Malocclusion or Wolf Teeth

Cause:
INHERITED (genetic). or injury

Symptoms:
Long, abnormal growth of front teeth, upper teeth curl back into mouth while lowers protrude

Treatment:
Clip teeth to normal length (use a wire cutter or side pliers) and sell for meat as soon as slaughter weight is attained. Do not keep breeding stock from parents of any animals showing this abnormality.

Malocclusion or buck teeth in rabbits is usually an inherited characteristic. IT is a recessive gene and must be carried by both parents to be passed to their offspring. The long incisors may be found easily when the rabbit is weaned at eight weeks.

When a case is found in the offsprings (occasionally results from chipped tooth or accident) it is most important not to save any of the litter as breeding stock. Equally as important is to note sire and dam and watch future litters for this condition. If it appears in their next litters, both sire and dam should be culled in order to help eradicate malocclusion from the herd.

Since it is an inherited characteristic, the number of rabbits with long teeth can increase rapidly in a herd. Rabbits may transmit the characteristic to their offsprings even though they themselves have normal teeth. If not properly culled when this condition appears in a litter, it may be necessary eventually to discard the whole strain of rabbits. Always check teeth when weaning your litter.

As a short term treatment, cut the teeth back to normal length, using a side pliers. This will allow the rabbit to eat and attain fryer size. The condition is caused by the upper and lower incisor teeth not meeting at a proper angle. As a result they do not wear normally and continue to grow with the upper incisors turning inward and the lower protruding. The characteristic is brought about by a lengthening of the lower jaw bone so that the teeth do not match and continue to grow.

Buck teeth in young rabbits is almost always of genetic origin and must be checked carefully to stamp out this undesirable trait. When an older animal develops buck teeth it usually is the result of an injury. Either in handling the rabbit, an abscess, or rabbit gnawing the side of a cage and breaking off a tooth. The result is an over growth of the opposite incisor that it normally grinds against. These cases often happen and must not be confused with inherited type of malocclusion.
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