Looking for a specialist in Montreal

[Unikatze]

Hi All, 

I live in the Canadian Arctic. Our one vet in town is not a bunny specialist.
We’ve wanted to get Wishy Neutered since he keeps peeing on us, the carpet and the cats. Also has bouts when he tries to hump them.
but our vet doesn’t feel comfortable doing it, because she’s only neutered a rabbit once in vet school, and that was years ago. 

A few months ago, he stopped eating Hay almost completely, we tried dowsing it with honey and he still paid no attention to it. I think this has to be an issue with his teeth, since he’s started trying to grind them a lot and has also started drooling a large amount. 

He now seems to be having trouble eating, we tried giving him an almond, a piece of banana and a raspberry and he tried eating them but seemed to have trouble opening his mouth enough. 
We eventually mushed the banana and the raspberry and he was able to eat. 
We’ll be calling the local vet to make an appointment as soon as she’s able to see him this week, but I don’t know if she’ll be able to help him or if she has the tools to do so if it’s tooth related. 

We’re travelling to Montreal on December 1st, and were thinking of bringing him down with us to get everything done with a specialist and so they can give him a thorough check up. 
If anyone has any specialist suggestions I’d really appreciate it. 

 Edit: Found a few vets in the area I’ll be in. I’ll still leave this here in case someone has comments/suggestions  

 

[Asriel and Bombur]

That’s great you found some vets that might be able to see him. It definitely sounds like a tooth issue and it needs to be treated because it can lead to stasis.

I just have some diet related question I see that concern me. What made you decide honey was a good idea to put on the hay? High amounts of sugar such as what is in honey is very bad for a bunny and can lead to GI complications requiring vet care. Fruits and high sugar veg like carrots should only be given in small quantities a few times a week, so something like honey is a big no no for bunnies. Also I have to ask why almonds? Nuts and seeds are high in fats and can also lead to GI issues and obesity. A good bunny diet really is 80% hay, 10% greens, 5% pellets, and 5% treats. This is optimal for a healthy bunny. I don’t mean to criticize, it just would be sad for him to have a host of other complications on top of that. GI issues can be costly as much as dental issues. Bunny parents gotta look out for each others’ wallets and the bunnies of course

To supplement his diet if his teeth really get bad, you can feed him Oxbow Critical Care and pellets mashed with water. You can also buy hay cubes which might be easier for him to chew in the mean time.

[Bunny House]

I do agree with A&B with everything said. My lop will only eat hay cubes when her teeth are causing her issues. Don’t get why but she does haha.

[Unikatze]

Thanks for the replies.

I had read somewhere that if he wasn’t eating his hay it was possible to mix some diluted honey in with it. It was very little of it, like 1/4 teaspoon diluted with water. He didn’t eat it and we’ve never given him honey before.

We do go a bit overboard with treats. We only got him in february from a friend who couldn’t take care of him anymore. He’s already 8 and we tend to spoil him. Which may be why he stopped eating his hay :/

If I were to put numbers on his diet I’d say it was somewhere around:
85% pellets, 10% veggies and 5% fruit.

Almonds is because that’s the treats his previous owner used to give him. He has maybe one a week and I never knew they were bad for him. I’ll stop.

We were going to do the mashed pellets for him today. Hopefully that makes it easier for him to eat. And I’ll look into the cubed hay as well. I just bought him some new hay since I thought maybe the other one had gotten old and that’s why he wasn’t eating it. but he didn’t touch the new one either.

[Asriel and Bombur]

Nah, if he’s drooling it’s a serious tooth problem that needs to be dealt with. It sounds like a pretty bad malocclusion or overgrown back teeth which can only be seen with a special instrument. Any time a bunny stops eating hay it’s usually a tooth issue, which several people mentioned in your previous thread. And like I said then, dental issues can really be painful to a bunny and can lead to stasis if not dealt with. It wouldn’t be from too much treats, but definitely lighten up on those because again GI issues. With bunnies you really always need to be on alert for GI issues because they come from out of left field and can make a bunny go downhill fast.

[Bunny House]

Yes, please change the diet immediately to hay and little leaf veggies. No alfalfa hay, only Timothy hay. You can get orchard or other soft hays to help it not hurt to eat it. Bunnies actually don’t need pellets as their regular diet (85% hay, 10 veggies and 5 treats) gives them all the nutrients they need.

Do you have a way to get oxbow critical care on hand? That will help give him the nutrients he needs that he has been severely lacking. You can find helpful diet and housing information under BUNNY INFO to help you out more.

[Unikatze]

Yeah, Amazon has the critical care for about 20, so I’ll buy some.
But I’m really hoping the local vet can do something about his teeth.

I just saw him at lunch time and mushed some pellets for him. He tried eating them but ate very little, like 1-2 mouthfuls.
I could hear rumbling, not sure if it’s his stomach or something else. Hope they can see him soon, I’m getting a worried.

[Asriel and Bombur]

I know being in your rural area you have no choice as there are no bunny vets near your area, but your vet may not have the proper tools or even the ability to perform the procedure that may need to happen. Depending on the problem he may need to be under anesthesia for it.

At this point you might need to syringe feed him to really make sure he’s eating enough.

[Unikatze]

My girlfriend just went to the vet to make an appointment for him since they weren’t answering the phone.

I’m thinking we’ll bring him to Montreal in with us in 4 weeks anyway, just to be sure and also to get him neutered.

[Unikatze]

Just an update. He’s been doing well, he ate the mush of pellets I made him yesterday and managed to eat the actual ones this morning.
Got an appointment for him tomorrow, but will still be taking him to Montreal on the 2nd of December. Any tips on keeping a bunny for a week in a hotel room?

Since he can eat his pellets just fine I ordered him some hay cubes and some of the Oxbow critical care.

[Asriel and Bombur]

That’s great to hear Fingers crossed it all goes well!

For hotel rooms, keep him in an xpen and lay blankets down in case he has any accidents. That’s really it.

[Unikatze]

Just finished with the vet.
He has Malocclusion on his back teeth like many of you said.
His front teeth are fine.
She unfortunately cant fix it here so we will be taking him down to Montreal after all.

She gave us some metacam for his pain in the meantime, and also shaved the bottom of his chin to help keep the area dry and rash free. She also said we could use corn starch to help dry it up.

Whole thing cost us 288 bucks. That’s living in the north I guess!

I also uploaded some pics of him. Including the one where we drew a butt in his fur

[Author]

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