nearly 3 year old boy bunny

Question
Hi Dana, My bunny is now in good hands thanks to your information and recommendations of vets in Melbourne, Australia.
My bunny has now had to have 4 teeth removed and the abcess is shrinking considerably. I have been told to continue with injections x2 a week for about the next 3 months and then we will have our 3rd check up on how things are going.
My questions are:
What is the long term affect of the antibiotics?

Since he has begun and loves his new diet of greens and hay, one side of his teeth developed spurs and had to be filed down. As was recommended by the pet store he was originally on pellets and grains.
How is is possible that hay and soft greens will help him grind down his teeth?
Is it okay to give him a tiny bit of pellets every so often to assist him because I am not happy to have his teeth filed down every time???

Thanks again for your help
Sahar

Answer
Dear Sahar,

The effect of long-term antibiotics depends on the antibiotic.  If you are using bicillin injections, then the main risks would be sensitization to the drug itself, possibly resulting in allergic reaction to an injection.  This is uncommon, but not impossible.

Any long-term antibiotic use should be expected to interfere with the natural "ecosystem" of the bunny's native bacterial and fungal flora, but if the choice is between letting a pathogen form a potentially fatal abscess and temporarily disrupting the bunny's ecosystem...well, the choice is clear, at least to me.

Hay and wet greens promote a side-to-side chewing motion, as opposed to a mostly up-and-down motion used to chew pellets and grains.  The side-to-side motion is more natural, and helps wear down lateral molar spurs as in wild rabbits.

Pellets are fine, as long as he also eats his hay and wet greens.  Natural grazing on grass and twigs is the very best "exercise" you can provide for his dental health.  So if you have a yard where he can graze on the lawn (no pesticides or fertilizers, and no wild animal waste), that will really help.

Hope this helps!

Dana