opening & closing mouth

[mrs. coach]

I looked at a few threads about purring vs. grinding, and saw that frequent opening & closing of the mouth might mean the beginning of tooth problems…Mrs. Coach tends to open and close her mouth (no audible sound) a few times after she eats, and I’ve noticed her occasionally doing it at random times as well.  I think she may just be getting food out of her teeth if it’s post-snack, but I’m not sure what she’s doing when it’s random.  She audibly tooth purrs during pets, as well as occasionally during other times when she seems to be relaxed.  I haven’t noticed any other unusual behavior, but the opening & closing of her mouth (it looks like she is “talking” but no words come out) seems to be increasing (or else I am paranoid, which is also likely!).

I’m going to set her up for her first vet visit in a week or two, but I just wanted to see if anyone else had experience with a “talking” bun.

[Deleted User]

I haven’t experienced this in my buns. But I would definitely have your vet look at Mrs. Coach’s teeth. If it is teeth issues I’m thinking its the back because it would be fairly noticeable if she was having front teeth issues.

[peppypoo]

I agree that a dental check is a good idea. However, I just wanted to add that sometimes it can be just as easy to miss front teeth problems. Is that Mrs. Coach in your picture? The spot on her back is adorable!!

[Emmie]

That is really strange! Like does she open it fully? Or maybe just a little bit? I know Thane will do little mouth movements when I’m talking to him sometimes.

[AnnaW]

My rabbit Biscuit used to do this, and it did turn out to be dental problems so no harm in going and getting her checked She could just be a quirky little girl, so dont get too worried until you’ve had her chompers checked x

[mrs. coach]

Thanks for the feedback.  I’m going to schedule her vet checkup for next week and will ask then.  It’s a very small movement & it just happens a couple of times in quick succession a couple of times a day.  I’ve seen videos of other bunnies doing it & it seems like it’s just a cute thing, but I don’t want to be late on catching a problem.  She doesn’t seem sensitive around her jaw and I haven’t noticed any other telltale tooth problem signs (wet chin, watery eyes, change in eating habits).  I will follow up with this thread if it turns out to be an issue, in case other people run across the same behavior.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Good luck at the vet.

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