My Baby Needs Teeth Treatment

[BakingBunny]

Hi everyone, my 4 year old bunny Venti needs to get her back teeth trimmed. They are not overly long but I need to do them before they get uncomfortable for her. She has to go under anesthesia and I’m so scared I could possibly loose her trying to help her. On top of that it’s going to cost me $850! I can barely afford it but it needs to be done. I was wondering if anyone had some stories regarding back teeth trimming and anesthesia. Was it hard for your bun to recover?

 

[Bam]

Dental problems are common in rabbits, and you are right that they should be dealt with asap, before they develop into really bad problems. A dental burr to remove spurs is usually a quick affair, the bun isn’t under for a long time.

4 years is not old, but rather a typical age when dental problems start to occur. Some vets prefer to do bloodwork before putting a bun under, to check liver function (important for the ability to cope with anesthesia) and to see so there’s no active infection of any kind. The bun should  preferably not be overweight. For a healthy 4-year old bun, anesthesia is very safe, but the risk is, as you know, never zero. You should ask for painmeds (metacam) to give for a few days post burring, the buns gums can be sore for a little while. If the bun refuses to eat you might have to syringe feed her recovery food or pellet mush (pellets soaked in water).

The only thing you can do at home to try and prevent molar spurs from forming is make sure that the bun eats lots of hay. If you have access to clean grass (pesticide free, and not from an area with a lot of wildlife, like racoons), grass will be just as good as hay for grinding down teeth. (Start with smalk portions if your bun isnt used to getting fresh grass). A variety of hays helps keeping the bun interested in eating hay.

(I removed your GoFundMe link, we don’t allow members to ask for money on these forums).

[BakingBunny]

Thank you! She just got done with the procedure as I am typing this. She is starting to wake up and hopefully will have an easy recovery. I hope she eats her critical care on her own, she usually loves it to an extreme point so hopefully that encourages her.

(Sorry, I didn’t know it wasn’t allowed 🫣)

[LBJ10]

I’m glad to hear she is done and waking up! Hopefully she will be good for a while. Some bunnies just need it done once and then they are back on track. Others have recurring issues. I agree with Bam that the best way to keep the teeth worn down is to make sure your bunny eats lots of hay.

[BakingBunny]

She’s soooo tired. Barely reactive. Her ears still move and all that but I’ve never seen her this tired. Is that normal? I know she’s gonna be in pain and the vet sent me home with some pain meds. How long does it usually take them to get back to normal?

[Bam]

How is she doing now?

For some buns it can take more than a day to return to normal. The most important things are that she keeps warm and eats something. Anesthesia lowers the body temp and a low body temp is dangerous. You can warm her up in a very safe way by sitting her on your lap with a light blanket on her, (or even let her sit under your shirt), that way you’ll warm her with your own body warmth.

If she refuses to eat you should syringe her some food. It will help perk her up.

[BakingBunny]

Her ears were nice and warm last night. She didn’t eat anything but she was so tired so I just let her sleep it off on my bed. I left some critical care next to her water and it was gone this morning so she ate it sometime last night. She is definitely still sleepy but she’s coming to me when I call her now. She ate some hay and drank a bit of water. She’s following me into the bathroom for her favorite treat like she always does. She’s starting to bounce back. ❤️

[Bam]

Wonderful news! Thanks for the update!

[LBJ10]

Sometimes they are just out of it for the entire day. I’m glad she is doing better now.

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