Malocclusion
This post is in dedication of an art teacher i know called Mr Macdonald who has a rabbit with constant growing teeth. He has had them removed but nothing works. We never get the chance to proparly talk for long enough about it and it is such a big problem in rabbits that i thought i ought to just type away about it.
Malocclusion is the constant growing of rabbits teeth and disalignment of the incisors.
The largest problem rabbits have is with their teeth. 90% of rabbit illnesses and problems are to do with their teeth. Many health issues and illnesses lead back to their teeth. Let me go into it.
The classic picture of a rabbit for most people is the goofy buck-toothed Bugs bunny or Dylan from the magic roundabout. Whilst these seem healthy cartoon characters, rabbits with teeth which do not meet or whick have poor enamel are in a dangerous state.
How?
Rabbits teeth grow constantly all of their life (as much as 2mm per week) and if they grow too longthey can be very painful. If the teeth are not worn down by chewing, the cheek teeth grow too long and are forced together. Further growth forces the mouth open slightly so that the front incisors do not meet properly and they start to overgrow and lengthen. The upper incisors curl back into the mouth and the lower incisors protrude outwards. This is usually the stage at which a problem is noticed but there is already considerable damage by this time. If the molars or cheek teeth do not meet properly they wear unevenly, causing sharp spikes to form. They erode at the gums causing painful ulcers.
Signs
Bottom teeth start to protrude.
Rabbits may lose their appetites because of the pain the are not able to eat or chew.
Loss of weight.
Other signs of dental disease can be persisitent runny or infected eyes. This is because the tear ducts will be affected by abnormalities of the roots of the incisor teeth.
Dental problems may also affect the rabbits ability to eat their caecotrophs which then stick to the rabbits bottom and attract flies. Failure to eat caecotrophs may also lead to nutritional deficiences which can be fatal.
Rabbits will struggle to groom themselves at all.
The rabbit may dribble.
Abscesses in the mouth and jaw.
As the condition progresses the jaw may become lumpy as the jaw bone erodes. This is very painful and may lead to infection in the tooth roots and abscesses on the face and head.
Why?
Malocclusion in rabbits is either inherited (hereditary) or acquired.One reason is that the bones of the jaw do not form properly due to deficiences in calcium and other minerals.
Inherited malocclusion is more likely to happen with dwarf breeds of rabbits. They have been bred with small heads so the rabbit’s teeth may not sit correctly in their small jaw.Acquired malocclusion happens when teeth aren’t ground down over time, or an accident, or even excessive pulling on the wire of their cage, changes the alignment of the incisors.
One main reason for malocclusion is that many rabbits are bred wrongly and i do not recommend buying a rabbit from a pet shop as they are not bred right and you do not know their ancestory and if there is a hereditary dental problem. Therefore, the teeth do not grind down as easily as they should. Another reason is wrong nutrition. Many people do not feed their rabbits the right stuff with the right nutrients and do not provide the tools with which to keep their teeth short. Some breeds actually are prone to dental problems (genetic malformation) so check out the breed first. Dental disease is often the underlying cause of other disorders of the rabbit (e.g. digestive system, malnutrition, skin disease, fly strike, social disharmony and aggression.)
How to prevent and help it
Feeding should mimic what a rabbit would eat in the wild (i.e not all pellets!). Hay and grass foods should form most of a rabbits diet. People think that its food bowl should be full all the time and it is true that rabbits shouls eat a little often but only a little dry food should be given and as long as they have hay/grass and water they will be fine. They are especially good for dental health as the gnawing action required to eat them helps rabbits to wear down their teeth. Chew toys and large blocks of wood are also good for gnawing on and mineral blocks and twigs (make sure first though that the tree is not poisonous). If wood is not given the rabbit will start to eat away the inside of the hutch. Plastic food bowls and toys and treated wood are not recommended as if chewed can harm your rabbit. Overgrown incisors should be shortened by being filed down by dental burrs or clipped if really bad however sometimes clipping teeth can damage teeth and gums. If the case is very bad one long term solution is to remove upper and lower incisors. When getting a rabbit, check out the ancestory and make sure the breed is not prone to teeth problems and that the rabbits ancestors did not have dental problems as it could be passed on. Remember and check your rabbits teeth daily as its better to look for early signs that can be prevented quickly.
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| Rabbit dental burrs |
