is chewing important?

[manic_muncher]

Hi guys!  It’s been awhile since I bugged ya with silly questions, so here I am again. 

So Bumpy was neutered yesterday, and I was so worked up about getting the procedure done and getting out of there as soon as possible, that I forgot to ask them about this.

 I know chewing hay is necessary for their back teeth, but what about the front teeth?  Does chewing hay help keep those in check as well?  I’ve gotten several wooden chew toys, apple sticks and made willow rings for him.  But he won’t touch the apple sticks or the wooden toys, but he will eat the willow.  He does pick the willow up with his front teeth, but once it is destroyed out of it’s shape, he’s eating it like hay, primarily with the back teeth (I always think of the Lady and the Tramp spaghetti-eating scene).

I used to have a full cardboard box in his area where he liked to dig and rip up.. but I discovered he was eating it a little more than I think he should have been, and I was afraid he wasn’t eating enough hay because he was filling up on cardboard.  So now his cardboard houses have no bottoms, and he spends his time underneath them, moving them all around while he’s inside.  He doesn’t chew them now, but I’m guessing it’s only because they move too much for him to get a good hold on them.

 Anyway!  For veggies we’re up to romaine, parsley, basil and bok choy.  I’m wondering if the crunchiness of the romaine and bok choy is enough for those front teeth.  Am I worrying for nothing?

BTW: His neuter went well, they used internal sutures only, so I don’t have to make that long drive again unless something is wrong.  He’s actually acting like nothing even happened.  I can’t be more pleased about that.  I want to thank everyone for their positive reinforcements with encouraging me to getting him neutered.  I got a rabbit society to assist with offsetting the amount I had to pay… I actually walked out of there with a vet visit, neuter and pain meds for a cost to me of only $32!  So if anyone is worrying about costs, I STRONGLY encourage you to search online for “low-cost rabbit neuters” and check out anything you find!

 

[Beka27]

What a great deal on the neuter! That’s amazing!

Front teeth usually keep themselves in check as long as they are not misaligned. Chewing wood can definitely help, but I wouldn’t worry too much about it unless the vet says they are not wearing down normally.

Have you tried anchoring wood? Rabbits prefer if their wood chews don’t move when they chew. A simple, low-cost option is a short length of untreated 2×4 ziptied to the pen or cage. The bun can gnaw on it without it moving around. (This is why lots of buns like chewing on baseboards, they are stationary!)

[manic_muncher]

That makes perfect sense… I don’t know why I didn’t think of that, especially considering I discovered he doesn’t chew his houses BECAUSE they move! I’ll try zip-tying the sticks at intervals on his pen. Thanks!

And yes… I had found a promising place that ONLY does neuters, it’s like a neuter factory. They offered very low costs, but the volume of calls they receive are so high, they don’t even answer the phone. “leave a message and we’ll return your call in the order it was received” Well that was all good and fine… but at that time I was stuck on dialup and without any idea of when (or IF) they’d call me, I simply left them my information, including an email addy. After a few weeks, I just gave up on them. That’s when I went on the google searching hard and heavy. LOL

The people that helped were really nice and PROMPT! Literally three days from initial contact, they worked around my distance problem and allowed me to go to the vet that had been recommended to me by a vet I previously worked with and trust 100% (which was 2 hours closer than the vet they usually use), added additional financial assistance, called the vet with their payment information and I had an appointment scheduled for 3 days later! I have much more time than money, so I plan on doing some volunteer work for the organization to repay their kindness and hopefully be able to help others in the future.

[Kayota]

My vet has low cost neuters too They don’t know if my future male bun will incur “hospitalization costs” or not but if he doesn’t it’s about $35, if he does it’s about $52. Mako will be around $100 for a spay.

[Rufus]

Great news. Speedy recovery Bumpy!!

[Author]

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