Wearing down teeth

[Amy27]

So, tonight I stopped at the pet store and got the rabbits some pet grass and it got me thinking. Little Bunny's teeth are being watched as the tooth root is close to the socket. I think I am remembering that correctly. It isn't anything that needs to be fixed now, but if the teeth continue to grow and do not wear down, she will probably have to have those teeth cut down.

So tonight when I was feeding her the grass. I was thinking about things you can feed to try and prevent this problem. I know that hay is very important in wearing down the teeth. But if you are feeding hay, what is the next best thing to wear down teeth? Is pellets better then veggies to wear them down? How does fresh grass fit in to it?

I just wondered if anyone had experience with certain things being more effective. That way if someone (like me) knew there rabbits teeth were getting close to having to be cut or shaved down, they could try to offer more of these foods. That is if they are already feeding unlimited hay. What is the next best thing? I would think veggies or grass since that is something they would get more in a natural environment but was curious what other people thought.

Thanks Amy

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

Amy27 wrote:

So, tonight I stopped at the pet store and got the rabbits some pet grass and it got me thinking. Little Bunny's teeth are being watched as the tooth root is close to the socket. I think I am remembering that correctly. It isn't anything that needs to be fixed now, but if the teeth continue to grow and do not wear down, she will probably have to have those teeth cut down.

So tonight when I was feeding her the grass. I was thinking about things you can feed to try and prevent this problem. I know that hay is very important in wearing down the teeth. But if you are feeding hay, what is the next best thing to wear down teeth? Is pellets better then veggies to wear them down? How does fresh grass fit in to it?

I just wondered if anyone had experience with certain things being more effective. That way if someone (like me) knew there rabbits teeth were getting close to having to be cut or shaved down, they could try to offer more of these foods. That is if they are already feeding unlimited hay. What is the next best thing? I would think veggies or grass since that is something they would get more in a natural environment but was curious what other people thought.

Thanks Amy

offer hay 24/7,ie.timothy/orchard grass/this-fiber- makes up 70% of the diet,,quality low fat pellets-(one oz.per#of bun daily.)-anything else is a reat..ie.dandylions,clover,grasses./.-rabbits are consumate chewers and groomers,,.the fiber is necessary to keep the constantly growing teeth worn down,,and to keep the gi tract moving ,,what goes in must go all the way through,,,add lots of water and fruit tree branches/twigs,,all this should keep the vet bills low also,...sincerely james waller:wave:

 

[ra7751]

The idea in keeping the teeth down is being chewy. Long strand hay is most effective. As we know, rabbits chew from side to side and actually fold the hay like an accordian. The side to side tooth contact is what wears the hay. Feeding different types of hay also required different mechanics in chewing and that alsowears the teeth. Fresh grass is also quite chewy. And if you don't wash it (of course with no pesticides),the grass will have small amounts of grit. Obviously you don't want mud to be caked on the grass but look at cottontails. Veggies are better at wearing teeth than pellets. Pellets, in large amounts, actually add to molar concerns as there is no chewing involved. The pellets are simply pulvarized with a minimum of chewing. As far as veggies, again anything that involves a lot of chewing.....the very large dandelion greens to this. And of course, tooth wear is totally dependant on proper occlusion of the teeth.

Randy

 

[pamnock]

Randy offered some good choices. Any type of green is very tough to chew and helps to wear the teeth down.

Pam

 

[tonyshuman]

Also, the material in hay that causes the teeth to wear down is called silica. It's the main component of glass, beach sand, and those little packets that come in your shoes. Plants incorporate it into their stems for structure and stability. The silica in fresh grass is called hydrated silica, because the silica molecules are surrounded by water molecules. The silica in dry grass has much less water to interact with, so it is less hydrated. Hydrated silica is more abrasive on teeth than dehydrated silica. This was told to me by the vet at UW-vet school when I first took Muffin in (in some different terms, I just translated the chemistry into layperson terms for you). She had bad teeth, probably from not being offered enough hay.

 

[pamnock]

Bad teeth are generally due to a genetic abnormality, as most rabbits on pellets do not suffer teeth problems because they receive adequate wear. Rabbits receiving large amounts of hay can still develop dental problems. Unless the rabbits are receiving a soft diet of mush, proper wear to the teeth is met through normal diet.

