When we think of rabbits, what is the first thing that we think of? It could be their fluffy tail, their generally cute nature, or perhaps their rabbit teeth, which always stand out. A rabbit’s front teeth never keep growing; they’ll continue to get larger and larger throughout the entirety of their life.
If they were left entirely on their own, then they’d grow around 4-5 inches per year. While that would produce a comical look for us, they wouldn’t be all that useful for rabbits. That’s why it’s important to have the right items for your rabbit; if they can chew on hay and other items, then the teeth will stay worn down to a respectable length.
Rabbit grinding teeth
We’ve already established that a rabbit’s teeth are important. Another big part of keeping their teeth healthy is to watch out for any signs that they may be having problems. Perhaps the biggest one to look out for is teeth grinding.
Depending on the type of rabbit grinding that they’re doing, it may indicate a bigger issue. As a general rule, you should suspect that a rabbit is in some form of distress; it could be pain, stress, illness, or something else; if it’s grinding its teeth.
From there, you’ll need to look at the type of tooth grinding that they’re doing. Is it quiet or loud? If it’s quiet and coming from the front of the mouth, everything’s probably fine; think of it in similar terms as a cat’s purr. If it’s noisy and coming from the back of the mouth, then it’s worthwhile investigating further. A trip to the vet will be enough to ascertain whether everything’s fine or if there’s something more sinister going on behind the scenes.
How many teeth do rabbits have?
When you look at bunny teeth, you’ll probably focus the bulk of your attention on the teeth at their front. And who can blame you? They’re iconic. But a rabbit actually has more teeth than just those big front two, many more in fact; a grown rabbit will have 28 teeth. There are the two front incisors, four other incisors on the top and bottom (two on each). Then there are the peg teeth, and the teeth that sit behind the cheeks; there are twelve on top, ten on the bottom. Twenty-eight in total: a respectable amount!
Overgrown rabbit teeth
As we said earlier: a rabbit’s teeth will continue to grow through the entirety of their lifetime. While in most cases, the rabbit will take care of keeping them short, they might need your help.
Checking their teeth, making sure they have a rabbit-friendly diet, and making chew toys available will all help to prevent overgrown rabbit teeth. Big problems can arise from malocclusion in rabbits, so it’s important that they’re kept short; they can even curl up into the rabbit’s gums if they continue to grow. Ouch!