# The difference between tooth clicking and teeth grinding?



## Rabbit Hero (Jan 1, 2010)

Can someone tell me the difference between tooth clicking and teeth grinding? I'm having trouble figuring out if my rabbit is happy or not. He seems a little lethargic today but he still dips his head and closes his eyes when I pet him. He is also making tooth noises at me (both when I'm petting him, and when I'm not). His ears are up and he appears generally relaxed but I'm still worried about him. 

I'm a relatively new bunny owner, and I'm having trouble deciphering my rabbit's behavior. Any help someone can offer would be much appreciated!


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## Maureen Las (Jan 1, 2010)

I would continue to watch his demeanor. 
Is he eager to eat? , Is he playful? 

Usually with pain grinding the rabbit will blink his eyes in a slow way and keep quiet and not be interested in his surroundings or you.


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## Rabbit Hero (Jan 1, 2010)

I haven't noticed his blinking but I will keep an eye on that now. 

About 2 hours ago he suddenly burst into life and was his old self again. However he is still grinding his teeth. Is it possible his teeth could be mis-aligned and need to be trimmed? How can I tell?


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## elrohwen (Jan 1, 2010)

My bun grinds his teeth when he's content. Sometimes when he's laying around by himself, and sometimes when I'm petting him. If his body language is generally relaxed, I would say he's just doing it out of contentment.


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## Rabbit Hero (Jan 1, 2010)

thanks!


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## Pipp (Jan 2, 2010)

I've always had trouble with this myself. 

My guys give soft tooth purrs when I'm petting them, but rarely (if ever) when I'm not petting them. Some close their eyes, some don't.

The ones who have made pain noises had a loud click rather than a soft grind and they generally looked stressed or imitated a loaf of bread. Didn't notice any blinking, but I didn't look for it. The gas attack bunnies have had half closed, glazed eyes. They were pretty obviously in pain, though. 

Pipp, my molar spur bunny, will grind rather quietly when she's feeling the points on her teeth, and she seems rather neutral when she does so. She moves her mouth a lot.

How old is your guy? How long have you had him? Does he usually give tooth purrs when you pet him and when he's relaxing? Or is this unusual? 


sas :expressionless


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## Rabbit Hero (Jan 2, 2010)

Shino is 11 months and I've had him for about 8. 

It's relatively new, I heard it faintly a couple of weeks ago, but today just seemed constant. He has not done it before when I would pet him.

He appeared to have a little bit of diarrhea this afternoon, and was bunny loaf almost all day. I called an emergency vets office and they told me that since he was eating and drinking that I should wait to see my regular vet tomorrow.

Aside from the tooth grinding he seems back to his old self.


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## Pipp (Jan 2, 2010)

The diarrhea could be the source of the pain or another symptom of whatever else is bothering him. 

Bunny loaf, diarrhea and tooth noises add up to a problem. He probably has gas, although again its the chicken or the egg in terms of why he has gas, but gas meds with Simethicone will help (I use Ovol in Canada, sometime the adult stuff, sometimes the baby drops) along with loooong tummy massages and mild exercise. 

I'd also push the hay and lay off the pellets and veggies. 

What has he been eating lately? This may well just be diet-related, although if he had something similar two weeks previously I'd still get him checked out. 

He's pretty young and not a breed prone to tooth issues, although abscesses, ear infections, urinary tract infections, etc, are common. Parasites, viruses, hidden injuries, etc, can also throw them off. 


sas :goodluck


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## Pipp (Jan 2, 2010)

PS: If it wasn't for the bit of diarrhea, I'd say he's just at the stage where he's relaxed enough to give you tooth purrs. I think most of mine do now, but it took months if not years for some. But most of very soft -- I can almost feel it more that hear it. 

(I think we need audio (and video) files on this in our Library if anybody has any or would like to take a shot at recording them). 


sas


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## Rabbit Hero (Jan 2, 2010)

Hey, Pellets, greens, and the occasional alfalfa cube as a treat. I was also giving him baytril for an ear infection up until about a month ago. I try to be careful about his diet. 

I will defiantly try the ovol and the massages, I've heard of it being used before and I'll let you know if there is any improvement. 

Hmm If you say the tooth purrs are soft I'm going to have to say that what I'm hearing is a tooth grinding. its quite loud sometimes.

I'll try to catch a video file. 

Thanks for your help!


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## Pipp (Jan 2, 2010)

Gas attacks don't last that long, so if he's still in pain 12 hours or longer after it started, he will need a vet. 

Rabbits really hide their illnesses well, if they're to the stage of tooth-grinding and its not a temp gas attack, its usually something advanced. It may be that the Baytril hasn't done the trick for the ear infection. Hopefully you can find an open bunny-savvy vet. There's a list in the subforum.

If you can't get to the vet and he's still in pain and you think it might be his ear again, I'd give him a quarter tab of Baby Motrin. Just make sure he's well hydrated and has something in his stomach. 

Is he still eating fairly normally? 

Diet-wise, what kind of pellets is he getting? He's at the age where he should be weaned off high-protein alfalfa and onto lower-protein timothy (I like a mix of both when they're growing so they'll be used to the timothy pellets) and he should also be getting unlimited grass hay as his main diet and not too many pellets. A good mix of veggies -- lots of variety -- is alway good, but make sure he's not sensitive to any specific type. 


sas :?


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## Pipp (Jan 2, 2010)

PS: Now that we've established he's grinding and not purring, I'm moving this to the Infirmary.


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## Rabbit Hero (Jan 2, 2010)

I took away his pellets and by the the time I got home with the Ovol his teeth grinding had stopped, and he was no longer bunny loaf. He actually Binkied today for the first time in months!

Right now he gets unlimited timothy hey, and about a cup of veggies every day. His pellets are "Living World Extrusion", which I thought was a timothy hey, now that I'm looking at the ingredients again it's alfalfa. I'll begin weaning him on that immediately. and yes, he does appear to be eating fairly normally. 

Perhaps when I took the pellets away it encouraged him to eat more of the hey? Would it be better for him to be on a scheduled feeding time?

I'll bring him to the vet on Tuesday to get his ears checked again.


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## Pipp (Jan 2, 2010)

Cool. :dude:

That's typical of a gas attack, they end rather abruptly and you have a munching, happy bunny.  

I use Martin's Less Active, a pretty good Canadian brand. A mix with a very gradual lessening of the alfalfa will work. By the time he's a year old, he can be a Timothy bunny. 

Head and nose pats all around. 


sas et:


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## Rabbit Hero (Jan 2, 2010)

great! thanks so much for your help!


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