How many teeth does a rabbit have, what diseases affect them
Breeding rodents will take place without complications if you know how the rabbit's teeth grow and what diseases torment the fluffy animal. How many teeth does a rabbit have, how does he clean them?
The structure of the rodent's jaw and dental diseases determine the health of the animal. Dental problems can lead to the death of the furry.
Rabbit teeth
For breeding and proper maintenance of fluffy animals, the physiological characteristics of the breed should be taken into account. Experienced farmers recommend that you regularly examine the teeth of rabbits to prevent serious pathologies.
Features of rodent teeth
A rabbit's teeth must be strong and strong. The breed of domesticated rodents feeds on hard vegetables and coarse feed. If the front incisors begin to hurt in fluffy animals, such diseases immediately affect the well-being of the pets. Animals become lethargic, weaken, quickly lose weight and eventually die. The rabbit's teeth must be examined every few weeks in order not to miss the development of dangerous diseases.
Rabbit teeth are different from those found in other rodent breeds. Scientists distinguish a separate species of hare-like animals that are similar to rodents, but the structure of their skulls is significantly different. Rabbit's teeth are of different sizes, which is due to the lifestyle of the fluffy rodent. The pet grows, and as it grows, the 2 front incisors increase. This is the main chewing mechanism that allows hares to eat hard vegetables.
Rabbit teeth are divided into a pair of incisors and root teeth, which rodents use to crush solid food. The reason the incisors are longer in hares is very simple: they serve to quickly chew nutritious vegetables.
Furry animals have 26 teeth in total, as opposed to rodents with 18 incisors located on the jaws. In young animals, chewing teeth and incisors grow quickly; in just a couple of months, a hare has a full-fledged dentition.
After the main teeth have grown, bone growth continues. Such development of the skeletal system does not carry especially noticeable changes. Ornamental breeds, specially bred for domestic breeding, have a significantly smaller dentition than their relatives living in their natural environment. The reason for the deformation of the jaw is as follows: as a result of crossing, breeds of smaller size and with a weaker immune system were bred. In decorative species, dental diseases occur quite often, and it is also necessary to treat such animals.
The structure of the lower and upper jaw
The physiological characteristics of rabbits determine the structure of their skull. Herbivores need strong incisors that can withstand heavy loads. The digestive system easily over-etches plant foods, but the task of the dentition of fluffy animals is to crush vegetables. Grated and "cut" food is quickly absorbed and gives hares a lot of energy.Only a specialist can remove the teeth of domesticated rodents and only in those cases when there is no other solution to the problem that has arisen. The absence of at least 1 tooth creates a large load on the remaining incisors.
The structure of the skull of rodents allows you to "cut" food with incisors, and kill food with the help of root teeth. In the winter season, domesticated rabbits eat only dry food and hay, which the root row of teeth can easily handle. Trimming of the incisors is performed several times a year and only as directed by the veterinarian.
A photo of furry animals demonstrates how long cloves can grow in rabbits. Even small breeds have massive jaws. It is very important, regardless of the lifestyle of rodents, to monitor the health of their oral cavity. Milk teeth (lower and upper) fall out very quickly, but the removal of healthy and permanent incisors is a big problem that should be prevented by all possible means. Cut the teeth with a cutter or other tools that can be found on the farmer's farm. Carrying out such procedures at home can result in damage and deformation of the animal's jaw.
Even experienced rabbit breeders disagree on how many teeth a rabbit has in its mouth.
The lower and upper jaws of the animal are difficult to examine completely, so the data on the number of incisors and root teeth differ. Adult fluffy rodents have 22 teeth, but sometimes there are breeds with a full row of 28 incisors and roots. The two rows above and below consist of 2 strong incisors. After the incisors, hares have no teeth. This space in the mouth is called “toothless,” and it helps the crushed food enter the esophagus faster. The rabbit does not have fangs, like other animals.
Root teeth of rabbits:
- premolars;
- molars.
Rabbits have 12 upper molars at once, which are supported by 10 teeth of the lower row.
You can easily count the number of teeth in fluffy animals: 26 strong teeth that help you quickly grind even the hardest food. During growth, small rodents quickly adapt to hard vegetables. Green complementary foods make up only a third of animal feed in the summer and are practically absent in the winter.
Every animal that enters the farmer's yard needs constant inspection and proper maintenance. Taking proper care of your fluffy rodents will ensure that your meat is safe and suitable for human consumption.
Rabbit teeth diseases
The heavy load on the teeth from hard and dry food leads to the fact that the incisors wear out, and the root teeth become weak and begin to hurt. Frequent pathologies that occur in rodents of different ages are as follows:
- Malocclusion. Such pathologies arise due to the malocclusion of the rodent. The fuzzy grows, and along with the muscle mass, the skeletal system increases. An improper diet of young animals or previous diseases at an early age can lead to a curvature of the bite. As a result, the upper and lower jaw do not close. Malocclusion prevents rodents from gaining weight and makes them weak.
- Deformation of the root part of the dentition. Another problem associated with an incorrect bite leads to serious consequences for the health of the rodent. Due to the too large size of the root teeth in the rabbit, the incisors are bent, hence the grinding. An incorrect load on the entire dentition leads to diseases with the lacrimal canals. The consequences of such a deformation are disruption of the functioning of the eyeballs. More often teeth suffer from this in a small decorative rabbit.
- Abscesses. The most dangerous for the health and life of these rodents are suppuration and strong inflammatory processes in the rodent's oral cavity. Under no circumstances should it be possible to trim teeth while pus is secreting in the animal's mouth. For a rabbit, such a procedure is severe stress and unbearable pain.There are several ways to deal with the problem, including medication. Special preparations that are prescribed by veterinarians are needed to properly clean the dentition.
The fauna is amazing in the variety of species. Domestic and decorative rodents are a special breed. These are rather dangerous animals, even predators, which are distinguished by their vitality and lively character. Teaching these pussies to live at home is not difficult if you provide the rodents with the necessary care. Crooked incisors (the rabbit's teeth are sometimes bent) can cause the death of the furry. If the farmer hears that the rabbit is grinding its teeth, then the animals should be examined before showing severe symptoms. A disease that causes pain in the jaws, provokes a depletion of the rabbit's body, can bring big problems.
What if the rodents are sharpening their teeth or are having obvious problems? Squeaking, cracks in the teeth (the rabbit has broken an incisor, molar or molar) are the first signs of the disease. Self-medication is not worth it, because rash actions can cost a person all the fuzzies. Only a specialist can help.
Diagnostics of the oral cavity in rabbits
How many times a year should the oral cavity of rabbits be examined, is it necessary to remove a diseased tooth?
Timely diagnosis and prevention of diseases will prevent serious diseases. Veterinarians say that the farmer needs to polish the teeth of rabbits. Such actions are taken in the event that the rodent knocks with incisors or behaves aggressively. Incisors that are too large must be trimmed or the animal may injure itself. A special medicinal mixture will help to regularly clean the teeth of rabbits. It is applied to special wooden blocks made of soft wood.
What to do if pus starts to flow in the rodent's mouth? Only a specialist who is familiar with the structural features of the skull of rabbits should clean the oral cavity from secretions or treat inflammation. Clearing the pus without treating the underlying cause of the disease is ineffective and even life-threatening for rodents.