Hi all. I need some honest opinions about what to do with our rabbit.
He's a neutered male Netherland Dwarf rabbit. We've had him since he was five weeks old and now he's almost nine. Because people usually ask, this breed typically lives between 8-12 years, sometimes longer. He lives inside and has the run of the guest room. He is litter box trained. He is gentle, no biting and not aggressive, but skiddish and not very social.
In 2008 we discovered he has teeth issues where his back teeth are not getting properly ground down with his eating habits. So, his teeth continue to grow and form points that rub on his cheeks and tongue and form sores and abscesses that get infected.
Because of this, we have to take him to the vet every 13-14 weeks to have him put under anesthesia to get his teeth trimmed. This costs about $400 a visit.
I am a SAHM to our one son. Money is tight because of this, but we have money to pay our bills and don't carry credit card debt generally.
Since staying home, it is increasingly hard to fit this in our budget. I obviously don't want to euthanize him, but I don't know what other options I have (not saying euthanzing him is on the table). Do any of you have any creative solutions to my problem? Other than the teeth issue, his health is generally good. I'm just having a hard time with this.
Is there some kind of certain food or something he should be eating for this? It's been forever since I owned a rabbit.
Can these teeth be pulled, or is it too many? I don't know if you can even pull teeth in rabbits as I'm not familiar with them. My cat had countless problems with all of her teeth on one side until they were finally pulled, three on the top and three on the bottom. I'm not sure how simliar rabbits are in this respect.
I've, in a round about way, mentioned our financial restrictions to our current plan. He will just allude to the fact that we've always done so well with him, and it's like pulling teeth (no pun intended) to get others to pay for suggested treatments. FWIW, this is an exotic vet so I guess others have trouble pulling the trigger on spending lots of money on animals like lizards, hamsters, etc.
He had an unexplainable abscess on his abdomen a couple months so that they had to surgically remove, and they biopsied it, which was not cancerous. I tried to broach the subject then, as we would not have been able to move forward with chemo, but perhaps I was too vague.
Eating his hay (which is wont eat) would help with his teeth. I've tried to get chewy type things which he does chew, but doesn't help the problem.
At his next appointment I'll try and be a little more specific in my desire for alternate treatments. This vet also has a culture of going to all ends to save a pet, so I feel like a bad rabbit mom for even entertaining any of this...
Is there some kind of certain food or something he should be eating for this? It's been forever since I owned a rabbit.
Can these teeth be pulled, or is it too many? I don't know if you can even pull teeth in rabbits as I'm not familiar with them. My cat had countless problems with all of her teeth on one side until they were finally pulled, three on the top and three on the bottom. I'm not sure how simliar rabbits are in this respect.
Hay is supposedly what would help the problem, but he won't eat hay, trust me, I've bought about every kind. He's had a number of teeth pulled, and I've inquired about this, but they said that they're near impossible to pull if they're healthy.
Is there some kind of certain food or something he should be eating for this? It's been forever since I owned a rabbit.
Can these teeth be pulled, or is it too many? I don't know if you can even pull teeth in rabbits as I'm not familiar with them. My cat had countless problems with all of her teeth on one side until they were finally pulled, three on the top and three on the bottom. I'm not sure how simliar rabbits are in this respect.
That might work if it is just 2 teeth. The problem is that rabbits have to eat food which requires chewing. There isn't really soft rabbit food that is healthy.Â
I remember now. My dad would get rabbit treats at a farm supply store and they were incredibly crunchy to keep their teeth short. He would mix a few in with their food each day.Â
That's good to know, there's a farm supply store nearby, I'll check them out to see if they carry crunchy treats like that. Thanks!
I had two Netherland Dwarf bunnies growing up (chestnut color) and one had a problem with her teeth. If I remember correctly, I believe we put a dried branch from a fruit tree in her cage for her to chew on (I think it was peach...) and it did help a bit.
Maybe you could find another vet? I actually just made a post about vets last week. It's my experience that farm vets are much cheaper than vets that primarily tend to deal with just small pets.
I'm sorry. One of my bunnies had this issue. We trimmed her teeth ourselves after talking to the vet. They can't feel it, and she was perfectly willing. There are a ton of you tube videos if you think your or your H would be up for it.
I can't really think of any other solutions. I'm sorry.
I'm sorry. One of my bunnies had this issue. We trimmed her teeth ourselves after talking to the vet. They can't feel it, and she was perfectly willing. There are a ton of you tube videos if you think your or your H would be up for it.
I can't really think of any other solutions. I'm sorry.
Ooo... I don't know. His mouth is SO small, like my pinky finger MIGHT fit. I don't think he'd be as willing as yours sounded!! Thanks, though!
I had two Netherland Dwarf bunnies growing up (chestnut color) and one had a problem with her teeth. If I remember correctly, I believe we put a dried branch from a fruit tree in her cage for her to chew on (I think it was peach...) and it did help a bit.
This is a good idea, thanks! Now I'll have to search out a fruit tree!
That sounds like a pretty cruel option. Â Take a 9 year old rabbit away from the only family he has ever known to sit in a shelter. Â Do you know what happens to most animals that are in a shelter? Â You know, cause there are so many people looking to take in a rabbit with a $2000 a year vet bill.
Sorry? Â I was trying to think of an alternative that didn't require her to put down a pet she loved.Â
And no, I don't know anything about shelters. I thought they were a safe place while an animal waits for adoption.Â
I've thought about seeing if the vet knew of any rich bunny lovers (lol) that might be willing to take him on and would follow through with his treatments. I just don't know...
