Bunny Teeth Care | Trimming Rabbit Nails

Earlier, in post What Kind Of Food to Feed Your Bunny With?, I talked about importance of rich diet programme as part of bunny teeth care. If you haven't read it, maybe it is best you start from there, or from the very first post: Bunnies as Pets. All owners know about need for nail trimming, for those buns can scratch!

Lets take a short view of which teeth problems am I going to write today, and what measures of bunny teeth care do we have. Later I will write more about it. After discussing bunny teeth care programme, I will explain nail tripping techniques.

Bunny Teeth Care

Bunny Teeth Care - malocclusion

• Malocclusion,
• Molar spurs,
• Teeth loosening,
• Gum infection,
• Teeth root infection,
• Root extension farther into jaw.

First, let me say that bunnies have incisors (4 front teeth: 2 in the upper and 2 in the lower jaw) and molars (teeth located in the back of the jaws). Molars are not easily visible and reachable, while molars can be seen easily if you separate bunny lips. 

NOTE: Bunnies' teeth are growing continuously whole life (hipsodonts) and they need to be wear off. Feeding your bunnies with food rich in fibers (hay, wood), or giving them toys which are safe for them to bite the, will do the job. This works for normally occluded teeth.

Malocclusion is term used to describe situation when teeth are not meeting well. Either upper teeth are growing over lower, or it is other way round. In both cases there is an issue: teeth wearing off (sharpening while chewing food) is being compromised. If they can't sharpen their teeth (wear off), teeth will continue to grow. The same thing can happen in case of normally occluded teeth (if bunnies are not feed with proper food). This is why proper bunny teeth care is important.
I hope you understand the importance of giving to your bunny something he/she can bite and sharpen their teeth.
Malocclusion can be inherited (teeth are in malocclusion from the very start of growing up), or earned after jaw trauma.
If not wear off regularly, incisors AND molars will continue to grow. Incisors can grow outside of the mouth, or inside (hurting opposite gums, or tongue.). Teeth can sometime be so curved, they brake up. It is understandable that overgrowth teeth are not useful. Many dentists will use trimming as first teeth care solution. In practice this was proven to be not that successful as thought before. Teeth will continue to grow, and procedure has to be done every 2 to 4 weeks. It is stressful for your bunny, of course. Leading world veterinarians agree that pulling maloccluded teeth out is the best solution.
Molars (important for grinding the food after it being cut into pieces by incisors) won't overgrow in this way, like shown on picture (incisors overgrowth on the picture). Here we will see molar spurs (spikes, extensions) originating from molar edges (not aligning to upper/lower teeth). These molar spurs can grow into gums, or into tongue. Also they can grow that long so they make pressure on tongue not allowing bunny to move his/her tongue. It is then causing huge pain to your pet, not allowing him to eat anything. So, the main symptom is weight loss, and gas accumulation in intestines (this can cause ileus- lethal complication).

Teeth loosening is something not that rare, that affects elderly bunnies. It can cause root extension deeper into mandible/maxilla. If not treated, in time, teeth root can penetrate sinus, and is often followed by infection (mostly fecal bacteria from feces which has been pushed between loosen tooth and gums).

Gums and teeth root infection is caused mostly by bacteria moving under the gingives trough small fractures in the teeth (they can be caused by repetitive teeth trimming). This is one of the reasons veterinarians are recommending teeth extraction nowadays.

How to prevent bunny teeth going wild? 
What is proper bunny teeth care?

Bunny teeth care- biting

 In case of no malocclusion, the best thing you can do is to check your bunnies mouth every 7 days to have an overview on teeth growth! Feeding your bunny to fiber rich food is essential. Give some proper toys which he can bite and use to sharpen his teeth. I will repeat that it is crucial for your bunny to have rich and different diet programme every day. Also, lots of toys for biting and chewing is as important in bunny teeth care strategy (see TOYS). Seeing the veterinarian from the first day you got the bun is great investment in bunny's health and thus his long and health life!

Bunny teeth care - trimmer

Teeth examination:
Just like it is normal thing to examine your own teeth from time to time, it is the same thing with bunnies. Just, you need to do it more often. Their teeth are growing really fast, and in a week they can go from good into bad!
Checking incisors is easy job. You just need to hold your bunny tightly, and move his lips so you can see first 4 teeth (2 upper, and 2 lower ones).


