Rabbit teeth grow in animals throughout their lives. For this reason, many rabbit owners believe that you have to shorten rabbit teeth. However, this is not the case if your rabbit is provided species-appropriate and with varied food. Because then a constant tooth wear ensures that no veterinarian has to shorten the rabbit's teeth.

Shorten teeth - avoid with high quality food

To save your rabbit from having to shorten its teeth, you should give it food that is very rich in fiber every day. This can be, for example, high-quality hay, because your rabbit has to chew on it for a long time until it swallows this food. However, the best food is fresh grass from an untreated meadow and should be given daily if possible.

In winter often not possible, so to feed good hay. An incorrect diet occurs when you feed your rabbit too many treats or dry food as the main food. This dry food is chewed much faster than fresh grass or hay and therefore the tooth abrasion in the rabbit does not work anymore. The result is that the rabbit's teeth have to be shortened.

That is why the rabbit constantly needs something to eat

Due to the food, it is not only important that the rabbit wears its teeth, but also that it constantly munches. The rabbit stomach is constructed in such a way that it has no muscles of its own. As a result, the food mush is not transferred to the intestines through the muscles as it is in other mammals. As more food is ingested, the food mush is pushed into the intestine.

So it is also clear why the rabbit should ideally always have a filled food trough to help itself. Because if the supply is missing, then it can happen that the food mush remains too long in the stomach and intestine. The result is that the food begins to ferment or rot in the stomach. This in turn leads to flatulence and this can quickly become dangerous for rabbits.

Therefore, always make sure that your rabbit has access to fresh food, ideally this should be hay or greens.

Shorten rabbit teeth, when does it have to be?

Rabbit teeth must be shortened when they become too long and this restricts the rabbit in its natural feeding or lifestyle. Never use pliers or similar instruments. This can cause permanent damage to the tooth structures. This means that your rabbit will have pain in its teeth for months or even for the rest of its life.

With forceps, cracks can develop in the tooth structure and bacteria can settle in them. These lead to infections and in many cases to the formation of abscesses in the jaw area. If such a case is not recognized in time, it can lead to an irreparable dissolution of the jaw bone and thus the stability of the jaw. In most cases, the only way to save the animal is to take it to the vet.

Therefore, never shorten the rabbit's teeth yourself, especially not with pliers. Leave this to a professional, so that your rabbit remembers this procedure only as an annoying fiddling by a stranger.

How to shorten rabbit teeth?

The shortening of the rabbit teeth is done with the help of a cutting disc. This ensures a clean cut and prevents fissures from forming on the teeth. Teeth shortening should always be performed by a veterinarian, because depending on the severity of the procedure, your rabbit may need anesthesia. During the procedure, care must also be taken to maintain certain angles when cutting and grinding.

Because only then, after the procedure, the rabbit can again take his food without worries and use his chewing tools properly.

Rabbit teeth - how to recognize dental problems

You have now learned how to spare your rabbit from having to shorten its teeth. But how can you recognize dental problems? We give you here a small list, where you can by behaviors with your Recognize rabbits can that there may be dental problems.

• Your rabbit changes its eating behavior, it eats more slowly and spurns food that it previously liked to eat.
• Your rabbit is losing more and more weight.
• It refuses to eat.
• The rabbit eats a lot on some days and little to nothing on others. This indicates coming and going toothache.
• Very frequent teeth grinding.
• Holding the head at an angle and swelling on the head or jaw. When viewed from the front, asymmetry can be seen on the head.
• Watery eyes, and purulent discharge from the eyes and/or nose.
• The appearance of your rabbit changes and the fur becomes increasingly unkempt.

During a visit to the vet, the doctor should also always routinely examine the rabbit's teeth. An attentive and experienced veterinarian, will recognize early whether rabbit teeth shortening is pending or whether everything is in order.