Broken teeth.

Question
Do they break easily?  I discovered that my favorite rabbit missing his top incisors.  There're only stubs at the gum line.  I'm guessing it happened while he was trying to pull open the cage door or when chewing ice.  What else might have caused it?  He also digs and pull on roots.  He's an outdoor rabbit and gets several hours play time in the back yard.

He looks and acts fine except that he can't cut his veges. Does he need more calcium for stronger teeth?

Thanks in advance.

Answer
Dear Tom,

Some rabbits have teeth more brittle than others, but it's hard to say whether your bunny is one of the weak-toothed rabbits without knowing exactly what happened.  It could have happened in any of the ways you describe, or he might have broken them by running into something.  It might have just been an accident, in which case the teeth will grow back normally.  But keep an eye on the lowers (or have them cut short by an experienced rabbit vet) so they don't keep growing and damage the uppers or make them grow crooked as they re-grow.  Please read:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/dental.html

You'll need to grate his fresh veggies for a couple of weeks, until the teeth grow back.  If they don't grow back in that time, he may have a congenital problem that's preventing their normal growth (a jaw bone infection can cause this; I hope it's not that!).

More calcium won't likely help, unless he's already severely malnourished and that's the reason for his weak teeth.  But a bunny with metabolic calcium metabolism problems won't be able to use the calcium to build up the teeth.  Just give him his normal food, which is already rich in calcium, and wait for them to re-grow.

Hope that helps.


Dana