Checking molars is, on the other hand, tricky. It is better to check them indirectly, buy looking for secondary signs of molars disorders:

• swelling,
• drooling,
• laud grinding,
• bad odor coming from the mouth,
• eating disorder,
• weight loss.

Treating teeth disorders (bunny teeth care in general):

As I stated earlier in this post: some veterinarians choose to trim bunnies' teeth. Others choose pulling them out as the best and long lasting solution. It is surgical procedure with little incision into the gums. It is important to pull out the whole root (their teeth roots are much longer than in human species). Antibiotics are per scripted for next 10 days. Healing is fast (bunnies are able to take food from 4 to 12 hours after the procedure). 

What after loosing teeth? Your bunny will adapt fast! Pellets will be his favorite food, since they are small and they pick it easily of the floor. You will have to cut hay into 2 to 3 inches long pieces for easy grabbing with their lips (they are not able to cut hay without teeth- you have to do it for them). Long term prognosis (your bunny is happy, and able to eat. pain is gone! Procedure is up to 100% successful.).

Long rabbit nails bother you? How to perform trimming rabbit nails?


This is not about some disorder. It is normal, common thing to see nails grow up, and be cut down! We all do it. The tricky part comes if your bunny is one of those which will do anything to get out of your hands. Well, my Gary is that type. He doesn't enjoy being tide up, and hate nail trimming (cutting). Most of rabbit hate it. Some of them will lie calm.
What to do if you have non-cooperative bunny? Just insure you have control over his legs, so he doesn't hit and scratch you while trimming his nails. You can to that by folding him into a towel, while keeping nails on his front legs little above the towel edge. Use trimmers for trimming dog nails (even regular nail clipper will do). Insure not to cut too far (watch for red line under the nail). If you cut the nail too far from the nail edge, there is chance you will hurt live tissue, and cause pain and bleeding. If there are few drops of blood in claws after cutting nails, put some antiseptic solution to prevent infection.
Now you know everything about trimming rabbit nails. Not the hard. The hardest part of it is take control over your bunny.
If you are interested in how to treat their fur, and should you bathe your pet, I suggest you to visit this post: Bunnies: Moult, Bathe and Fur Care.

Did you find Bunny Teeth Care | Trimming Rabbit Nails post useful? If so, tell me. If something is left unexplained, please ask.

Next time I will talk more about proper toys for bunnies to wear their teeth, and playing with your bunny. Stay tuned.
Thank you!

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Bunny Language And Behavior

Today I will write something about bunny language and bunny behavior.

In the latest post I've been writing about food, and feeding your bunnies. I mentioned then that it is important to ensure that your rabbit has something to grind his teeth of ,in order to wear them off. Their teeth grow constantly during their lifetime. So it is important to ensure different food types (improving chewing techniques, and eases teeth ware off).
If you don't provide something for it, they will find the solution in your furniture and you don't want that (read more about bunny behavior).

If you have missed previous posts about rabbits, I suggest you start here: bunnies-as-pets.

What? What did you say? (bunny language)

Lets now say something about bunny language and habits.

Teeth chattering- it can mean pleasure and pain. If you are cuddling your bunny, and he chatters softly (tooth purr), consider that as sign of pleasure. Much louder chattering indicates your bunny is in pain!

Thumping with back feet- it tells us, bunny is frustrated. He is telling you that way to step back, to stop following him. Just stop doing what you were, and give him some time to come to you by himself. Also it can indicate sexual frustration being close to bunny female, but being unable to reach her. If you own two bunnies being different sex, this is moment to separate them.

Hissing- your bunny is frightened. Next step can be attack. So, be careful.
Squealing- this tells us bunny is in extreme pain. It is serious situation. NEVER DISREGARD THIS NOISE! Always pay attention. Mostly bunnies make this noise moment before death.

Honhing- In bunny language this tells us bunny is annoyed. Stop doing that!

Light nudging with the nose- it means bunny is seeking for your attention. It is the sign to you that he cares for your attention. Be happy to see your bunny doing this to you. It means you are loved!

