My friend recently got a rabbit and i think that the teeth are WAY too long, any ideas on how to wear them down??
Printable View
My friend recently got a rabbit and i think that the teeth are WAY too long, any ideas on how to wear them down??
If they are too long, the rabbit won't be able to eat properly, and they will have to be filed. However, bunnies NEED to knaw to wear down their teeth. Wooden toys, hard treats - even seed ones, sticks from certain trees, maple, popple - (Untreated wood, twigs and logs that have been aged for at least 3 months. Apple tree branches can be eaten fresh off the tree. Stay away from: cherry, peach, apricot, plum and redwood, which are all poisonous.) see http://rabbit.org for more. Untreated wood - scraps from a lumber yard, even ... Popsicle sticks from fruit-flavored popsicles are gnawable ...
Rabbit's teeth can also be trimmed, much like toenails, using brand new very sharp wire cutters or with a very expensive pair of fancy toenail cutters. However this is not to be done by an inexperienced person. I think before anything else is contemplated your friend needs top take her bunny to a rabbit vet and get his opinion....it could be that what looks too long to you is fine or that there really is a problem. This is nothing to play around with....get a definite answer one way or the other.
As Karen points out if the teeth really are too long the bun has difficulty eating which could lead to having the gut slow down, or heaven forbid, stop completely which will kill the rabbit quickly.
Urge your friend to go get a definite answer by a bunny knowledgeable vet and go from there, you may save the bunny's life by doing so.