Opinion on bringing home rabbit?

[Noodles]

Hello everyone! I’m new to this forum but have browsed around pretty extensively for the past year, as I’ve been planning to get a rabbit for quite some time.

Anyway, I finally filed to adopt a lovely Netherland dwarf rabbit named Onyx back in the beginning of May at my local MSPCA rescue shelter. I’ve met lots of rabbits and he was the perfect one, I just felt an instant connection to him I will be registering him as an emotional support animal as well. 

So at the time of his adoption/when I met him, I was informed that he needed dental surgery performed on his teeth. Now I’m not EXACTLY sure what the surgery is, but I believe that it is a molar extraction surgery. His teeth are crooked and overgrown and cause him a lot of pain, and since he is a very small bunny (3 lbs) a surgery like this is pretty complicated/risky. They told me that they would be scheduling his surgery within the next couple weeks so I thought that was okay. They marked him as adopted by me and I would just have to call back the following week to ensure that his surgery gets scheduled.

Fast forward to now, it’s the end of June, and he still hasn’t gotten his surgery. I’ve called them about every other week since I initially went to adopt him, and it looks like they’ve yet to find a vet that is comfortable performing the surgery. They are having another vet look at him this Tuesday, so they said I can call back then, but this has happened quite a number of times. Their next step would be to send him to another MSPCA shelter and see if one of the vets there can perform the surgery. They also gave me the option to bring him home before his surgery happens, and pay for the surgery myself. They said I would have better luck paying for surgery myself because there would be more veterinarians willing to work with me, but the price is pretty hefty. I called an exotic vet near me and they gave me a quote of about $1000-$1500.

Any opinions on what to do? It’s all making me pretty anxious, with my anxiety and all. I’m trying to be patient but I’m also super worried about Onyx, and how the surgery will go, how long is too long to wait, etc… any advice or input would be appreciated this has definitely been bothering me for awhile

[Muchelle]

A dental bunny is no joke, sadly. I have one and right now he seems to manage well, but he had to endure several molar trimmings and the extraction of 2 teeth (for a grand total of about 2000€ in a span of 4 months between vet bills, medications and me being with him 24/7 for weeks at a time).
Buns like this that have bad teeth genetics need a lot of attention (catching early the signs of dental discomfort, catching early GI stasis, etc) and a lot of money.
So, the real question is whether you have the time and money to take on such a bunny. It may be they take out his teeth and he’s fine forever, or it can be he’ll need more surgeries…. Maybe this is not what you wanted to hear, but I had to be honest. If you have any other specific question about dental bunnies, I’ll do my best to answer

[Noodles]

Hi Muchelle! Thanks for your reply Yes, I’m aware that a dental bunny is quite the handful. I’m trying to debate whether or not I “have” the money. I definitely do have the time, however. I actually enjoy taking care of others (animals, for example) and caring for them, it actually helps to alleviate anxiety for me. I definitely HAVE the money, it’s just a matter if I want to put this much money into this. I’ve been thinking a lot and really do think that he is a great bun and would help to make me and him really happy. I’m just wondering if it is a rational expense, I’m sure my mother would think I’m crazy… :/ kind of why I’m so torn apart about this! I’d also feel TERRIBLE if I went and adopted another bun, I’m pretty sure that nobody wants to adopt him because of his condition he is really quite sweet.

I actually talked to a vet near me who has experience with owning rabbits and she told me that I could get his teeth filed every few weeks or so. It would be costly, but definitely not AS costly as several surgeries. I could definitely spare $200 every few weeks or once a month to my bun. I’m not sure if NOT having the surgery would be a bad thing, though. The vet explained to me that it’s better not to go through with it because of how risky it is, but I don’t know what the risk of not having it is either.

[kirstyol]

I doubt you would need to get them filed every few weeks. Bramble has malocluded teeth, he had his first trim at about six months old, he had another a few months later. then we made more changes and we went six months between trims and now it has been a year since his last trim! He is due his check up next week mind you so we will keep our fingers crossed! I’m in the UK so I cant really help much with costs as its much more expensive in America than it is here to take a bun to the vet.

I would call and find out what the issue with his teeth are and exactly what the op they think he needs is, if they are malocluded then getting them filed could be a better option than having them out

[jerseygirl]

Oh this is tough…
Is it a policy that they deal with this before a rabbit is adopted out? I think if they said he was going to have this dealt with, they should be the ones to do it. You may have future costs in relation to ongoing issues to deal with yet. Having to cover a costly surgery from the get-go would be hard.
If you haven’t looked into insurance as yet, I recommend checking out Pet Assure. Rabbits are covered by this company, as are existing conditionslast time I looked.

Is Onyx currently in foster care? I wonder if you could arrange a foster-to-adopt agreement with the MSPCA? So he’d be in your care and you can get to know him, but they’d still cover this initial surgery? You could take him other vets for second/third opinion too.

I agree about finding out exactly what the dental issue is. Does he still have his incisor teeth? If he has a bad malocclusion, removing the incisors can help the molars to wear correctly, though they may need some trims initially. If there is infection around roots of molars currently, then extraction could be recommended of that tooth. So finding out his specific issues could be helpful in making a decision.

