Let's Talk Teeth

[Carolyn]

First off, while we're on the subject, anyone who hasn't read the postby Pamnock about Rabbit Teeth, please do. Its link is in the CheatSheet for Rabbit Care in the top 4 posts of this forum

* * * * * * *

I hope you understand what I'm trying to explain. When I looked atCali's teeth today, (Flemish Giant), ya know how there's 4 main'shoots' that come from their teeth? The third one from the left is abit shorter than the others.

Should I be concerned?

She's 8 months old, and as you know, Flemish's growing continues forthe first 1.5 years of their lives. Do you think that third route willcatch up or should I take her to the vet to even it out?

Thanks.

-Carolyn

 

[pamnock]

That "biased" bite isn't unusual, but do keep an eye on it.

Pam

 

[Carolyn]

She's not a chewer, and she doesn't like hay.

Don't know how to naturally keep her teeth in check.

-Carolyn

 

[Stephanie]

You know, I've been having the same thoughts about Chompers, Carolyn. He's not a chewer either, although his teeth are fine.

Do they grow faster inyounger rabbits? Does the urge to chewso much diminish with age? He is quite a bit older than my other two,by three years or so. Abby and Valuran chew like it's going out ofstyle.


Ok, on a side note, I just opened that page that Pam wrote and itscared the you know what out of me! I had iTunes running and was in thebathroom blowing my nose when this other, unknown music started playingat the same time. LOL

 

[Carolyn]

The chewing tendency has diminished with age with my rabbits, Stephanie.

You should definitely read the post above by Billy Nock, if you haven'talready. It's a great reference about their teeth.Actually, one of the best I've come across to date.

-Carolyn

 

[pamnock]

Stephanie wrote:

Ok, on a side note, I just opened that page that Pam wrote and itscared the you know what out of me! I had iTunes running and was in thebathroom blowing my nose when this other, unknown music started playingat the same time. LOL

I will most certainly take off the tunes! I did that websiteyears ago and need to get the entire thing closed down and update andtransfer the articles I've written to my current website.

Pam

 

[pamnock]

Carolyn wrote:

She's not a chewer, and she doesn't like hay.

Don't know how to naturally keep her teeth in check.

-Carolyn

Funny you should bring up teeth -- we're off to the dentist today

You may want to have her molars examinedto be sure that isn'tthe cause of the uneven wear of the incisors. Jaw angle andlength also influence the wear of the teeth. My son Ryan hasan unusual angle to his jaw,placing the entire impact of hischewing on his rear-most molars, which have now worn down to thegumline. An attempt will be made with orthodontics to closehis bite down to more evenly distribute the wear -- but the surgery tocorrect the angle of his jaw would be $40,000 (not covered byinsurance)

I wouldn't attempt to trim Cali's uneven incisor, as it may make the situation worse in her case.

In general, rabbits keep their teeth well worn down by eating pelletsand normally don't need additional chewing material, although I havenoticed that it can help to give young kits plenty of hay to providegood wear to their teeth. I found that we we changed to asofter pellet years ago, every single Holland Lop baby we had duringthat fall season had bad teeth. Not scientific fact, but thefeed company did say that the soft pellets were a possible factor.



Pam

 

[pamnock]

lanna21974 wrote:

Shelton's teeth are butting. I wonder if this is normal forbaby bunnies? He's about 2 1/2 months old and a holland lop. Is itpossible that he will outgrow this? A breeder once told me that whenthey go through the "uglies" that this is common and would more thanlikely correct itself.

Lanna

It's not unusual for baby Holland's teeth to butt and some may grow outof it. Do keep a close eye on the teeth though.Occasionally, some will turn out to be "sliders" (my term) with theirteeth sliding in and out of alignment throughout their life.

In most cases, trimming does not help. Do provide plenty of hay for frequent chewing.

Try to choose Hollands for breeding that have a bigger gap between thefront and back teeth, and are not close to "butting" together.

Pam

 

[Carolyn]

If you check out the Top Picks post at the topof the forum, click into the Cheat Sheet Link, you'll find Pamnock andher son's link about Rabbit Teeth.

Definitely worth a read.

-Carolyn

 

[m.e.]

Thanks for bumping this up, Carolyn!

The vet noticed a couple small spurs on Rex's molars during therabbits' last visit; nothing to be concerned about just yet, butsomething to keep an eye on given his age (nearly 7 :shock.

~Emily and the Fuzzbutts~

 

[Lissa]

Does anyone know how to tell a rabbit's age by their teeth?

 

[pamnock]

There is no way to tell the rabbit's age by its teeth.



Pam

 

[Lissa]

I kind of figured that, but some people told me otherwise.

 

[pamnock]

Some research has been done in determining theage of some rodents and pikas using measurements of the molars, howeverthis method was not accurate in determining the age of lagomorphs orhares.

Length and/or color are also not a good indicator of age.Wear patterns vary by individual, so also cannot be used for agedetermination.



Pam

 

[Lissa]

So is there any way to determine age in rabbits?

 

[pamnock]

There is no accurate way to determine age in alive rabbit. The weight of the eye does increase with age,however we cannot take the eyes out of a live rabbit to weigh them.

The toenails do give a general indication -- those in an older rabbit are thicker and the "quick" extends down farther.



Pam

 

[Lissa]

What is "quick"?

 

Thank You for bumping this up Caroyn ,

As Most know we are tryingto get a injuryrelated Malcussion traveled from Il , to me .Honestly the thought of bad Teeth care the widgetsout of me, But 2 Vets have stated ifeverything is good with the gums, his badteeth may be corrected to where they wontneed trimming as often , Not a 100 % fixbut better none the less . I wanted torespond to this before reading therticle and fully plan to read up on everything Ican get my eyes ontoto make this guysmouth as comfortable and painless as possible.

All my Rabbits, babies included are given plentyof hay ,straw , and tree branches to gnawon , I figured why risk a problem whenit before fix is always available . Ifeel this is not a case of, If it isntbroken , Don't fix it . I would rather have them chew nowthan clip later .

Also I would like to ask , Is there ever been an instancewhere a rabbit has chewed so much as to wear theirteeth abnormally short ?

 

[JimD]

Lissa wrote:

What is "quick"?

The quick is the red vein in the nail.

~Jim

 

[Lissa]

Thank you Jim.