How Many Teeth Do Rabbits Have?

THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS. PLEASE READ MY DISCLOSURE FOR MORE INFO.

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Just some days ago one of my friends informed me to rush to his place because one of his rabbits has broken one of its teeth. We were both worried because we saw that rabbits have two long teeth on the upper jaw of their mouth.

But the fun fact begins then, the rabbit which had broken its teeth, was able to eat anything and seems okay!

Then we started thinking about how many teeth do rabbits have! We researched and got many interesting facts about rabbit’s teeth.

Let’s start the article to know more.

How Many Teeth Do Rabbits Have?

Rabbits have 28 teeth overall! The two big teeth upper and lower we see at the front, the other two wedge teeth beside the upper two teeth, and the rest 22 teeth remain for molar and grinding inside the jaw.

Each tooth works for rabbits eating, chewing, and sometimes fighting back.

Facts of Rabbits Teeth

Teeth are an essential part of an animal’s body. For prey animals like rabbits, teeth are the most important body part.

As they are small mammals and have no strong organ to survive against an attacking animal, so teeth play many roles for them.

Let’s see what their teeth do.

  • Rabbits have open-rooted teeth. That means, their teeth never stop growing and changing till they die.
  • Rabbits have 6 incisor teeth in total. They are bigger in shape and help rabbits to cut grass, hay, or any kind of fruit.
  • The premolars and molars help rabbits to chew the foods and other teeth do grinding and chewing for rabbits.
  • Rabbits have so many predators. In case of any surviving situation, rabbits use their teeth to fight back. You can know what animals hunt rabbits from here.
  • Baby bunnies are not born with teeth actually. When they are 20 or 21 days, then the sign of teeth start showing slowly.
  • Rabbits have sweet teeth. Which is both good and bad for some reason. We will talk about it later.
  • Sometimes rabbits also lose teeth as humans do.
  • Rabbits like to sharpen their teeth. That’s why they chew many things while they play.

Should You Brush Rabbit’s Teeth?

Wild rabbits and pet rabbits have almost the same basic instinct. Wild rabbits do not do any kind of action that relates to brushing their teeth.

Pet rabbits also do not need to be brushed. Just try to keep them in a safe place so that they do not chew anything they find. You can use the rabbit’s playground when you put them outside of the house.

Should You Trim Rabbits Teeth?

Well, this is actually not needed. Because rabbit’s teeth grow naturally as their whole body grows.

But if needed, you can slowly trim rabbit’s teeth. For example, if malocclusion happens then one of their teeth could overgrow. This time you can trim the rabbit’s teeth.

Do Rabbits Have Sugar Tooth?

Well, it is hard to say. Because there are many variants of rabbits. Their food habit is not same always.

But from some research, we can say that yes, rabbits have sugar teeth. Rabbits usually like to chew more sweet fruits than other non-sweet fruits. They try to find sweet fruits when they are wild. When they are pets, they show the same behavior.

Rabbit’s Teeth Diseases

You see, rabbits’ teeth do a lot for them as they can’t use their hands or legs much. So, some common diseases happen for rabbits.

Let’s know some common fatal teeth diseases of rabbits.

01# Malocclusion:

Rabbits suffer a lot from malocclusion. Malocclusion happens when the incisors start overgrowing. If rabbit’s teeth don’t overcome completely, then malocclusion happens.

Moreover, sometimes rabbits start fighting with each other and there is a chance of breaking any tooth of any rabbit. From that breaking part of the tooth, malocclusion occurs.

For malocclusion, rabbit’s teeth start getting infected from eating foods and the infection can spread side by side.

02# Tooth Decay:

Acid from different bacterias can corrode the tooth’s pulse and can create a dent in the teeth area. This is so much pain for rabbits that is the main cause of tooth loss or infection in the root.

However, rabbits are super skilled at hiding their health problems. So, we owners can’t easily notice this type of problem at the first stage. When we do, it’s already late.

But there are some common symptoms of tooth decay are:

  1. Bad odor from mouth.
  2. Coughing.
  3. Irritation.
  4. Loss of appetite.
  5. Dozing.

If you find any symptoms among these, you should take your rabbit to a vet doctor immediately. The affected tooth should be uprooted.

03# Abscess:

Abscesses are kind of blotches that look like tumors. This happens on the cheek skin of rabbits. This actually happens from the grazing of a sharp tooth inside the mouth.

Sometimes one tooth can overgrow than other and cause abscesses. Though abscesses are not permanent always. But sometimes infections happen from it and become critical.

You may feel tensed after seeing this kind of serious dental issue. But don’t worry, we can prevent these diseases.

How to Keep Rabbit’s Teeth Healthy

Keeping rabbit teeth healthy is important. As we were talking about how many teeth do rabbits have and we have already known some common dental diseases of rabbits.

But we can restrain these diseases if we feed our rabbits a correct diet. Let’s see what we can do to keep rabbit’s teeth healthy.

  • Feed hay and grass: Yes, feed your rabbits grass and hay in a large amount. Rabbits look small but their tummies don’t. They can eat a lot and their daily diet chart should be filled almost 80-90% with grass and hay.
    Fresh grass and hay are not hard to find. Focus on the hay most. Fresh hay creates a good impact on a rabbit’s body, from teeth to stomach.
  • Vegetables and Fruits: The rest 10-20% of the rabbit’s diet chart should be met with vegetables and fruits. Vegetables and fruits are as essential for rabbits as humans need.
    Broccoli, spinach, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, and other vegetables are awesome for rabbits.
  • More Calcium: We know that calcium affects teeth much. Rabbits also need calcium to make their teeth stronger and healthier. Try to feed your rabbits foods that contain a lot of calcium.
    Apples, Guavas, Grapes, Strawberries, Pineapples can offer much calcium. You should feed your rabbits these fruits often.
  • Chewing Toys: Give them chewing toys of good quality. When they take a rest or play, they can use those toys and those toys can help them to make their teeth stronger and sharper.

If you just try to give your rabbits fresh and raw foods that contain a lot of vitamins and calciums, you can repel their teeth problems from the very first.

Things to Consider

Now we know many interesting facts about rabbit’s teeth. Their teeth are very important for them and those teeth also need to have cared for so much.

This article tried to make you understand every detail about rabbit teeth. We hope you will be more conscious about your rabbit’s teeth from now on.

Conclusion

We have discussed a lot about rabbit’s teeth while we were finding answers to the question of how many teeth do rabbits have. As a good owner, you should check their teeth once or twice a week to make sure their teeth are okay.

Leave a Comment