molar removal

Question
my bunny is 3 yrs old and has had his molars filed aprox 4 times  in the last 18 months.he has hay etc and chews boxes etc.my vet says its a common thing and maybe the top tooth has stopped growing and not filing down.they say he is getting old for regular sedation and sugested pain relief only....i am concerned about long term and have read about molar removal.will he be able to eat properly without them???8 weeks on from last teeth job and he has symptoms already

Answer
Hi Joanne,

I am very sorry to hear they did that.

I would never go to that vet ever again.  Nowadays you don't have to put a rabbit down for something like this.  He was a youngster.  If the teeth were that bad, and were in danger of possibly growing upwards into the skull, they could be removed.  He could have survived on a modified diet quite happily, most likely.  There are people that have bunnies that don't have any front teeth, or don't have molars, and they can get by on modified diets quite well.

I can't believe they did that.  It makes me angry that that is the only solution they had for you.  I would not use them as a vet for rabbits again.

I am sorry for your little guy, and you.

Lee


Hi Joanne,

if your vet thinks three years is old for a rabbit, get a new vet.  Indoor house rabbits can live 10-12 years now, with good care.  Three years is a young adult.

I would ask a good rabbit vet about options.  Filing down teeth are common, and for good rabbit vets are not considered to be dangerous if the rabbit is in otherwise good health.

To find a good rabbit vet in your area, go here:

www.rabbit.org/vets/vets.html

and find a House Rabbit Society recommended vet near you.

I would ask them about pros and cons of tooth removal.  If filing can keep the teeth, I'd almost be inclined to keep filing them.  A good rabbit vet may do a better job (require less filings per year) and allow the rabbit to continue to eat hay.  Also the good rabbit vet may see that it isn't quite so bad as previously thought.  Those molars in the back do sideways grinding on hay, you really kind of want to keep them if you can.

Lee