Strong nudging (pushing) with the nose- tells you bunny wants to be alone. Every being have moment when they are not in mood for play or company. Understand your rabbit's wishes, and come back later.

Pretending to chew something- your bunny is being content and relaxed.

Eating his droppings- some owners get really upset seeing this. This is surely one bunny behavior owners don't like to see! There is nothing to be worried about. Bunny droppings are rich in vitamin B which hasn't been used during first digestion. So, bunnies use this act to insure nothing is wasted. So, dear bunny owners, don't freak out! :)

Watch me doing binkies- when you see your bunny jumping and rolling, and running, it is sign of ultimate happiness. join your bunny, and play with him. This bunny behavior just makes you lie on the floor and share fun time with your bunny. Bunny doing binkies is one HAPPY bunny.

Running around your feet- tells you he is excited to see you, or he is sexually attracted to you.

Lying completely stretched out- if you see your bunny stretched out, with his hind legs to the back, and his front legs to the front, then leave him to rest. It is last stage of relaxing. He will fall asleep soon. He usually does this after good play.

Standing on hind legs- asking for attention. Mostly asking for food.

Running the bunny 500- Bunnies love to run. They will use your house as running polygon. They will test their abilities by changing directions fast, cutting around the corner, jumping, etc. Pay attention on their ears. If they are up, bunny is running of the fun. If ears are to the back, he is running from danger.

Nose wiggling- If wiggling is slow, it indicates your bunny is calm, and content. On the other hand, if nose wiggling is fast, it tells us bunny is agitated. Try to calm him, or if you were the reason for this, give him some time to calm down by himself.

Rubbing chin of things- I like you. You will be eaten soon (watch closely on that piece of furniture). If he did that to your hand, it meant affection.

Licking- it can mean various things: licking your hand (He is grooming you. It is great honor to have your bunny doing this to you. It is showing affection and accepting you as a master), licking your clothes (Also, showing affection), licking furniture (need for an other rabbit's companion-ship (if he is licking your spot on sofa, he is just imaging you instead of sofa).

Any change of behaviour can indicate health problems. Bunnies are not going to show us they are in pain or sick. They will just pull back to their safe corner and remain quiet. Watch out for this. If you see your bunny suddenly became quiet, and sad, take him to vet. Maybe it is just his bad day, but vet is always the best choice. Many diseases are threat able if discovered in early stage. In bunny language, this behavior means something went wrong! They are friendly and joyfull animals and it is to expect they are jumping and running across the house all the time (when not sleeping).


I hope you have found this Bunny Language and Habits post useful. Tell me about it. What else would you like to know?


This should be enough for this post. Tomorrow I will write more about teeth problems, nail clipping, shredding and bathing. Stay tuned.
Thank you for your time!

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Bunny Gallery (Gary)

You can never see enough bunnies. :) They are endless source of fun! Tell me, which is your favorite picture?

Bunny language: King of the world!

Bunny language: Gimme that camera! I will eat it!

Bunny language: It looks it is too high!

Bunny language: What? What did you say?

Bunny language:
I am watching you! Keep away from my meal!

Bunny language: I will hurt you, boy! You are not that high!

Bunny language: Look away! I am entering this bag.

Something terrible I have found in!

I'll try this...

Boss!

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What Kind of Food To Feed Your Bunny With?

Hi, dear reader.

Yesterday I was writing about litter training. It is giving head-ache to new bunny owners. And I hope my advices were helpful to you.

If you have missed last posts, it is the best you start from the beginning:
bunnies as pets,
litter training.

"What do you want from me???" :)

Today I will write something about food that is good and bad for bunnies.
In general, bunnies will eat everything you give them. They will even show more interest for food that is BAD for them (such as chocolate- they love it, but it is poison for them). That is why you need to know basics about their nutrition, so you can be sure food you have been feeding them with is good for them.
What kind of food to feed your bunny with?
Lets start with bunny food pyramid:

Bunny food pyramid

As you can see from the food pyramid, the main food, your bunny should always have on menu, is hay. Timothy and meadow hay should always be there for you bunny. They can eat it in unlimited quantity.
More about hay you can find in the post Hay and Vegetables to Feed Your Bunny.
Water is the most important substance in bunny's life. We all know the value of water. In this case water also helps bunnies digest their fur hair, they ingest by licking themselves. By doing it, they take lots of hair in their digestion system. All that hair can cause many problems. The greatest of them is Ileus. That means passage in their digestion system has been blocked, and is life-threatening. Water prevents them going into Ileus. So, make sure, there is some water around them all the time.

