7 replies to this topic

[LunaBear44]

Hi!  So, I have this sweet little gal named Nara, she's one of my two Syrian females.  She's still fairly young, as noted below, it's hard to keep her still to get a good look, I keep trying to get a good look but it's hard.

At a glance something looked a little off when she tilted her head up, kinda looked like her teeth might be overgrown.  Now, they have huge tanks with tons of wood/toys to chew on, so it's never been an issue with previous hamsters.  Is it possible a hamster's instinct to file down their teeth might be....lacking?  There's no shortage of safe wood to chew on, so I can't imagine why they would be overgrown, but it definitely looks off when I see glances of it.  Maybe I'm crazy but I'm definitely worried.  

Mainly just wondering if there's a precedent for this, is it possible for a hamster with TONS of wood/chew toys to fail at teeth maintenance?  Or am I worried for nothing?

Thanks!

 

 

 

Have I asked for help on this hamster before? (If yes, do not start a new topic. Look for your old topic and continue to post there so that other members can refer to previous symptoms)

No - This is the first time I am asking for help on this hamster.

 

Here is information about my hamster -
Age: 6 months
Gender: Female
Species: Syrian
   
These are the details of my hamster's ailment -
When did it start:  Not sure

 

Description of Ailment:  Possible overgrown teeth.  I can't keep her still enough (she's still fairly young and a bit fidgety, doesn't like being held)

 

 

 

 

[LunaBear44]

Update: I put her in her ball and lifted her up so I could see her teeth better, they definitely look overgrown, lower incisors.  Is it easy for a Vet to file them down if they're experienced?  She's very impossibly hard to hold, so I don't know how they'd manage to do it, but something has to be done.

[Kikya]

Update: I put her in her ball and lifted her up so I could see her teeth better, they definitely look overgrown, lower incisors.  Is it easy for a Vet to file them down if they're experienced?  She's very impossibly hard to hold, so I don't know how they'd manage to do it, but something has to be done.

Yes, look for a vet who has experience with rodents. If the bottom teeth are overgrown, then possibly there may be an issue with the top teeth as well. Is there anything unusual about her? Shortened nose or are her teeth broken off in weird angles? Make sure your vet checks her gums for signs of inflammation.

Edited by Kikya, 11 August 2022 - 09:14 PM.

[LunaBear44]

Yes, look for a vet who has experience with rodents. If the bottom teeth are overgrown, then possibly there may be an issue with the top teeth as well. Is there anything unusual about her? Shortened nose or are her teeth broken off in weird angles? Make sure your vet checks her gums for signs of inflammation.

After getting a better look, I can't tell about the top teeth (she won't keep still for even 1 second :P), but the bottom teeth look like they're growing in at an odd angle.

You know, when I got her from the pet store, she was chewing on the metal screen in the display box and it looked like 1 of her bottom incisors was shorter than the other slightly (chipped off).  I've always kinda looked at her mouth any chance I get to make sure nothing is wrong and I never noticed anything, behavior always seemed normal, but all of a sudden I just noticed how off it looked last night, wish I caught onto it sooner...

For 6 months old she's still fairly small and not as "plump" as my other hamsters by that age, so there's a possibility this poor baby has had struggles/possibly pain while eating, and maybe not eating as much.  I'll hand her little soft treats and she eats them on the spot and never seemed to have trouble, I really hope she hasn't been dealing with this for her whole life without me knowing :(

I'm taking her to a Vet tomorrow to get it taken care of, I just hope after they trim her teeth they grow normally and she can file them properly.  I can't imagine a hamster's instinct to file their teeth just being broken, so maybe it was too difficult or painful for her to do this whole time.  MY POOR BABY ;_;

 

Thanks for your input.  Should be taken care of tomorrow, hopefully forever!

[Kikya]

After getting a better look, I can't tell about the top teeth (she won't keep still for even 1 second :P), but the bottom teeth look like they're growing in at an odd angle.

You know, when I got her from the pet store, she was chewing on the metal screen in the display box and it looked like 1 of her bottom incisors was shorter than the other slightly (chipped off).  I've always kinda looked at her mouth any chance I get to make sure nothing is wrong and I never noticed anything, behavior always seemed normal, but all of a sudden I just noticed how off it looked last night, wish I caught onto it sooner...

For 6 months old she's still fairly small and not as "plump" as my other hamsters by that age, so there's a possibility this poor baby has had struggles/possibly pain while eating, and maybe not eating as much.  I'll hand her little soft treats and she eats them on the spot and never seemed to have trouble, I really hope she hasn't been dealing with this for her whole life without me knowing :(

I'm taking her to a Vet tomorrow to get it taken care of, I just hope after they trim her teeth they grow normally and she can file them properly.  I can't imagine a hamster's instinct to file their teeth just being broken, so maybe it was too difficult or painful for her to do this whole time.  MY POOR BABY ;_;

 

Thanks for your input.  Should be taken care of tomorrow, hopefully forever!

Fingers crossed! She may have an infection which is why the teeth are going crooked. Or the broken tooth from biting the bars could have cause issues with the top teeth and caused the overgrowth. I'm glad you are getting her checked out.

 

The other thing, I wonder about is, does she have a shorter nose than other hamsters? Or does she look normal? A brachycephalic hamster often have teeth issues, broken teeth, issues with the bottom teeth not coming in right, etc.

[missPixy]

If possible I'd love to see a photo of her bottom teeth. Bottom incisors should "tuck" under the much shorter top incisors. 

 

some people think their hamster's bottom incisors are overgrown just because they are so much longer than the top incisors.

[LunaBear44]

If possible I'd love to see a photo of her bottom teeth. Bottom incisors should "tuck" under the much shorter top incisors. 

 

some people think their hamster's bottom incisors are overgrown just because they are so much longer than the top incisors.

Naw, I've seen plenty of hamsters teeth that I just noticed something was off.  It looks like she has trouble closing her mouth.  I tried getting a photo but they are all blurry cause she never sits still :P  There's definitely something wrong with her bottom teeth, I am 90% sure they're growing in crooked and obstructing her mouth from closing fully.  

 

Fingers crossed! She may have an infection which is why the teeth are going crooked. Or the broken tooth from biting the bars could have cause issues with the top teeth and caused the overgrowth. I'm glad you are getting her checked out.

 

The other thing, I wonder about is, does she have a shorter nose than other hamsters? Or does she look normal? A brachycephalic hamster often have teeth issues, broken teeth, issues with the bottom teeth not coming in right, etc.

Her nose always looked normal to me.

 

 

This is her a few months ago, here there appears to be nothing wrong, but now it seems like her teeth get in the way of her mouth shutting properly.  Nose looks normal to me.  Seems like it hasn't been a long term problem since I never noticed anything until now.  Hopefully she hasn't been suffering and it truly is only recent :(

Edited by LunaBear44, 12 August 2022 - 05:02 AM.

[LunaBear44]

Update: Vet trimmed her teeth just fine today, although it was her top incisors that were overgrown (so hard to see with poor lighting and a fidgety girl!).  May have to bring her in again in the future since her bottom teeth are too short, but she can close her mouth properly now and probably having an easier time chewing.  Hurray!

 

Thanks for your input!

Edited by LunaBear44, 13 August 2022 - 06:40 PM.