Recent Feedback
what is rate at which bunny teeth grow? Benny is 5 yrs. Prior guardians didn't feed him hay - so he has teeth probs. When I see stain in his dewlap I take him to vet for spur treatment. Within few days I see another stain. Trying to figure out if teeth are gowing very fast or not enough attention is given to treating all spurs there at the time. Worries me to have him under anesthesia so frequently.
Optional Information: Type of Animal: Bunny Gender: Male Age: Approx 5 yrs Name of Animal: Benny Already Tried: He has a very good bunny diet now - lots of hay and 5 selections of leafy greens daily.
Thank you for your question.Malocclusion and dental disease can be terrible for rabbits, especially if Benny had been neglected before. It is sadly not uncommon to have rabbits have recurring dental issues because of their ever growing teeth and their not being able to keep them worn down appropriately. I have had some wee rabbit patients who had had to have monthly dentals just to keep their teeth in check (and I am not a huge fan of lots of anesthesias for these wee guys either). In regards XXXXX XXXXX rate of tooth growth, we find that the teeth can grow between 1-5 mm per week. If he has had a dental just a few days ago, I would be suspicious that this stain may be arising because he is still dysphagic and relearning how to eat with proper in wear teeth (if he has had to make due with terrible teeth for a while) rather then because the teeth are already overgrowing.To give you an idea of which might be the case, you will want to monitor his eating. If he is eating poorly or selectively grazing for soft foods, then consider having his vet do a post-dental check and examine and double check those teeth. If he is eating well, then I would monitor him at this point and encourage him to chew on hard foods or chews to just keep those teeth ground down best we can.If you don’t already have a rabbit vet, and wish to find one near you, by checking here (LINK).
I hope this information is helpful. Please do let me know if you have any further questions. If you have no further questions, feedback is always appreciated.
All the best,
Dr. B.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3 more quest - is anesthesia for handling purposes and/or is spur treatment painful or too uncomforable for bunny? timothy hay - (seems like) the hard straw-like strands are good for him to eat for his teeth? fuzzy tops on some timothy hay strands - ok for him to eat?
No worries, I prefer to answer any questions you may have, rather then leaving you in any doubt.All parts of the timothy hay are fine to eat and roughage is good for teeth and guts in bunnies. For our dental purposes, you also want hard pellet, some firm fruits/veg (ie carrots, broccoli, etc) and access to hard chews (if he is new to you, then it might take some trial+error to figure out what chew toy/treats he might be willing to use -- so keep try a range and do eye on what he likes).Anesthesia is used for rabbit dentals (not just examination) because we need them to have their mouths opened wide so we can get to those spurs way in the back. Example: I wouldn't say it is painful (since removal of the overgrown tooth won't hurt because it lacks nervous tissue and really getting the spurs away will be a relief for them), just rabbits aren't keen to say 'Ahhh' while we get in there and sort their teeth. It is the same reason why we need to use anesthesia for cats and dogs as well.Take care,Dr. B.
Experience: General practice veterinary surgeon with a special interest in cats & fish.
Hi April,I'm just following up on our conversation about Benny. How is everything going?nekovet
Everything is going well with Benny. He's a trooper. The only way I have of knowing his spurs need treatment is by a stain on his dewlap. He's always in good spirits (as is Daisy his companion) and he always has a good appitite. Unfortunately his vet and the info from you have indicated over time he will have spurs more and more often which means treatments more often yet not too close together because of the anesthesia. Don't want to think past this point. Too painful for me. Thank you very much for your time in answering my questions.
Good evening,I am glad to hear that things are going well with Benny. While that is quite a subtle hint, it is good that you do recognize it when he is having an issue (I've seen many a bunny come in with spurs so overgrown that they are cutting their tongues or cheek). And I am afraid that since their teeth keep growing this will keep being an issue for him (and molars can't be removed as we might with malaligned incisors) but at least we can try and get him chewing and wearing down those teeth so that intervention is less frequent. Hopefully that way, you and your vet can keep him comfortable and a continually happy bunny.All the best,Dr. B.