On the next step on the food pyramid, there is vegetables. It is great source of vitamin, fiber and water. Fresh and green vegetables are the best. Some authors say that we should be feeding them with wet vegetables, and others claim dry is the best. The one thing is sure: vegetables should be well cleaned! Avoid feeding them with too much vegetable that has lots of sugar in it (carrot and other roots).
More about vegetables you can find in post Hay and Vegetables to Feed Your Bunny.
In second part of What kind of food to feed your bunny with post I will write few lines about pellets and fruit. Stay tuned!

Pellets.
Rabbit pellets, known for their ease of feeding and rapid weight gain, were originally developed for the rabbit "livestock" market, where rabbits are raised for their meat or fur and not intended to live out their potential lifespan. For house rabbit, that are expected to live 10 or more years, it is preferable and vitamin rich diet.
Pellets are rich in calcium, and many of them are rich in sugar and fat. Calcium can cause many health problems (urine sludge, heart conditions), and sugar and fat lead to obesity. FAT RABBIT IS NOT A HAPPY RABBIT! There are different pellet products, and you can choose ones that are low in previous mentioned ingredients. More about pellets you can find here.

What you have to know about fruit is that fruit provides lots of vitamins for your pet, but, lots of fruit in their diet is bad for having sugar in it. You pet will love fruit. Apple and banana is my Gary's favorite food. So I like to use it as reward for his good behaviour. I do feed him with apple often, I must admit (2 slices per day), but I don't give banana to him that often. The main reason is a sugar. So I give it once per week. Pineapple and papaya juice is good for digestion. It prevents condition of Ileus. Fruit provides lots of water for your rabbit, so that is one big plus too. But, I will repeat: be careful. Tu much sugar, can cause abdominal flora dis balance, which can be lethal. More about fruit you can find here.

What kind of food to feed your bunny with? Well, treat is not one of that food. Treats, as sweets, are rich in sugar and fat. So, better not to use it. Better treat is fruit (apples, pineapples, banana). Few raisins can do great job too. Use treat only during learning lessons as a reward. Later, give some treat to your bunny once per week. And remember: FAT BUNNY IS NOT HAPPY BUNNY!
On the other hand, there are some sorts of snacks and treats which can be offered to your pet. I suggest to check those out here: Organic Snacks for Your Pet Bunny.

For any question, feel free to ask. I will do my best to answer to it. Thank you for reading my blog.

Next time I will talk more about bunny habits and behaviour.

Did you like it? Did you find it useful? Please, leave a comment, and share ideas, thoughts, ask something, or  give a critic.

Thank you.

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How to Litter Train Your Bunny?

Hello, dear friends.

Today I will talk about litter training.

I will explain how to teach your bunny where to do their "business". When you get your first bunny, you will think at first: God, did I need this? Well, I understand you, completely. At first, they are just not used to poop and pee in one corner, but rather, they do it everywhere around the house. In this post I will try to explain that bunnies can learn thing, and having bunnies as pets is one game of patience, but it pays off in short time.

If you haven't read my earlier posts, try to start from the beginning

This was my first photo...

When I got my Gary, he was so small. Just a baby. And as every baby, he didn't know that we expected from him to find a single place for doing his habits. So he peed and pooped everywhere. On my notes, on the carpet, on the couch etc. I must admit, he never peed on the floor coverings. It was a bit funny to see him going to the edge of it, placing his rear part over the uncovered floor, and there we go... little pond on the floor. :) But luckily, carpet would have remained dry. With the poop, it was different. But no worries, bunnies excrement are dry, firm, little, balls (5mm in diameter). You can just take a napkin and grab it and flush it away. No stains, nothing.

So, how to teach your bunny to do it on the right place? Sometimes it is an easy job. They mostly choose the place they like, where they feel safe, and they keep doing it there. On the other hand, some bunnies can be extremely stubborn.

