Molar Spurs

What exactly are molar spurs? How do you know if your bunny suffers from them?

I just wondered for knowledge not thinking my buny has them!

It's when the teeth don't wear down evenly, and so little 'spikes' start to develop on the teeth which can rub on the tongue or the inside of the cheeks.
Some signs are bunny not eating as much hay/ struggling to eat/ dribbling around the mouth/ mucky inside of paws where bunny has been wiping his mouth.
Sure there are others too. Hopefully someone will be able to add to this.

My bun Fudge has this problem .. I've only had him since New years eve and I doubt before here he's had the type of food to grind those teeth down he's between 2/12 and 3 years old..
I am giving him as much hay as he wants and also making sure he gets to graze on plenty of grass... When i had him checked out 3 weeks ago they told me he will have problems and need treatment throughout his life I was gettin him neauted and they had a good look at his teeth then.
I love this little guy and will make sure he gets all the treatment he deserves.. Have been told to look for a wet chin and chest,weightloss and picking up food and dropping it .. At the moment he seems okay but have noticed he chews to the side and makes a right noise when eating..

Hi there. I have four bunnies all prone to molar spurs. The signs I see are slightly smaller poos, dropping food more or getting gas. Unfortunately my bunnies appetites seem normal right up until they go off their food.

Fiona x

One of my rabbits has severe dental problems. A lot of the time when rabbits teeth are examined, there may be very small spikes/spurs, but more often than not, they never grow big enough to cause problems.

Diet is a big factor- plenty of hay and greens. Unfortunately though, for some bunnies it is inevitable. They may have suffered damage or trauma to the face/jaw/teeth, which can lead to the teeth growing mis-aligned. Otherwise, it can be genetic. This is a common problem for pet shop bunnies, as there is no trace back through the parents and grandparents to know of any previous dental history. It is one of the rare areas where people may favour a breeder over a rescue rabbit as unfortunately, dental problems are common, can be expensive, and are virtually never covered by insurance policies.

There are the standard things to look for as other people have said, however, if you spend a lot of time with your rabbit, you will just "know" when there's something wrong, even if you don't know what it is!!

Travis spends longer trying to eat, and also sneezes when he's eating when his spurs get too long again. He's never dribbled, or lost weight, however, his teeth have to be burred so frequently (6-8weeks) that he has regular check ups.

He has had some teeth removed, which has helped a little, but it's just one of those things unfortunately.

i know i once posted a piccie of inside a bunys mouth with spurs and after its detal onhere but im blowed if i can find it now!
imagine youre back teeth have a flat horizontal bit of fflatish tooth material hanging over each edge of your tooth surface so far that each spike overlapping digs into the underneat and side of your tongue oneside whilst digging into your cheek flesh the other side at the same time..on each molar up and down both sides..painful? ulcers..soft tissue damage..and some vets will tell yopu yheit only tiny cant see any real danage.needs to be gone back to in a few days if nio improvemenet..as damage sometimes can only be seen whilst the rabbit is out under a GA having a dental. the bunnys mouth is very vewry long and very very narrow..retractors have to be used to see the cheeks and tongue so an otoscope isnt wonderfulk but better than nothing when examining bunnies teeth. Our old doe used to dribble etc..oscar got runny eyes every single time and went quiet and off his fod and ad temepered. Bif went quieter than usual..if thats possible for her meekness! She ate but not much and found her food falling out of her mouth..she also drankless and spun around in circles droppinmg squishy poo onto floor and then eating eat..but not as much..and she would seem even more witrhdrawn and clingy to bertie)and oscar when he was alive).
sometimes its so subtle..ut after its happened once you will always know how they tell you theyve got teeth probs..

Generally you notice them stop eating, even drinking and losing weight. They may drool and drop food while they are trying to eat it to.

They are small spikes which grow o the molars (back teeth) and can grow inwards towards the tongue or outwards towards the cheeks causin painful ulcers and lacerations which stop the rabbit eating.

I have one dental bun who has to have his teeth burred every 3 months, some rabbit need this more often others less.

Molar spurs can be caused by poor diet or genetic maloclussion/misalignment of the jaw which stops the teeth wearing down.