Original Article:
Veterinary Record 2010;166:443 doi:10.1136/vr.c1919
News & Reports
ANIMAL WELFARE
‘Dramatic’ rise in dental procedures on rabbits
THE PDSA is reporting a ‘dramatic increase’ in the number of dental procedures it is having to perform on rabbits. Over the past five years, the number of rabbits seen by the charity has increased by 16 per cent, but there has been a 230 per cent increase in the number of dental procedures performed.
In 2009, PDSA vets carried out more than 1100 dental procedures, compared with 335 in 2004. The ratio of rabbits undergoing dental treatment rose from approximately one in 17 five years ago to one in six in 2009. Many of the problems treated could be attributed to a poor diet, the charity says.
‘Despite being the UK’s third most popular pet, with over a million currently kept, the welfare needs of domestic rabbits are widely misunderstood by their owners,’ says Sean Wensley, the PDSA’s senior veterinary surgeon. ‘Hundreds of thousands of rabbits face an unhappy, lonely existence in cramped accommodation, while being fed an inappropriate diet and suffering from a range of painful diseases. We should re-evaluate the ways in which we have traditionally kept pet rabbits and start providing them with what we know they need to lead healthy and happy lives.’
Letter in Response:
Veterinary Record 2010;166:730 doi:10.1136/vr.c2549
Letter
RABBIT HEALTH
Exposure to Encephalitozoon cuniculi in rabbits with dental disease
William Lewis1
+ Author Affiliations
1Wylie Veterinary Centre, 196 Hall Lane, Upminster, Essex RM14 1TD
e-mail:
bill@wylievets.com
IN response to the news item on the rise of dental procedures on rabbits (VR, April 10, 2010, vol 166, p 443), we regularly see young rabbits of about six months of age that have normal teeth but suddenly develop an incisor malocclusion, which is sometimes very rapid in onset and quite marked. Many of these rabbits have very high titres to Encephalitozoon cuniculi. I have also seen a number of older rabbits (four to six years of age) that suddenly develop molar malocclusion. Many of these also have high E cuniculi titres.
I recently saw four rabbits belonging to the same owner in a two-week period. All required trimming of maloccluded molars. All were fed a pellet and grass/hay diet. When blood tested, they all had very high E cuniculi titres. They had never previously had any dental problems.
In discussion with someone who ran a rabbit rescue centre for 19 years, her opinion was that diets were less important in dental disease than often suggested in textbooks and by vet specialists. Her rabbits were always fed a muesli diet together with hay and grass, and had minimal dental problems.
I have also seen E cuniculi result in facial paralysis and dry eye. I now test for E cuniculi in every case of dental disease in rabbits, particularly the unexpected cases in older rabbits that have never previously had dental disease and that have had no changes in their diet or husbandry.
I am curious as to whether other practitioners have noted a similar trend.