So, the most important thing is being patient! Prepare yourself for days, maybe weeks or even months of observing the bunny, and teaching it where should it be done. I will just say I was lucky. My Gary has chosen his „right corner“ for doing his things in  less than a week. Actually, it took him 2 days to learn that peeing everywhere is not wanted. Speaking of poop, well, it took him longer to control and change that habit.

Of course, bunnies are animals, and we have to understand their need of marking territory. They need to do that when they arrive to your home. So, that is why it is hard to explain them that all peeing and pooping should be done in one or two places. Even later when they learn, you will still be finding small poop balls around your house. If it is not big amount (10 at max outside litter box), don’t make big deal out of it. That way they may start thinking this way: If I may not mark my territory, it means I don’t have any, SO, the whole house is my territory. Then I can do it all around. You don’t want that.

If you have stubborn bunny, you will have to make improvisations. Having bunnies as pets can sometimes make you start pulling your hair out. But, what ever you are doing, do it slowly, and don’t scare them. It can work against you.

First I will tell something about litter boxes. There are so many types of litter boxes. The only really important thing is that you prepare a place for them in one corner. It doesn't care if it is even going to be a box (I just place few newspaper pages on the floor tiles, and duck tape them for floor tiles). It is up to you. You can also improvise and take a top of shoe-box, place some newspaper on the bottom, and voila!

Why news paper? Well, it is the best material for absorbing strong smell of their pee.

Litter box can be place to eat in and poop&pee in it. Bunnies use to do all those things together. So, the best way to make them do the stuff in one place, is to put some hay there, so they can do it first time there while eating. Every next time it will be easier and easier. It is in their nature to do sanitary habits in one place (they use smell to determine where did they do it last time). Use this as a tool. If they keep with their bad habits, take some poop and, mop some pee with a toilet paper. Put that toilet paper, and collected poop in the spot you want them do it next time. Also, when so see them preparing for doing it outside of litter box, be fast: clap your hands few times, and firmly say NO! And then take the bunny and put it in litter box. This won’t work if bunny already did it on you floor. Any sort of punishment is out of question.

Make them feel free in litter box. Make them love it. Be sure there is always fresh new hay there, and that is it clean. Bunnies are clean animals. They don’t like to spend much time in filthy places.

Instead of news paper, you may use cat sand. But it is not recommended. Our bunnies are sniffing everything. They can be poisoned if they inhale too much of products that are part of cat sand.

Soon, armed with lots of patience, you will start seeing bunnies can learn lots of stuff. That why having bunnies as pets is great thing. You will actually have one great friend, that knows what they may or may not do.

Probably this is going to be enough for today. Tomorrow I will be writing more about food and eating habits.


Did you like it? Did you find it useful? Please, post a comment and share idea, thoughts, ask a question, or give a critic. 


Thank you.


Here you can check lots of interesting stuff about other pets too: http://www.squidoo.com/petdaycare .

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First Steps

Hello, dear readers!

In the last post I was writing a little introduction, to prepare and explain what can you expect visiting this blog of mine. I promised I will write about Gary's life in his new home for past 4 months. But I want this blog to be educative, in first place. So, in first post I will use my 4 months experience with Gary to explain how should you act when and after you meet your bunny (best friend for life)! After all, this is blog about bunnies as pets! Isn't it? :)

If you didn't read my first post, you can still do that following this link: bunnies as pets- intro . You can see first online posted photo of little Gary just after the link.

OK, Gary has left the box. :) Those first steps into new territory were stressful. I have to remind you that rabbits for thousands of years of evolution were always a prey. and never a hunter. They adapted to harsh environment they were living in. Been extremely cautious all the time is one of the adaptments. Eventually, with the time passing by, they can learn to trust you. But still, some new noises, new people and situations will force them to run away into their safe corner.

So, don't say my Gary was a coward. :p It took him only 6 hrs to leave the box and enter the room. For the next 3 hrs, he was just going to apple slices we brought for him and back to his box. Then he felt free to make new brave steps: going further and drinking a water, then going behind the box and finally approaching me and my girlfriend (carefully, sniffing all the time). This is new moment when I should mark that sniffing is what they do for 80% of their time. One cute and adorable behaviour, but pretty useful one too. Bunnies learn about the world using ears and nose, mostly. Their eyes are capable of seeing things, but lets say, they won't read lots of stuff in their life time. :) Their eyes are strategically placed so they can see in almost every direction at once. But if you put something right in front of them, they won't be able to see it.

