One of the main diseases that usually appear in domestic rabbits is dental overgrowth In nature, these animals wear down their teeth by chewing plants continuously stringy. Unlike wild rabbits, it is common for domestic rabbits to have excessive growth of incisors, molars or premolars due to lack of hay or forage intake.
The teeth of these animals grow continuously throughout their lives (approximately 1 centimeter per month), and if they are not worn down they can grow more than they should and cause serious problems for our pet. If you have noticed that your rabbit has longer than normal teeth, keep reading this article on our site to find out why my rabbit has very long teeth and what to do
Why does my rabbit have long teeth?
Tooth growth is not always due to a lack of hay intake. Some of the main causes of dental overgrowth in rabbits are:
- Lack of hay or forage in the diet: This is the most common and usual cause. Many rabbits are fed exclusively on commercial pelleted feed, which is easy to chew and hardly erodes the teeth. The lack of dental erosion generates an overgrowth called dental malocclusion in rabbits.
- Genetics: some rabbits are born with some genetic malformations (mandibular prognathism). They are animals that have different sizes in the mandible and maxilla, causing a bad occlusion of the mouth.
- Traumas or blows: blows to the animal's mouth can cause the tooth to grow in an incorrect position, generating poor mouth closure. Blows and injuries require veterinary urgency.
Dental problems are considered one of the most common Diseases of rabbits. Therefore, if you are not sure if the size of your rabbit's teeth is normal, in the following section we explain what the symptoms of long teeth in rabbits are.
How do I know if my rabbit has long teeth?
These are the most common symptoms that can be seen in rabbits with this problem:
- Inability to close the mouth: When rabbits' teeth grow too long, they prevent the rabbit from being able to close its mouth properly.
- Severe pain: Sometimes, as it grows, the teeth can dig into the skin of the animal, causing it a sharp pain. Here we leave you the 15 signs of pain in rabbits.
- Anorexia and loss of appetite: if the animal feels pain when rubbing against the tooth every time it tries to eat or if it has physical incapacity to chew due to the position of the teeth, it will lose weight quickly. You may even be unable to take food in your mouth.
- Misaligned teeth: Dental overgrowth causes damage and wounds to the gums, palate or lips. The malocclusion of the incisors is the most common and easier for owners to detect than that of the molars or premolars. Many times the owners come to the consultation because their pet is thin or barely eating, without paying attention to the state of the teeth.
- Eye Problems: In some cases, abscesses on the molar and premolar teeth can lead to increased pressure in the eye, causing out and may injure the optic nerve.
- Tearing: Due to the above reason, it may sometimes seem that our pet is producing an excess of tears.
And, of course, another way to tell that a rabbit has long teeth is by its visual check. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to consult your veterinarian.
If you think your rabbit is behaving abnormally, you can read this other article about 9 symptoms of a sick rabbit.
What to do if my rabbit has very long teeth?
If our rabbit has long teeth, the first thing we will do is take it to the vet, since we cannot file our rabbit's teeth at home. The exotics vet will first explore the he alth status of our pet. After evaluating each individual case, he will sedate the animal and have its teeth trimmed with a Dremel-type tool. The price of teeth filing in rabbits will depend largely on the clinic and the oral he alth status of our friend.
In some cases, extraction of the affected tooth will be, especially in old rabbits. Then, the abscesses that may have arisen will be treated. If you have doubts about the filing or extraction of rabbit teeth, your veterinarian will assess your animal and answer all your questions.
How to take care of my rabbit's teeth?
As we have seen, it is very important to take care of the he alth of our rabbit's teeth. The main preventive measure to avoid the appearance of this problem is to provide our pet with a complete and balanced diet, which will include:
- Hay (80% of diet).
- Pellets (10% of diet).
- Green vegetables and leaves (10% of the diet).
If your rabbit does not eat hay, which is essential for filing its teeth, we will have to check why: the hay is bad, it does not like that particular hay, we give it too many pellets and your stomach is full, you are sick, or you have a dental problem.
It is also convenient to check the teeth from time to time to avoid surprises.
