Ensure you check your angora rabbits teeth regularly and a good time to do this is every time you clip them. Teeth troubles are very common and if left untreated can cause your angora discomfort and potentially more harmful complaints.
Key symptoms of teeth problems include drooling, weight loss, eating greens on one side of the mouth. Overgrown front teeth may indicate bad back teeth too. If the back teeth grow very quickly this can lead to significant discomfort for your Angora and needs to be addressed quickly.
Angora rabbits needs to eat hay or grass for the correct wear of molars so it is important to ensure a balanced diet and always provide access to hay. If they are not keen on hay try dust free hay or dried readigrass. It can be useful to provide them with other forms of fibre to gnaw on like apple branches if their teeth grow very quickly.
Rabbits need sunlight also to stop calcium leaching from bones as in just 2 weeks without natural light, up to 40% bone density can be lost, usually from jaws first, making them soft and liable to teeth problems.
The best way to identify a serious issue is with a CT scan as a normal oral exam will not see beneath the gum line.
Snuffles or respiratory problems may be secondary to dental issues but a white discharge or runny eye may be caused by teeth (often incisors) growing through the upper jaw to block tear duct drain.
Good front teeth
The Angora rabbit belongs to the family of animals which gnaw, and the teeth give a clear indication of this gnawing and grinding habit. Check the cutting teeth, the incisors which have chiselled edges. In the upper jaw there are two grooved upper front incisors and behind them are two smaller incisors, plus twelve other teeth which are grinders.
Bad front teeth
In the lower jaw there are a single pair of front incisors and ten grinders. In a healthy rabbit the lower front teeth should fit neatly on to the small upper incisors as should the grinder match up and fit together and work properly. All rabbits teeth take a lot of wear and tear but they keep on growing throughout a rabbits lifetime. All teeth should be clean and check the gums at the same time.