So, they use eyes to see possible danger coming from distance, but in environment like living rooms, they mostly use nose and ears. So, sniffing is No.1 activity in they life. :)

After introducing to us, Gary understood there is no threat from us to him. I am sure he got that. But be careful for next few days. On every fast and unexpected move you make, bunnies will run away from you. So, in first week, let them do things their way. They will come when they want that. Let them think they have freedom to choose, and that you are not forcing them to anything.

They love to explore things, and new territories. They will have lots of fun sniffing around your house. So, for time being, give them space to do their job. They will come to you when they are ready.

In the meantime I will talk about what should be ready for them before you get them to your house/ apartment. Some owners like to keep them in cages, others like to have cage where they can sleep in, and for the day light they would let them run in the house. There are also bunnies owners like I: I don't have cage, and I share my apartment with him. Bunnies as pets is a blog that will promote free bunnies (no cages).
I have to write a word or two about those cages. Bunnies love cables, carpets, all sort of house materials (including the walls), and they will use every opportunity to try and eat it. So, I completely understand why people like to keep them in cages while they are not around to look over their beloved bunnies. But there are few steps you can make to prevent them eating all around. For example, you can move all you cables away, and hide them in places where they can't reach them (behind furniture, high above their jumping range...). But if you still want a cage for you bunny, here we go. You can find small, medium and large sized cages for your pet. It would be great if you could connect a cage and a bunny house, so they can move between those two places. You can buy them, or make them (this is probably the most economical, and both fun and creative choice to do). The important thing is that you have a space for food and water. If you choose to lay a hay down on the bottom of the cage, rabbits will use it as a food.

I think this should be enough for today. Tomorrow I will write more about sanitation issues, place to eat, place to sleep and place to play fir your bunny.
Thank you for visiting my blog, and stay tuned for more info.

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Intro

Hi, everyone!

This is my first post on this blog. And I am going to explain what am I going to write about here, on this very blog.

I got a strange, and funny little pet 4 months ago. My girlfriend bought it for my birthday as a present. As you may guess it was bunny. Little bunny with grey fur. Lion-head type bunny(I will mention later that there are lots of sorts of bunnies- almost not possible to count them all :)).

My little family member, Gary.

At the first I knew nothing about bunnies. I was even surprised to hear people actually have bunnies as pets. As time was passing by I felt need to browse on the net for various things about bunnies (what to feed them with, how to learn them about where to do their needs, are they able to be taught about anything, how long their life spam was, what kind of need they ask for etc.).


On this blog, I am going to share all those things I learned about, with you. From my experience I can tell it is hard to find all answers you need about these little animals on one place. Also, if you know lots of them, more than me, you can share your ideas with me here on this blog, using comments. I will appreciate every advice or funny situation you can share with me. I will also post from time to time some of funny moments I had with my little Gary.


I will try to update this topic as often as I can. First I will talk about my experience with Gary I had in last 4 months. Later, in next posts I will talk about food that is best for bunnies, about their habits, best ways to play with, and other things you need to know before buying one.


My great adventure started on September 22nd 2011. When I came home, first thing I saw was a paper box  with something moving in it. My gf asked me to open it, and said it was a birthday present. I was scared, I must admit. Not many ppl like opening boxes with something moving in it, and scratching the walls. Am I right? :D


When I saw him first time, he was so frightened, he tried to melt with one of the corners in the box. :D For long time he was scared to move out off it, and meet us. We didn't want to force him to anything. Just wanted him to feel free and do first step by himself, when he was ready for it. I want to mark this: having bunnies as pets is one great story full of play and fun, but often you have to understand that there is so little needed to scare them out.


You need to be patient, and encourage them not to be afraid. That you will protect them. They must know they can feel safe around you. In first days, it is hard to achieve this goal. But it want take you more than 5 days for it.


I think this is enough for my first blog post. Visit this blog tomorrow to see what happened after Gary left his box, and entered whole new world needed to be explored (his new home for a long time).

Here you can check out lots of interesting stuff about other pets too: http://www.squidoo.com/petdaycare .

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