[Dface]

I had a dental bunny. It is a serious commitment, it’s very costly and if he is your first bunny, I would honestly advise against it.
That’s not being cruel, but even aside from the cost, those filings can be stressful and very frequent, my boy had to get his teeth done every 4 weeks.

If you already have anxiety, this rabbit will only make it worse-I’m not trying to be mean, but adopting into illness is the equivalent of adopting heartache. Like Muchelle, I ended up paying an awful lot in surgeries, missing work, organising my life around vet appointments to make sure he was comfortable.

Vets will often put the rabbit under anesthetic for filing-some rabbits are bad under anesthetic; this means that every time he goes for a filing, he risks not coming back.
Depending on his age, you are looking at a very long commitment to this.
The reason a lot of vets dont want to extract molars is because the surgery is a huge one that is very painful and the after care is extensive. Here is a link to some information about it ; http://rabbit.org/dental-disorders-in-rabbits/

Im not saying Onyx doesnt deserve a loving home, I think that he might just need a specialized experienced home(I am not insinuating you dont know about rabbits or how to care for them) just perhaps he isnt in the position to be an emotional support animal.

Im so sorry this sounds negative!
And if you do decide against what I have said here I wouldnt blame you, and you will find everyone here more than willing to offer help and advice, but I just want to make sure you understand that there is no guilt or shame or judgement here for not taking in a rabbit that needs, what is certainly very specialized care, and a big commitment

[Rookie]

My Rookie had a molar removed. He was first diagnosed with a tooth abscess at the start of this year. He had surgery end of March. The surgery went well. But despite the successful surgery he passed a week after being removed from antibitocs. He was on antobiotics for so long that when he came off it something attacked his system and essentially killed him from one second to the next.
We had vet visits almost weekly trying to get him to fight this and i really thought he was over it when I lost him.
It all started with one tooth.
I believe in all bunnies deserving a living home however I do not wish on a anyone the heartache of losing a bunny or having to watch a sick bunny fight for his/her life.
People that preach adopt don’t shop so blindly forget that many bunnies in shelters have no history available and you don’t know what you are signing up for. Just the potential medical bills alone get me massive to take on.
Shortly after Rookie’ s passing I went to a shelter with a friend and I almost came away with a bun. He was so sweet but they had no history of any kind on him. It broke my heart to leave him there but I knew I couldn’t take on a bun that I didn’t know anything about.
Since I did get a baby bun from a breeder. Many breeders love bunnies very much and care more than some bunny parents. Yes all bunnies can get sick but for me it was important that I start with the best chance to have a long healthy life with a bunny and try and avoid another loss so soon.
Just my take on things. I wish for Onyx to get the best home but just be aware of what you are signing up for that’s all.

[Rookie]

But if you do decide to take him maybe see if anyone can recommend a bunny vet in your area

[kirstyol]

Many breeders just see rabbits as something to sell though and don’t take very good care of them, heck some of them don’t even seem to know the first thing about rabbits! I see so many adverts saying ‘get two same sex bunnies then you don’t need to spay/neuter’ or ‘perfect cuddle pets’ things that are just totally untrue. I am not saying for one second that all breeders are like that, but definitely do your research if you go down that road because while there are some good, there are also some really bad ones out there.

You could also adopt privately which is what we did with both our guys, Bramble came to us as a six week old as the result of an oops litter (person was told they had two boys, they didn’t) and we got Ron from someone in the other side of the city who simply couldn’t care for him.

[Rookie]

Rookie was an Ooops Loiter bunny as well.
When it comes to bunnies you have to do research no matter what. Same as if you were getting a dog or a cat.

[Noodles]

Hi everyone, thanks for all of your responses. I’ve taken them all into consideration and I totally understand where you are all coming from, no need to feel bad about being negative! I totally get the brevity of this situation.

A little update, I talked to MSPCA today since the person I last spoke with last week told me Onyx was getting seen by a vet today. Well it turns out that they went ahead with the surgery and it was successful. The only problem is during the surgery they discovered that something was wrong with his jaw… I’m not really sure what, I believe that it is fractured. The person I spoke with wasn’t exactly sure how serious it was but asked me to call back on Thursday and they will have more information. I found it very strange, though. She said that the jaw fracture wasn’t a result of the surgery but rather they found out about it during, and it had been fractured all this time. She said if they are unable to fix it that there is nothing they can do…

I’m going to call back on Thursday and see how things are. I’m leaning a bit towards finding a different bunny which breaks my heart, but it also breaks my heart that Onyx is probably going through so much pain! I don’t think fostering him would be an option right now due to his current situation. I will keep you guys updated on what happens. Thanks so much everyone for your support, it really means a lot. Not many of my friends quite understand.

[vanessa]

Shame poor little guy. I also adopted a dental bunny who turned out to b older than they said. So he is old, arthritic, has e.cuniculi, and needs his teeth filed 4 times a year. He is incontinent and in a diaper. Quite immobile. Iv had him for 2 years. Its an expensive emotional undertaking. I am like u in that I enjoy taking care of animals, so I give him everything I have. It is worth it for me. No one else would have taken care of his quality of life like I do. If u think u can handle that, then adopt him.;-)

[LittlePuffyTail]

What a terrible situation and so difficult for you. I certainly hope the little bun makes it through this and is adopted by someone who will spoil and love him, even if that’s not you.

[Author]

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