All about rabbits

The Teeth

The differences lies in their teeth. Rodents have two sharp incisor teeth in both their top and bottom jaws, whereas rabbits have four. You will be able to see the small second pair behind the large incisors at the front of the mouth

The Mouth

Behind these teeth, there is a gap called the diastema which allows the animal to pull in its cheeks as it eats to stop twigs and other tough material going into its mouth. At the back of the mouth there are molar teeth which are used to grind up the food before it is swallowed.

Digestive system

Food passes down into the stomach and along the small intestine until it reaches a large, closed sac called the caecum where the tough cellulose in plants and vegetables is broken down by helpful bacteria. It is important to avoid sudden changes to your rabbit’s diet as the bacteria need time to adapt.

Absorbing nutrients

Unfortunately, this part of the digestive tract does not allow the nutrients in the food to be absorbed into the body. Instead, the partially digested food passes out the body in the form of soft caecal pellets. You are unlikely to see the caecal because these are usually produced at night. The rabbit eats the pellets and this time, the nutrients are absorbed as they pass from the stomach to the small intestine. The rabbit the produces its typical large round droppings.