Rabbits bought from pet shops and garden centres are badly bred and will be likely to have lots of teeth problems in the future.

I had a pet shop bunny and he only lived till three, he died under anaesthetic after lots of problems with his teeth. I was paying out £65 a month for him to have his teeth filed regularly as they were so bad, the last time his teeth were done he had a bad infection, which wouldn't go away with any of the antibiotics tried it then spread to his jaw bone and lungs, in his last 24 hours he was on oxygen and unable to breathe on his own. His jaw bone crumbled to dust so he would never have been able to eat again but this was only discovered whilst he was having x-rays under anaesthetic. He never woke up from that anaesthetic as he had become so weak. He was my baby and I loved him dearly but he came from a pet shop where at the time I fell in love with him straight away but didn't know he would have bad teeth, he was 6 months old when the teeth problems started and he'd had to have all his front teeth removed.

This is that bunny, Charlie. Even the vets let him down and couldn't help him.
YouTube - Charlie

I still have his partner Rosie who also has bad teeth and she was rescued from a backyard breeder when she was a year old. Again she had to have her front teeth removed and I pay out vet costs of around £65 ever month to have her gassed and teeth filed, she's now almost 6 and I honestly don't know how much longer she'll cope under anaesthetic as she's taking longer to wake up each time.

Rosie is one of Five rabbits I currently have and all the others are from rescue of some kind, none of them have bad teeth.

If you get these two from the garden centre can you afford the vet costs each month if they have bad teeth? Remember insurance for rabbits doesn't pay out for teeth problems.

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All my 7 rabbits have been from pet shops and no teeth problems thankfully

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Photography

Thanks for all the responses, it's really helpful

I'm going to go back to the garden centre again tomorrow to have another look at the boys and watch how they get along more closely. From what people have said on here and research I've spent all night doing it seems two males aren't the best match but the fact that these two are brothers and will be neutered seems to make the chance of a successful bond more likely.

Kammie - I appreciate your advice, and you have my sympathy about the problems you have experienced with your bunny. I know from having bought animals from my local pet shop before that it can be a postive experience to get an animal not from rescue or a breeder, and the rabbits at this garden centre were in far better health than the other two pet shops I went to in the day. With all due respect, I have twelve pets at present and have owned many more over the years; understandably medical care adds up into the thousands. I'm a responsible pet owner and wouldn't be considering taking on these rabbits unless I was absolutely sure I could afford it and any unexpected eventuality.