Dental question re hay

Which teeth do bunnies eat hay with? :wave:

When we got Mole his incisors had just been trimmed and he didn't eat it. When he stopped eating anything (after a few days of having him) I got a GA dental done and he had a broken molar and some small spurs removed. A week or so on and his incisors have really grown and he's started eating hay. I want to get his incisors removed as they grow really fast and I suspect would need trimming every fortnight which means an hour's round trip for him but also being at the mercy of vets' holidays etc - I wouldn't want a non rabbit savvy vet to do it. But is it his incisors enabling him to eat hay or is it, as I suspect, a new molar has grown in to replace the broken one and he's using that?

Any advice appreciated. Trying to get him to the vet this week. He is eating now so it's not an emergency - there's nothing currently wrong, just thinking ahead...:wave:

They use their molars to chew hay

Its the molars at either side of the rabbits mouth ( the back teeth ) that they use to grind down the hay, and the hay keeps the molars "trimmed" so they dont overgrow, thats why hay is so important, hope this helps. If you have the incisors taken out I dont know how the rabbit will pick up the hay in its mouth, maybe someone with more knowledge will answer this question!:wave:

Thank you. Well it's fantastic news that his molars are now working!

Will he be able to pick up hay without incisors though? TBH they're so long already I would have thought they're a hindrance... :?

My sister's rabbit dexter had his incisors out at 12 weeks and he eats hay like it's going out of fashion. For older bunnies it seems to be a bit harder to learn how to do it. I don't know whether you should just let him learn on his own, tempting him with tasty hays, or post a piece in to get him started.

Jenova said:

My sister's rabbit dexter had his incisors out at 12 weeks and he eats hay like it's going out of fashion. For older bunnies it seems to be a bit harder to learn how to do it. I don't know whether you should just let him learn on his own, tempting him with tasty hays, or post a piece in to get him started.

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That's really helpful - thank you :wave:. Mole is young and I suspect he'll be fine - he seems to love nomming it at the moment but his incisors are growing so fast it's scary! :shock:

Tinsel said:

That's really helpful - thank you :wave:. Mole is young and I suspect he'll be fine - he seems to love nomming it at the moment but his incisors are growing so fast it's scary! :shock:

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When they trim them do they do it consciously? I've always been a firm believer that taking the teeth out is the best option so it's interesting to read Mole's treatment. I can't remember why you said your vet didn't want to take them out.

Jenova said:

When they trim them do they do it consciously? I've always been a firm believer that taking the teeth out is the best option so it's interesting to read Mole's treatment. I can't remember why you said your vet didn't want to take them out.

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They did do it consciously - not sure if they burred rather than clipped though. The original vet said that it doesn't always work ie removing them and that was why they tend to trim instead. My other vet is more confident about removing them, though, and having seen how long and spiky the incisors are within a couple of weeks I think that is the best option. Now that Mole's molars seem to be working he could have a normal life without the incisors, except that he gets three dishes of food a day as a top up (maybe we can cut that down to two now he can nom his hay so well but we'll see... Mole seems to enjoy all three platefuls. )

Great that Mole is eating lots of hay now!

Tinsel said:

They did do it consciously - not sure if they burred rather than clipped though. The original vet said that it doesn't always work ie removing them and that was why they tend to trim instead. My other vet is more confident about removing them, though, and having seen how long and spiky the incisors are within a couple of weeks I think that is the best option. Now that Mole's molars seem to be working he could have a normal life without the incisors, except that he gets three dishes of food a day as a top up (maybe we can cut that down to two now he can nom his hay so well but we'll see... Mole seems to enjoy all three platefuls. )

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Grim's have come back a couple of times and he has a peg tooth but I just had them removed too when he was under GA for other things. I suppose as Grim has a lot of other things wrong it could be fitted in... There are pros and cons to having them removed and keeping them in. I just wonder if he can use them as they are now? Before Dexter had his teeth out my vet burred them right down to the gum to see if they would grow normally.

This was Dexter.

Ah bless - that looks similar to Mole. They're not just at slightly the wrong angle it's almost as if they're horizontal rather than vertical. He's a young bun and will hopefully be okay with the GA, fingers crossed.... He can use his up to a point now his back ones are working but they look really sharp already and if they're going to be removed at some point I'd rather get it over with while he's young. He bounced back fast from his neuter but that vet was reluctant to remove because of regrowth probs - my other vet is more practised at it...