I had two Netherland Dwarf bunnies growing up (chestnut color) and one had a problem with her teeth. If I remember correctly, I believe we put a dried branch from a fruit tree in her cage for her to chew on (I think it was peach...) and it did help a bit.
This is a good idea, thanks! Now I'll have to search out a fruit tree!
I did some googling (didn't want to give bad info) and it looks like some branches (ie apple) are ok but others need to be dried well (ie peach). I might have been wrong about the type of fruit tree I used, but I do remember my little bunny loved the branch and would scrape it clean!
Not many people have this breed (the personality is very skittish/not social) but your post and all of my googling made me remember my little guys
Here is the website I found (http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/chewing.html)
Yeah, I would look into a farm vet. (Is that what they're called?) They may have a better solution than a vet for small domestic animals. They also seem less interested in seeing animals as often and helping the owners learn to treat animals themeslves when able.
Yeah, I would look into a farm vet. (Is that what they're called?) They may have a better solution than a vet for small domestic animals. They also seem less interested in seeing animals as often and helping the owners learn to treat animals themeslves when able.
Very true. Mine was/is a farm vet. He's always happy to teach us what we need to do.
I don't have any helpful ideas but I wanted to say that I'm sorry you're going through this. I love our pets (cats) and I honestly don't know what we would do given such a dilemma, so I wish you the best of luck in this decision making process.
That sounds like a pretty cruel option. Take a 9 year old rabbit away from the only family he has ever known to sit in a shelter. Do you know what happens to most animals that are in a shelter? You know, cause there are so many people looking to take in a rabbit with a $2000 a year vet bill.
Sorry? I was trying to think of an alternative that didn't require her to put down a pet she loved.
And no, I don't know anything about shelters. I thought they were a safe place while an animal waits for adoption.
What world do you live in? Aren't you the same person that didn't know f*g was a slur?
fussybear, I am sorry to hear about your bunny. I have a very good friend whose bunny had the same problem and her vet would routinely trim the teeth of the bunny. What I am very confused about here is the cost. For my friend, she would get the vet to trim the teeth about 6 times a year and it was generally under $100. Is there a reason your bunny needs to be put under to get his teeth trimmed?
I vote that you should try to find a new vet who will trim the teeth without anesthesia, unless there is some compelling medical reason to put the bunny under.
That sounds like a pretty cruel option. Take a 9 year old rabbit away from the only family he has ever known to sit in a shelter. Do you know what happens to most animals that are in a shelter? You know, cause there are so many people looking to take in a rabbit with a $2000 a year vet bill.
Sorry? I was trying to think of an alternative that didn't require her to put down a pet she loved.
And no, I don't know anything about shelters. I thought they were a safe place while an animal waits for adoption.
You don't know anything about shelters? We were talking about shelters in yoru thread about possibly getting a dog just the other week.
What world do you live in? Aren't you the same person that didn't know f*g was a slur?
I don't understand the hate here. Clearly I was trying to help in a difficult situation and offered several suggestions. I've never been to a shelter because my family got our rabbits at a farm, but I have heard good things about the ones my friends/colleagues have adopted from. If shelters are so bad just counter my advice with something helpful for this person, or explain why my idea isn't so great.
Not everyone has been exposed to the same things in life, and again, my impression of shelters is still positive from the people I know.
Shelters are a great place to adopt animals from. No one is denying that. But they're a bad place to dispose of them. 10+ million animals die in shelters each year b/c there are too many to adopt out.
I don't understand the hate here. Clearly I was trying to help in a difficult situation and offered several suggestions. I've never been to a shelter because my family got our rabbits at a farm, but I have heard good things about the ones my friends/colleagues have adopted from. If shelters are so bad just counter my advice with something helpful for this person, or explain why my idea isn't so great.
Not everyone has been exposed to the same things in life, and again, my impression of shelters is still positive from the people I know.
Shelters are a great place to adopt animals from. No one is denying that. But they're a bad place to dispose of them. 10+ million animals die in shelters each year b/c there are too many to adopt out.
Post by FrozenSunshine on Feb 1, 2013 16:36:03 GMT -5
Check the local farm store. Our rabbit would eat pellet food and loved the treats we'd get. He also had access to a honey/berry stick that looks like a bird feeder all the time. Hay was only good for making a mess with!
Post by wrathofkuus on Feb 1, 2013 16:51:55 GMT -5
If you do have to get his teeth pulled, you can give him the Oxbow banana-flavored Critical Care in addition to the pellets (they do gum and eat pellets, even when they're toothless).
If that's not necessary, though, give him a lot of thinnish, yet sizeable (so he can get his mouth around an edge, but the box doesn't move) wooden boxes to chew on.
If you do have to get his teeth pulled, you can give him the Oxbow banana-flavored Critical Care in addition to the pellets (they do gum and eat pellets, even when they're toothless).
If that's not necessary, though, give him a lot of thinnish, yet sizeable (so he can get his mouth around an edge, but the box doesn't move) wooden boxes to chew on.
Will do, thanks. He LOVES the critical care. The vet has had us give it to him a couple times. He goes nuts for it. It's quite amusing.
I just wanted to echo the comments about $400 sounding very high. When we get our dogs teeth cleaned, I think the most we ever paid was around $200, and that included some sort of fancy fluids being given to her so she would "wake up more rested" or something. ha. I would guess it's much quicker to put the rabbit out, clip its teeth and be done, than it is to clean a dog's teeth. I would seek out another vet for another opinion and cost estimate, plus see if you can learn to do it yourself at home.
I think these ladies had great advice regarding a second opinion and possibly some crunchy treats. I just wanted to add that I had 2 Netherland Dwarfs growing up and although I loved them, they were so damn skittish!! I was so sad my bunnies didn't like me (I was 7)!