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cony may rust fragment of their own teeth when they champ on food — meaning each mouthful could turn back a healthy dose of Ca , scientist say .
Rabbitsrequire large amount of Ca , because their tooth — like those of squirrels , beavers and kangaroo — grow continuously . Until now , researchers assumed that uncivilized rabbits purposely eat calcium - robust food for thought , such as leafy greens , to sustain this development . But a new study point this may not be required for cony to encounter their mineral needs .
New research suggests rabbits can digest and reabsorb calcium from their own teeth.
A by nature high - character diet means rabbits are continually jaw and crunch their dentition . The result tooth pulverization may provide a steady seed of calcium that gets reabsorb during digestion , forming a neat iteration that incessantly fuels rabbit tooth growth , accord to the bailiwick .
" It has been hint that rabbit must have high-pitched mineral requirements , in particular for calcium , " researchers wrote in the field , publish in the February way out ofThe Veterinary Journal . " However , this assumption ignores the fact that tooth wear represents finely ground tissue that is not lost to the body but swallow during food processing . "
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Until now, researchers assumed that wild rabbits selected foods high in calcium, such as dandelion plants, to sustain their tooth growth.
To try whether tooth wear could be a source of Ca for lapin , the researchers conducted a two - week feeding experimentation on eight female European rabbits ( Oryctolagus genus Cuniculus ) . They gave the rabbits solid food pellet containing either a standard calcium accessory or undercoat - up rabbit teeth , and then measured absorption in the body by analyzing the rabbit ' poop .
The outcome show that rabbits can digest and absorb calcium from their own tooth . In fact , they are likely to elicit slightly more calcium from their teeth than from food , consort to the study .
dirt samples indicated the rabbit that receive the tooth - pulverization dieting digested 33 % of the calcium they rust , compared with 20 % for the rabbits that received the stock supplement . There was no meaning difference in the average water intake , trunk mass or fecal end product between the two groups , the research worker noted .
favorite - rabbit provender typically contains Ca to make up for the fact that pets ca n’t independently select foods high in calcium . But the new finding hint we may be fall in favourite rabbits too much calcium , the researchers wrote .
Healthy rabbits can excrete excess calcium in their urine , but cony with kidney problem may train complications from excess calcium . Urinary tract disease are uncouth in favourite rabbits , so it ’s of import to keep an center on their mineral intake , according to the study .
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Although it ’s extremely potential that rabbits eat up their own undercoat - up teeth , the study does n’t show this directly . The researchers did not measure tooth loss during the experiment , meaning they did not account for the extra calcium that rabbits from both groups may have ingest . It ’s also unreadable how much calcium rabbits command to sustain continuous tooth growth .
But the new research is a good starting point , as it demonstrates for the first time that rabbits can digest calcium from their own teeth .
" It ’s an interesting teaser opus about a great invention of nature , " study carbon monoxide gas - authorDr . Jean - Michel Hatt , a professor of veterinary medicament at the University of Zurich , toldNew Scientist . " We will certainly continue the study of the abrasion and regrowth of dentition . "
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