Real rabbits in the wild don’t look quite like Bugs Bunny, of course. After all, they’re not really tall and they don’t stand on two feet and walk like a human. Most rabbits also don’t have huge buck teeth like Bugs Bunny, either. Still, they do have impressive chompers for such small creatures.

Those big front teeth are called incisors. They get all the attention, but an adult rabbit actually has a full set of 28 teeth. There are six incisors total: two on the top, two on the bottom, and two “peg teeth.“ These are tiny teeth located right behind the upper incisors. Rabbits also have “cheek teeth” along the sides of their mouths: 12 on top and 10 on the bottom.

Rabbits use their incisors, which have sharp edges, to slice like scissors through the rough, fibrous vegetation they eat. Their cheek teeth help them chew their food into smaller pieces that are easier to swallow.

This combination of teeth comes in handy in the wild. That’s because rabbits are herbivores that feed on tough vegetation. Sure, rabbits would love to snack on carrots all day like Bugs Bunny. But most of them are forced to survive on other foods. They eat fibrous grasses, weeds, hay, leaves, twigs, and even pieces of tree bark. Eating these types of food wears their teeth. Fortunately, rabbits’ teeth have another unique feature.

A rabbit’s teeth have open roots that enable them to grow constantly. In fact, they lengthen by three to five inches each year. Since their teeth never stop growing, it’s a good thing that rabbits eat the tough foods they do.

While helpful for rabbits in the wild, constantly-growing teeth can be a problem for pet rabbits kept in captivity. Most pet rabbits are fed pellets, which do not wear down the teeth as natural vegetation does. That’s why rabbit owners must supplement pellets with fresh timothy hay and wooden chew toys. This helps their pets grind their ever-growing teeth.

Can you imagine eating tough, chewy twigs and bark all day? You’d probably prefer to stick with your regular after-school snack! But, of course, you don’t have to worry about your teeth constantly growing. For rabbits, rigid vegetation is a very important part of their diet.

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