Buck with bad tooth?

JLPicard · May 24, 2012

My male started out with a wet chin and side cheeks, normally it was sorta green, I assumed from the dandelion, plantain, and clover I have been giving him. Over the past couple of weeks it has gotten worse. He eats very little fresh greens as mentioned and no hay at all. The wife says he never ate hay, I honestly can't remember either way, and eats very little fresh greens, but eats his pellets. If you watch him eat he is slobbering a lot while chewing, and from time to time he is rubbing his mouth with his front paws which are now a mess. He is wet and dirty all over his front paws and lower jaw most of the time and the hair on his lower jaw is starting to wear away.

We have attempted to look in his mouth, but can't get past the front ?incisors?, I can't see to his back teeth at all without a huge amount of forced, stressful, restraining. What do you do with a bunny and a sore mouth? Freezer?

MaggieJ · May 24, 2012

Yeah, I'd send him to camp. It sounds as though he is in considerable discomfort and I don't see him improving, based on what you have told us.

MamaSheepdog · May 24, 2012

I agree with freezer camp for him, because I don't see how you can treat his teeth without sedation.

However, this situation brings up a question in my mind. I know that rabbit incisors grow throughout their lives- is this also true of their molars? Horses, elephants, and some other (maybe all?) grazers have molars that do. If you don't have your horse's teeth "floated" (filed) periodically, they can develop jagged spikes which can irritate the roof of the mouth, cheeks, and tongue depending on which tooth or teeth are affected. One of the clues to a horse in need of "floating" is dropped food while chewing.

I am sorry to hear about your buck- I hope you have another to take his place.

Rustina · May 24, 2012

Freezer Camp !

If you have kept any of his offspring, be sure to keep an eye on their eating habits as they age, teeth problems can be hereditary.

SMR · May 25, 2012

I think freezer camp may be best considering its a severe case and has affected the mouth more then just the fur itself...but might want to check out the green fur aka wet dewlap treatment on Barbie's site if have further issues as those that stay 'wet' can have this issue.

IF his mouth is ok other wise though, no infection and no teeth issues for sure (didn't see any thing that said it was a tooth issue exactly when I read over the posts) its just green fur aka wet dewlap issue, could try to treat.

URL with picture:

http://www.barbibrownsbunnies.com/meds.htm http://www.barbibrownsbunnies.com/meds.htm

JLPicard · Jul 15, 2012

Thanks everyone for the assist, I will advise.

__________ Fri May 25, 2012 7:40 pm __________

We got him out of the cage today, and put him down in a 40 gallon tote, with about 1 inch of water in it. I sponged his front to clean him up, and he seemed to take it like a man just fine. I then sprayed him off with a gentle rain of water from the hose, again, he didn't even flinch, I was surprised expecting him to act like a cat. Then I picked him out and we bundled him up in a towel while my wife held him close, he struggled a little then calmed down when we got his eyes covered with her hand. I then got a good look at his lower jaw, chest and legs, they were red and there was some scaliness to them, and some loose fur. I pulled off the loose fur I could get and gently applied some Vinegar as sugged on that site you gave me SMR. It didn't seem to irritate him at all, we then cleaned his cage out good with lysol/water mix and a good scrubbing. It really wasn't too dirty. I then took out his little wood perch thingy and put a new one in there. He spent the rest of the evening grooming his front. We will see what tommrow brings.<br /><br />__________ Sun Jul 15, 2012 3:03 pm __________<br /><br />Update. After the vinegar washing, I got some Betadine and did the same procedure but instead of Vinegar as I used last time, I used the Betadine to cleanse the area. I pulled off any loose fur that was hanging on. Now, after a month, he is completely healed, and all his fur has grown back. Some of the fur that was surrounding the area seems to be perma dyed from the Betadine, but he has no evidence of the infection.

skysthelimit · Jul 15, 2012

Good. I found an article like that too. I had a doe that had a spot like that. The vinegar cleaned it up, but I guess she (or I) passed it to the nearby buck, and his is not clearing up with the vinegar. I'm going to get the betadine next walmart trip.