Teeth & Age

[pamnock]

I thought I'd go out to the rabbitry tonightand"put my money where my mouth is", so to speak. I closelycompared the teeth of a number of small breeds of rabbits rabbits fromjuniors under 6 months to seniors ranging in age from 6 months to over5 years of age. (Also did a head count and we are down to apaltry 104 rabbits).

My observations:

The rabbits that were not physically mature had smaller teeth (no big surprise there).

There was *no* indiscernible difference in the incisor length, width orcolor of the teeth of a 7 month old rabbit as compared to a healthyrabbit over 5 years of age.

Some very old rabbits may have a slightly "chalky, dull" look to theteeth as compared to the iridescent appearance of a younger rabbit,however, discoloration of the teeth can also be caused by medications,disease, dental disease, diet or parasites, therefore discoloration isnot an accurate indicator of age. In some cases as a rabbitages, the teeth may begin to wear irregularly or break off, but onceagain, this is not an accurate indicator of age as malocclusion canoccur at any age.

So, in conclusion, my observations indicate that there is no way to use the teeth as an accurate indicator of a rabbit's age.

Pam

 

[Buck Jones]

Your conclusion, based upon your observation,leads me to accept the inclination that teeth are not an accurateindication of a rabbit's subjugation to the machinations of time andage.

It is so typical of Pam to leave no stone unturned in anattempt to provide a definitive answer for a question that few havestudied. Talk about primary research!

Thank you, once again, Mrs. Nock!

Buck

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

Thanks for informing us Pam. It's good to know.

I was actually given information from a vet that teeth could give arabbit'e age away. I guess I should have guessed it wasn't a very goodvet when they didn't know what GI Statis was and refused to treatNemesis (the rabbit I caught and resued but sadly passed away a fewmonths back) because "there was nothing that could be done" even thoughthey didn't atempt to find out what was wrong.

 

[pamnock]

I think what amazed me most was the pristineincisor condition of a 5+ yr. old Mini Rex. It's not unusualto see some discoloration, a slightly thicker tooth and on someoccasions even a horizontally ridged tooth, but these teeth looked likethat of a far younger rabbit. This particular boy "Tim" was ababy born in our barn, so I am certain of his age. In hiscase, the teeth gave absolutely no indication of his older age andappeared identical to that of a seven month old rabbit.

Pam

 

[rabbitgirl]

What a funny teeth pic!!!

It looks like "bunnitude"!

Rose

 

[*nepo*]

Is there a way ofaccuratelyfiguring out a rabbits age? I'm not sure how oldNepo is, my estimate is 8 or 9 months. I know I could be off by only afew weeks. But I want to know the exact age. Btw how can you see abunny's teeth? I used to be able to look at Nepo's teeth when he waslittler, but know he doesn't let me. Do you just gently pull thebunny'schin down?

 

[pamnock]

You can sometimes get a general idea from theappearance and condition of the rabbit as to whether it's very young orvery old, but that's about it. I hold the rabbit on its backand gently pull back its top lip.

Pam

 

[Dwarf_Angel04]

pamnock wrote:

(Also did a head count and we are down to a paltry 104 rabbits).

Wow! Didn't realize there were that many in your barn.

 

[pamnock]

Well now there are only 101 Amanda



Pam

 

[Gabby]

since i do a teeth check every time i clip nails,(making sure no broken teeth or damage that may lead to malocclusion)and have not found any indacation you could ever tell by a buns teeththe age.. infact it can be difficult in dogs and cats depending on whatthey have been through.. for example.. we had a stray cat found andbrought in, clearly under 1 year old as it was not full grown yet...but the life of an alley cat had rotted her teeth to the point of allof them needed pulling. life conditions and what they consumecontrubute a long ways to teeth factors.

i have howevernoticed aneye change in rabbits withage, it seems to start between 6 and 7 years of age.. a simular eyechange can be seen in dogs 8 years and older.

 

[Carolyn]

*bump*

 

[naturestee]

It might be possible to tell age by the molars-that's what is used for other herbivores like horses anddeer. But it's really hard to get a look at them and wouldn'tbe practical.

 

[pamnock]

Horse's molars do not grow continuallythroughout its life, unlike those of rabbits which continually grow andwear off. So, they are not suitable for an indicator of age.

Pam

 

[Carolyn]

:bunnydance:

 

[pamnock]

Gabby wrote:

i have howevernoticed aneye change in rabbits withage, it seems to start between 6 and 7 years of age.. a simular eyechange can be seen in dogs 8 years and older.

Interesting observation. There have been studies on theweight of the eye and how it relates to the rabbit's age. Ican't find the original article I read, but here's a similar one . . .

http://www.statsci.org/webguide/data/oz/rabbit.html

Pam

 

[Gabby]

pamnock wrote:

Gabby wrote:

i have howevernoticed aneye change in rabbits withage, it seems to start between 6 and 7 years of age.. a simular eyechange can be seen in dogs 8 years and older.

Interesting observation. There have been studies on theweight of the eye and how it relates to the rabbit's age. Ican't find the original article I read, but here's a similar one . . .

http://www.statsci.org/webguide/data/oz/rabbit.html

Pam

i suppose i should state a visable change that you can see with yournaked eye seems to occur around 6 and 7 years of age. when looking withspecial tools you can notice some other changes sooner.

it would be interesting to find more articles on that, to bad theoriginal one is MIA.