay or Roam?

[Sarita]

There is also a 3rd cutting from KMS Hayloft that is very nice…this will not help with “grinding” the teeth down though but it will help as far as fiber if that is a concern…it’s not as high in fiber as 1st or 2nd cutting but it is softer. They also have a blue grass that might be worth a try as well.

Here’s a link:

http://www.kmshayloft.com/catalog/index.php

[KatnipCrzy]

carrythehare- it sounds like maybe you should strongly consider seeing another rabbit vet for a second opinion.  Ask the take the x-rays with you.

“pockets” on x-ray explanation- when you take an x-rays of a bone it shows “white” on the black background.  Bone and cartiledge is dense- so that is what creates the shading of an x-ray.  When you take a dental x-ray-  the vet makes sure to get the bottom/root of the tooth into the view.  Dark or shaded areas around the tooth roots indicate the bone is not as dense there which is usually an indication of infection.  The bone should be just as dense as under a healthy tooth with no “dark pockets” showing.  I am not sure what else it might indicate other than infection-other than possibly a cancerous process with attacks the bone- but sounds highly unlikely in this case as it is the same for ALL the molars.  Infection will destroy bone if left untreated.

Your vet sounds as though he has given up hope and/or is not even sure of a diagnosis even with x-rays.  Not a good sign.  And even if the bunny can not eat hay or will not eat hay- I think there are a lot of things that you could try before you lose hope!  If Critcal Care is what helps your bunny to get past his dental problems (with treatment!) then who cares how long he has to be on it.  Will he try to eat it out of a bowl or lick it off the end of a syringe slowly dispensing it?  Have you tried to chop the hay into smaller pieces to encourage him to try to eat it?  What about differnet kinds of softer hay?  like the 3rd cut and other different grasses that were suggested.

Please don’t give up hope yet!  It may turn out that Fuzzy will be a special needs bunny, but those often end up even closer to our hearts with all the individual care and one on one time.

[KatnipCrzy]

Also- just because Fuzzy could not toletate the “most tolerable” antibiotic to MOST rabbits does not mean that another antibiotic will not work!   There are other meds out there to try if he needs an antibiotic, have your vet try another antibiotic.   Not being able to tolerate 1 antibiotic does NOT mean that Fuzzy can not tolerate all antibiotics.

From personal experience- I had a dental procedure done this summer and was prescribed antibiotics that day of the procedure and pain meds and started them that day.  By the next day I was in a huge amount of pain, regardless of pain meds.  I was given a second antibiotic to take as well as the first- still in huge amount of pain even with pain meds.  Finally when I stopped first 2 antibiotics and started 3rd antiobiotic within 24 hours I was much, much better.  An infection at the root of a tooth is painful, without treating the cause, pain meds were definitely not enough to enable me to eat normally.  Until an antiobiotic worked on the infection- pain meds did not do much for the pain, swelling and  gum tissue sloughing.

[Sarita]

I agree with Katnip too – I think you need to see a dental specialists…most times vets don’t have the specialized x-ray machines for dental care in their offices because they cost so much and usually well send you to a dental specialist.

Can you have your vet refer you to a dental specialist who has experience with rabbits?

[Beka27]

Katnip, thanks for clarifying. that sounds like what would result in a root canal in humans… but of course with buns that’s not possible…

[bunnytowne]

I agree go to another vet.  Most of the time not eating hay but eating pellets is a sign of dental issues.  And vice versa if eating hay but not pellets same thing sounds dental.  And that can hurt a lot.

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