Dental disease is the leading welfare problem in pet rabbits, and it is almost entirely diet-related. Understanding the link between diet and dental health enables effective prevention.
Rabbit dental disease is a preventable welfare crisis caused primarily by inappropriate diet. Commercial muesli-based rabbit foods allow selective feeding — rabbits eat the high-calorie, low-fibre components and leave the fibrous elements that would provide dental wear. Without adequate hay consumption providing continuous chewing on long fibres, teeth do not wear appropriately, molar spurs develop, and painful malocclusion follows. The welfare-positive diet for rabbits is simple: unlimited hay as the primary food source, supplemented with leafy greens and a small amount of good-quality pellets. This diet prevents the majority of dental disease seen in veterinary practice.