Pet Dental Awareness Month - A Little Bit Dental!
Pet Dental Awareness Month - It’s A Little Bit Dental!
The teeth of rabbits, guinea pigs and other herbivores are all open rooted, meaning they constantly grow.
The teeth are made this way as herbivores are designed to spend up to 70% of their waking day foraging, eating grass, stripping bark, gnawing roots etc. Their teeth must constantly grow to keep up with the demands of this work as plant material can be very abrasive!
Rabbits' teeth grow at a rate of around 1-3mm per week - almost a centimetre a month! And guinea pigs, chinchillas and degu all have similar growth rates too.
For our domestic friends who may not spend as much time grazing as their wild cousins, this growth rate can be a bit of a challenge to keep under control.
For this reason, hay, grass and forage should be around 85% of the daily food intake of domestic herbivores. While there can be differences in the abrasiveness of hays, the most important factor is quantity eaten - it's one time in life where more is better!!
Rabbits should eat a pile of hay the same size as themselves every day!
Chew, Nibble and Gnaw!
Providing gnaw sticks and other wood chews can also help keep growth under control - and herbivores love to gnaw through stuff ... better a chew stick than a table leg or shed corner!
If your little ones are a bit picky with hay, there's many things that can be done to help address this, including:
- checking out a range of hays to find some that are enjoyed
- portion controlling other foods
- scatter feeding pellets and forage within hay to help encourage foraging
- being creative with hay and toys - making foraging fun!
- checking out softer or coarser hays to see if your little one has a 'type' preference
- making sure the hay is stored well to remain fresh and prevent mould or dampness
We're here to help with all things 'hay' so do get in touch if you'd like help getting your little ones into the hay habit - and check out our Taster Selection Pack if you're looking to try something new!!
