suggestions for teeth issues?

[Lani]

We had our first visit with our new vet yesterday and generally the report was good (and I was thankfully very impressed with the vet). However, the only negative was that it looks like Oreo is developing a small point on her left molar. We discussed the molar trim she just had in May and she is obvoiusly concerned that it’s only been a few months and it seems to be developing again. We opted not to do another trim at this point since it’s not bothering Oreo and instead try to manage it through diet/chew toys.

So she asked me to try some of the stalkier veggies and offer hay in more than just the litter box, as long as she doesn’t get confused and lose her good potty habits. And of course lots of good toys to chew on. I know Nethies can be prone to teeth issues. If anyone has any other suggestions to help keep this in check, I’d really appreciate it!

[Sarita]

Really the chew toys are not going to help her back teeth – they are mainly for boredom.

Hay is the best choice to help with molars. So I would continue trying with the hay. Some rabbits do just have a predisposition to molar spurs and she may have slightly misaligned teeth as well.

[Sarita]

How much pellets are you giving her? You may want to decrease those to encourage increased hay consumption too.

[Lani]

She already only gets 1 tbsp of pellets

[Sarita]

Yeah, so decreasing the pellets won’t help. Maybe trying a 1st cut of hay which is stalkier might be worth trying. I’m not really sure what types of veggies though might be stalkier.

[Lani]

Her example was to encourage like the stalk of romaine, not just the leaf or celery, things like that. Her main suggestion was like you said, hay hay hay, but that trying other stuff won’t hurt either. It just makes me sad to think that there isn’t a whole lot I can do to help her

[Sarita]

I know, it’s frustrating. I’ve had quite a few rabbits with dental issues. My netherland also has dental issues – he came that way too. I don’t really know his history though other than he was dumped in his cage at a guinea pig rescue because he wasn’t eating. He had dental abscesses and molar spurs and had to have a few teeth pulled. I take him in every 4 months for a teeth filing.

I had another rabbit Pepe who had to have his teeth every 4 weeks – he had very weird teeth according to my vet.

I think being aware and trying your best to get her to eat hay is really doing alot to help her :~) She’s a very lucky rabbit to have someone who cares enough to even try.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Sarita- I wanted to ask you and I figure this is a good place to bring it up, since you know so much about bunny teeth. What would you say is the normal time range between teeth filings? I know all bunnies are different but I’m just wondering what the majority time-range is. Bindi had his teeth done in the Spring so I’m just curious. Is it possible for some bunnies to never have further problems after their initial filing?

[Sarita]

LPT – it is possible but probably not probable that it won’t ever happen again – in my experience once they have molar spurs, they will continue to need monitoring and filing – maybe not often, but it is going to happen again. It might be prudent to at least have his teeth checked every six months to see how they look. As you know, they don’t always show signs when they have molar spurs or the signs aren’t always obvious to us.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Thanks.

[Elrohwen]

I have read about particular veggies that have a high amount of silicates in them, which is like sand and can help grind down the teeth. Unfortunately I don’t remember which ones they are! I’ll do some searching, but maybe someone else can point you in the right direction there.

Otherwise I agree with Sarita about pushing the hay and trying to find some that is stalkier.

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