I have a pet male Angora rabbit. He seems to be extremely thin but has a good appetite and is lively. He has maloclussion and I am wondering if he is unable to eat properly. Would vitamins or a supplement help? I feed 16 percent pellets and a occassional carrot. He also seems to have a condition similar to dandruff. Is this just common to the breed.

-- George Jensen (gjensenii@mindspring.com), April 29, 2000

Answers

You don't mention the rabbit's age. If he's made it to adulthood with his maloclussion, he can probably eat properly. If his teeth have grown, maybe your vet could trim them much as a horse's teeth are "floated." If you have access to maple trees or unsprayed apple trees, give him small branches to chew. Most of the Angora breeders I know cull their rabbits with such teeth problems because they can develop into poor "doers" and most don't want to continue this trait in their herds.

My other thought concerns your grooming schedule. Do you pluck or shear him for spinning fiber? That's what these little beauties were bred for and not removing the hair sets them up for digestive problems. The French and English Angoras molt about 4 times a year when the hair is ready to be harvested. (German Angoras are usually shorn) Failing to take the hair leads to matting and the rabbit grooming himself excessively. Cats develop hairballs which they can regurgitate and rabbits have their own similar problem. It's called wool block and it can be fatal because the rabbit can't regurgitate. A blocked rabbit will have its fecal pellets hanging from the bottom of the cage in what looks like strings of beads. Preparations for cats' hairballs work reasonably well to remove wool block but prevention through regular grooming, harvesting the fiber and diet is best. Untreated, the rabbit has a full looking belly with a mass you can easily feel and it will eventually starve or die when the mass becomes necrotic.

My rabbits occasionally had the dandruff but it didn't cause any other problems than unsightliness. It fell out when I spun the wool. Good luck with him.

-- marilyn (rainbow@ktis.net), April 29, 2000.

George, have you looked in your rabbit's mouth? Sometimes they have teeth that don't stop growing -- they curl, or can grow down through the lower jaw if left too long. If you do find this problem, since yours is a pet, you can nip the excess off with wire cutters. Marilyn is right, though, rabbits with this problem are usually culled. And you certainly wouldn't want to breed it if it has either maloclusion or the tooth problem.

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), April 29, 2000.

The only thing I can add is to ask if you give him any hay? When I started giving my angoras as much good, clean hay as they wanted, the wool block problem disappeared. Fiber, I guess. Wool block will prevent him from getting any nutrition from what he eats. They can be real sweeties- I hope you can get him back on track.

-- Peg (NW WI) (wildwoodfarms@hushmail.com), April 29, 2000.

Looks like almost every thing was covered well but two more points,Is the dandruff on back by shoulder blades ? could be fur mites you can use cat flea powder for that. A shop vac with hose reversed to use as a blower and blown into coat[ start slowly as takes a while to get them use to the noise]will loosen and remove dandruff and lets you see skin for fleas, Ect.

-- kathy h (saddlebronc@msn.com), April 30, 2000.

I raised English angora rabbits for about ten years as I was growing up. My solution to the weight problem would probably be from the fur not the malloclusion. I used to give my angoras at least two papaya enzyme tablets daily, which aides in digestion,especially hair. The rabbits love them and the more they get the better they get through the hair problem. Try them yourself, they are wonderful, and they are good for you. As for maloclusion,I bought my daughter her first rabbit for Christmas, from a reputable breeder and the teeth never crossed my mind. I raised rabbits for 10 years and have shown and won many awards in mini lops and english angoras including best in show english angora about three times. Considering what I used to know, I still bought a mini lop with malloclusion. Never even thinking about the teeth. Now her little buck is beautiful, she thinks he is and has a serious set of teeth. About the teeth, clip them down with wire clippers, dog nail clippers, any thing to keep them short. An animal can eat with short uneven teeth, rather than long uneven teeth that they can't even grab a piece of food. As for the dandruff, it could be from nervousness, dry skin(which brewers yeast, any sort of fatty oil they would benefit), or is the dry skin behind the neck, that could be(actually, that came to me as a flash back, if that is the case I will look it up in my rabbit books) It has been a long time since I have known what I was doing in the rabbit world. I'm sure that there is a 4-Her who knows his or her stuff out there! Don't get me wrong, I used to know this stuff, I was in rabbit trivia bowls for my state, but age seems to take its toll. Actually, I would like to remember, so I could keep my children interested in the animal world. I just so happened to have moved to a different animal world. cnllewis@email.com

-- cara lewis (cnllewis@email.com), May 02, 2000.

Just in case you are thinking of taking the rabbit to the vet to get the teeth clipped - it is less stress on the bunny to do it yourself. We paid to have it done the first time, were surprized to see him use the wire clippers, did it ourselves from then on. Did not breed the bunny, of course. Fresh pineapple is great for wool block, too. My Angora bunnies always liked banana slices as a treat now & then!

-- Jean (schiszik@tbcnet.com), May 03, 2000.

Frozen pinnapple juice Is good for wool block to,.but the canned pinnapple juice is heat treated so it no longer has the enzime for digestion in it, the frozen still has it though and you can pour it in a water bottle.

-- kathy h (saddlebronc@msn.com), May 03, 2000.