As noted on the front page, Holly had been found wandering around on her own. At first I was a little worried about whether I could give proper care to a rabbit with maloccluded teeth, as I had no experience with it. One thing I was sure of though was that I would give her a lasting home. My biggest fear was that someone would take her in with the best intentions but find the ongoing veterinary care too much.
I was told that she was quite aggressive about her space and would nip and box at anyone trying to clean up but would then retreat into a corner, trembling. I began to wonder how she would settle in with the rest of my herd, and what sort of life she had had up till now.
The day she arrived the lady that brought her over kept giving me the option of not taking her, but from the moment I saw her I knew she would be staying. This big black and white rabbit stole my heart. She just looked so awkward she was adorable. Her ears and feet are huge and with her teeth poking out of her mouth there was no way I could resist.
She and Rocket shared a small annexed area and she showed an enormous amount of patience as Rocket proceeded to climb all over her. They made quite an odd couple snuggled up together as Holly weighed nearly 4 kilos at the time and Rocket was so tiny he fit in the palm of my hand! Despite the differences they got on extremely well together.
Holly's teeth proved to be a real problem, they not only didn't meet, but grew out in opposite directions to each other. They had been clipped before she came to me but I got them done again when I took her down for a check over. She positively hated the whole process and fought so much that the vet really couldn't get them down very far. Since she was booked in for sterelisation the following week we decided to do them again while she was under. For the past couple of weeks I had been cutting food into bits and hand feeding to make sure she got enough. Even this was a problem as her teeth got in the way and she had to turn her head on an angle to grab it. The change after a proper trim was significant. Instead of having to chase her food around she could actually pick it up. She started putting on weight and I could see the beginnings of a dewlap.
A few weeks later I started the introductions. There were a lot of scuffles but slowly the heirachy was being sorted out. Sophie and Holly had some serious dust ups. One in particular got quite heated and without thinking I stuck my hands in to break them up. I quickly pulled my hand out with Sophie dangling from my arm like a little bulldog! They have amazingly strong jaws for such a small animal.
Eventually Holly realised that Sultan and Sophie were obviously top dogs, she, Baby and Apache came after. Apache didn't seem too interested in a full on debate and would make occasional fly-by attacks, but basically left Holly alone. Baby would wait until your back was turned then pick a fight. This quite surprised me as Baby is the biggest sook there is, but I think the fact that Holly couldn't bite back made her feel brave. One particular day she grab Holly's nose and wouldn't let go. A resulting visit to the vet required surgery and two stitches. During the surgery the vet once again clipped her teeth.
The next day the vet called to check how Holly was going. Great I said. An hour later, after closing time on a Saturday of course, she had managed to pull one of her stitches out. We made a run to the emergency clinic only to be told that they couldn't restitch. We were given some cream and told to take her to our normal vet on Monday.
Monday, along with checking the progress of her healing I asked the vet about her teeth. He was really suprised at how quickly they had grown in such a short amount of time. We discussed the possibility of removal, but felt it was a last resort. Another appointment was made for two weeks time so we could get a good idea on just how quickly there were growing. That appointment resulted in more trimming with a whole lot of struggling and stress on Holly's part. We decided that removal was probably the best option.
I have to admit to more than a little apprehension. I constantly questioned whether this was really the best option for her. I did a lot of reading and eventually wrote to the House Rabbit Society for their view and was told they had yet to meet a rabbit that didn't improve after having their teeth removed. All ended up happier and healthier.
She went in on the 9 January 2002 and the operation went extremely well. When I brought her home I expected her to be a little quiet and not too interested in eating. I had cut her hay into small pieces to ensure she could pick them up without too much trouble.. she went straight to it and started chewing away! Encouraged by this I offered her a plate of herbs and vegetables, which she promptly ate.. then another.... and another. We had been told she may not want pellets for a few days, so I made a point of keeping the plate filled for her, she managed to eat 5 full plates the next day, I figured this wasn't filling enough for her, so put a few pellets down. She hasn't looked back since.
Removal isn't for every rabbit and I don't think I would have considered it if Holly hadn't need such frequent trimmings, but it is definitely an option if your bun has a severe malocclusion.
Holly has taught me so much about rabbits. She has such a distinct personality and seems to understand exactly what I'm saying to her, especially if she's in trouble, then she runs off shaking her head and waggling her ears at me. As she hasn't been able to integrate with the others she spends a lot of time in with me and knows how to get her message across. If she's hungry she sits by the fridge, if she wants to 'go' she sits by the door out to her pen, I haven't even needed to train her.. in fact I think she's trained me. She has turned into the very happy, relaxed house bun that you can see in the pictures. As for entertainment, there's nothing quite like a 5kg bunny thundering around the house trying to binky!
Update 19 April 2003
Holly went to the bridge on the 18 April 2003.
Holly, my heart is breaking. I will miss you waggling your ears at me, the sound and sight of you binkying and the leaves missing off the house plants.