Pam

 

[Amy27]

Wow you guys have given me a lot of great information. Thank you all!!!

Pamnock, Little Bunny loves hay. If I fill her hay bin at the same time I feed her veggies, she goes to the hay first. So I was kind of baffled that she would have teeth issues. I was hoping that since they weren't bad I could prevent them from getting worse. I didn't realize genetics played a part in their teeth.

Reading all this made me curious about something else. With my vet, she took for views of the mouth. The right side bottom and top and the left side bottom and top. So out of 4 views or 4 areas of Little Bunny's mouth all were great except one. Does that mean that it is most likely genetics since if it was due to the diet would all areas of the mouth or atleast 50% show signs of bad teeth? Not 1/4 of the mouth is bad but 3/4 is good?

 

[Amy27]

I am also wondering since we were discussing grass in here and Claire was so great to explain about hydrated silica. Does hydrated silica/fresh grass provide hydration to rabbits? I know that rabbits living outside it would because they eat the grass when it rains and when it has dew on it. But if you grow grass inside, would you see any difference in hydration of your rabbit if you feed fresh grass? I am just wondering if this might be another way I can try to keep Chase hydrated while on Lasix.

Thanks Amy

 

[tonyshuman]

Well, funny you should ask! I had the great opportunity to see a vet give a presentation of rabbit teeth yesterday and she said stuff that can answer those questions. Yes, veggies do help wear down the teeth, in fact they seem to be about as good at that as hay! She also said that you usually only see problems with one of the 4 arcades of cheek teeth, but getting problems in one can lead to problems in the others. She also said that sometimes the diet they're fed while very young can have long-lasting impact on their teeth throughout their entire life, which is especially important for those of us who have rescues to know.

As for the grass and hydrated silica--I think of the grass just like a middle-of-the-road veggie in water content, like parsley or dandelion leaves. It doesn't have as much as something like romaine or cucumber might, but it has a bit. You could spray down some wet grass right before giving it to her to get some extra water in there if you like.

 

[Amy27]

Thanks Claire for all the great information. That is awesome that veggies wear down the teeth just as good as hay. I will continue to feed both but it is nice to know they both work well in wearing down the teeth.

That is interesting that they usually see problems in only 1 of the 4 arcades. Did she mention that if it is only 1 of the 4 that it usually isn't something related to their current diet? I just find that wierd that only one side would be effected from their diet. I wonder if rabbits can have a preference of what side they chew on and that could cause 1 side to be worse.

That is great that you think grass is the middle-of-the road veggie in water content. as much water as I can get in Chase the better. I am going to try to figure out something I can buy or make that is bunny level to grow grass inside. The things I buy from the pet store last like 5 minutes. That is a great idea to spray the grass down first.

Thanks again for all the great information!!!

 

[tonyshuman]

I think her perspective is that that it's really a combination of genetics, diet, and past tooth issues that leads to tooth problems. (I don't want to put words into her mouth, but that's what I concluded from the presentation). Only one of those things is something we can do anything about--diet. I think if there are problems in more than 1 arcade it could be a problem that's been going on for a long time, or a really serious underlying problem, like a large infection of the tooth roots.

I have grown wheat grass and rye grass (buy seeds in bulk from health food stores) inside in a pot. You can let them nibble down almost to the dirt, and let it re-grow--it'll regrow at least once, but after that it takes longer to re-grow. Then you can just pull out the roots and start over with new seeds!

 

[BethM]

This is very interesting, especially the explanation of hydrated silica. Thanks, Claire!

I am wondering, do things like willow baskets provide tooth wear? Three of my bunnies enjoy chewing and eating willow balls and baskets. Obviously, these aren't as reliable as daily veggies would be, but they provide a different chewing experience.

 

[tonyshuman]

They do, but I think they wear on the front teeth more (in my experience) than the back ones. Bunnies don't really chew the sticks or willow in their mouth for long, they either chop it up into pieces with their front teeth and swallow those pieces whole or throw them on the ground. I'll never forget the first time I offered Tony a stick from outside--I thought he would play with it, throw it around, maybe chew on it a little. I handed it to him length-wise, and he put the end in his mouth and ate it like a piece of spaghetti! If you find that they chew the willow on their back teeth, that would wear them down as well.