Teeth Problems

[murph72]

I just wanted some expert advice from breeders on my Lionhead "Flower." About 4 months into having her I noticed that she had problematic teeth. The top ones were curling up into her mouth. I had them trimmed at that time. However, it has been at least 3 weeks since they were trimmed and they haven't seemed to grow again. Is this a sign that they have "realigned"?

The breeder that I got her from promised me another to replace her. I have issues with that because I'm attached to her (obviously). She has yet to produce another broken doe, so I haven't had to make the "final decision" yet. I tend to believe her teeth issues are more from a trauma of some sort than genetic. There is absolutely ZERO issues on either side of her lineage as far back as the breeder and I have looked, so it seems unlikely she is genetically predispositioned to this problem.

I just wanted to know breeders' experience with this issue. Do you know of any teeth that have "realigned"? Will this problem likely reoccur if it hasn't after this much time has passed?

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[polly]

Sometimes if you can catch them quick enough the they can realign though we would never use that rabbit for breeding just in case!

my first rabbit had teeth problems and i had to get them cut anything between once a month and every 6 weeks.

Rabbits teeth constantly grow so it could be one of 2 things

1 the teeth were cut pretty short so have not got to long again yet

2 the vet got lucky and has got them to meet but at 3 weeks i would not be sure that has happened.

If I was in your position I would keep checking them and if they do strat to overgrow again then i would ask your vet if he would take the front teeth out. This costs a bit but obviously saves a lot of cost and hassle in the long run of having to keep getting them trimmed. Other than having to cut up any veggies you give your rabbit would do just fine.

Let me know how you get on

 

[bunnybunbunb]

I have never had "buck teeth" as they are called here be a genetic problem in my lines and it sounds like it isn't genetic in your girl either. If rabbits don't have something to chew on such as wood(hay helps but they NEED wood) they will find other things such a wire. If they don't chew they will over grow and not be able to eat but if they chew something such as wire they can break their teeth or just 1 tooth causinguneven teeth. This will cause it to be impossible for the rabbit to chew down it's teeth properly so they over grow. Rabbits can also pull their teeth, this is worse than breaking them because they can grow in horribley.

I have had 2 rabbits break their teeth, 1 lost one due to it(I had to clip her teeth once a week but they still grew to fast and never aligned) and 1 thatafter 2 clippings was fineand 1 that pulled her teeth, I watched her close and they grew in perfect.

 

[Jenson]

I'm sorry Flower has bad teeth. I don't have much to add except that I also would not risk breeding from her. I know how frustrating it must be for you, but it's not worth the risk of having a litter that come out with teeth problems, that would end up costing an awful lot to have them all treated and spayed/neutered before they are rehomed. It's worth remembering that bad teeth are considered a serious problem and a lot of breeders would try to turn a blind eye to it if they find it in their stock and deny ever having a problem, the breeder may tell you she has never seen bad teeth in the lines but it may not be the truth. Hopefully her problems are just a result of trauma and won't affect her from now on, but personally I wouldn't take the chance on producing more rabbits with bad teeth.

 

[murph72]

She has had plenty to chew on since she was brought home, so lack of chew toys wasn't the problem. Perhaps she was bored or annoyed to have moved to a new home so she tried to escape by pulling on the wire while I was not home? I really don't know...it was shocking for me when I found the problem. Her top teeth grew up into her mouth, so it may be that it was from pulling on the wire.

I agree that breeding her would not be a good decision. I just wonder how often I should be checking her teeth. She's starting to get snippy with me when I try to look at them. I think the whole clipping of the teeth was traumatic for her. She actually hid from me every time I went in her room after the clipping for at least two weeks. It was really sad. I hope, for her sake, that it was a once and done deal. I'm crossing my fingers.

 

[polly]

Thats sad that it obviously stressed her so much in that case I would definately ask your vet to take them out if they over grow again.

I would give them a check once a week you won't need to check them any more than that and after having them trimmed i would probbaly give her about 3 weeks before starting to check them again. I have a rabbit that i got from another breeder and his teeth have gone out of line I always know when they need done because 1 he won't eat carrots and 2 he crumbles his pellets and i go back to find a bowl of half eaten pellets if you keep her teeth the longer you have her the more attube to her you will get.



Also seen as she does not seem to want to forgive you for taking her I would suggest spending a bit of quality time where you sit down beside her and maybe give her a few treats so she gets to associate you with nice things not just teeth checking Would love to see some pics of her too

 

[murph72]

Here's some pictures of Miss Flower:

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/murph72/Flower3.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/murph72/Flower.jpg


I hope these work.

 

[murph72]

She has a stripe down the center of her back like a backwards skunk, which is why I originally thought she was so comical and had to have her.

 

[polly]

She is really beautiful :biggrin2:I hope her teeth sort themselves out for her and you

 

[Evey]

She is stunning! I've had a similar experience with my dwarf mix bunny. I'm thinking that he fell or something because his teeth were messed up for a while and had to get them trimmed for a couple of months. Then, they were magically fine and have been for several months. I'm not a breeder (or a vet- haha) though so I don't know about breeding her. But, from my experience I think that sometimes bunnies have some kind of trauma that temp. cause problematic teeth.

Hope I've helped!

-Kathy

 

[murph72]

Kathy,

You might not be an "expert" but at least you've dealt with this before. I've had bunnies for over 30 years of my life and this is my first experience with this. It totally caught me off guard. I'm crossing my fingers that she doesn't have issues with them again. Right now, I'd buy that magic wand.

 

[BlueGiants]

I sold a really spectacular Junior Blue Flemish Giant buck to a lovely couple. They were going to use him for breeding. They brought him to a show I was at (Cortland) and they put him in the coop next to their doe.

That night when I was feeding mine,we saw him grabbing the bars of the cooping and shaking them! He was really going at it trying to get the does attention! I went over to check him out, he looked OK, I gave him an apple sliceto distract him and turned off the lights. The next morning, at the show, he was disqualified for bad teeth! His bottom teeth had been pulled out so far, they were in front of the top teeth. And they were loose.

We clipped the teeth short and used a dremel to smooth them over and gently pushed them back where they belonged. That was April 26th. I had the owner crush up his pellets a little bit so they were smaller, and his hay was cut up. His teeth are now growing in just where they should be, behind the top teeth and seem to be fine. I think if you catch it early and are attentive to it, it might be corrected.

But I have been trimming the teeth of a Mini Rex (bought at a "garage sale"!!!) for 3 years for a neighborhood girl. Those teeth never went back and he does fine with regular trimmings. They have to be done about every 6-7 weeks.

Wait and see how the teeth look in anouther 3-4 weeks. That will give you a better idea of what you're dealing with. If necessary, the teeth can be removed with no further problems. The bunny can get along just fine without them, with minor considerations (like cutting up their hay and smaller pieces of vege's and fruit.)