What happened while he was eating his hay?

[Bumblebunny]

Last night Bumblebunny was eating his hay; all of a sudden he stopped eating and started rubbing his mouth with both front paws and he kept moving his mouth in a chewing motion.  After a few minutes he jumped up onto one of his usual places and just sat quietly; he did not want anyone to pet him or be around him.  He did settle down and ate his greens and pellets last night and his lettuce this morning but he still keeps moving his mouth in a chewing motion and seems to rub his mouth with his paws every so often (not grooming).  Does anyone have an idea of what might have happened??   Vet appointment is tomorrow, since everything else seems normal.

[Sarita]

Might be a dental problem.

[Silly Sungura]

It sounds to me like it has something to do with his teeth, too. Hopefully he just has a bit of hay stuck between his teeth, rather than something more serious. My bunny sometimes gets hay stuck in her teeth, particularly the seed heads, and she acts similarly to your Bumblebunny until she’s able to dislodge it with her paws.

[longhairmike]

when i snack on the bunnys’ hay,, i get that crap stuck between my teeth all the time.. annoying as hell…

[bunnyfriend]

Ouch..I would take him to the vet.

haha longhairmike

[LittlePuffyTail]

That sounds exactly like what my Bindi was doing right before it was determined he needed his molar spurs filed.

[Dee]

Sometimes I’ve gotten splinters from my bunnies hay, some of the stalks are so rough esp. with the 1st cut timothy. Maybe he got stuck in the mouth by a sharp piece of hay…? I hope it’s something minor like that, but even if it’s molar spurs or some other tooth issue, it can be taken care of.
How did the vet visit go?

[Bumblebunny]

As usual, by the time we got to the vet all the symptoms disappeared. Since he was not displaying symptoms, the vet checked his mouth with a scope and could not see anything obvious. The teeth looked normal and there were no signs of infection or injury. He said keep a close watch and if the symptoms return he will sedate bunny and do a thorough check and dental x-ray. He thinks that probably bunny jabbed himself with a piece of hard hay and was just uncomfortable for a day. I guess we are lucky that this was the extent of the problem.

[tobyluv]

I’m glad that you got a good report at the vet, and I hope that Bumblebunny has no more problems.

There was a bunny at the sanctuary where I volunteer, who got a small piece of hay jammed up between her teeth and gums. She had to have it removed at the vet. So it’s definitely possible that hay can cause a problem, thankfully it doesn’t happen very often.

[bunnyfriend]

That’s great that the vet visit went well!

[Mandyyy]

I agree with the teeth issue. Nava’s front teeth over grow, and sometimes when they need a trimming she does the same.

[Author]

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