black spot on rat's tooth, advice?

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ratbreadd

New Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2023
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2
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hi! my rat raisin is currently having trouble eating anything solid, which i believe is due to this black spot on one of his bottom teeth. for background, raisin has been going to the vets monthly to get his bottom teeth grinded down, as they are misaligned and he has trouble grinding them down to a normal length on his own. recently, he went in for one of these appointments on the 9th, and at the end of the day i noticed he was having trouble eating his regular food. i feed them oxbow, the little triangles, and he'd spin them around in his mouth but wouldn't actually eat them. he'd do the same motions when trying to eat a piece of corn or a pea. we managed to get him back to the vet on the 11th, who said she didn't see the little black spot at all (to be fair, i thought it had fallen off as you cannot see it from a front angle, and raisin did not want to sit still and have his teeth looked at lol). upon taking him home, i noticed it was still there, and he was still having trouble eating. i have done research to see if anyone else had this problem, but those who did never mentioned their rat having trouble eating. it doesn't seem to be bothering him in any other way however, he's still active and definitely has an appetite, just appears to not want to actually chew anything. if he is still having issues on monday, we plan to call the vet again(they are closed on the weekends unfortunately), so in the meantime i am looking for advice on any soft foods i'd be able to feed him? or if anyone else had this problem? currently i'm soaking his current regular food in water to make a "mush" (it is disgusting looking but he eats it), and if i break apart individual peas or corn he will eat those too. i am including photos as well! i can really only get good ones if i try to catch him yawning, as it's difficult to see when his mouth is shut. the first photo is from the day after his first vet app, the second one before his second vet app, and the last one is from today(featuring his brother). i want to make sure he is eating and staying hydrated before we can get him back to the vet, so any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

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hi! my rat raisin is currently having trouble eating anything solid, which i believe is due to this black spot on one of his bottom teeth. for background, raisin has been going to the vets monthly to get his bottom teeth grinded down, as they are misaligned and he has trouble grinding them down to a normal length on his own. recently, he went in for one of these appointments on the 9th, and at the end of the day i noticed he was having trouble eating his regular food. i feed them oxbow, the little triangles, and he'd spin them around in his mouth but wouldn't actually eat them. he'd do the same motions when trying to eat a piece of corn or a pea. we managed to get him back to the vet on the 11th, who said she didn't see the little black spot at all (to be fair, i thought it had fallen off as you cannot see it from a front angle, and raisin did not want to sit still and have his teeth looked at lol). upon taking him home, i noticed it was still there, and he was still having trouble eating. i have done research to see if anyone else had this problem, but those who did never mentioned their rat having trouble eating. it doesn't seem to be bothering him in any other way however, he's still active and definitely has an appetite, just appears to not want to actually chew anything. if he is still having issues on monday, we plan to call the vet again(they are closed on the weekends unfortunately), so in the meantime i am looking for advice on any soft foods i'd be able to feed him? or if anyone else had this problem? currently i'm soaking his current regular food in water to make a "mush" (it is disgusting looking but he eats it), and if i break apart individual peas or corn he will eat those too. i am including photos as well! i can really only get good ones if i try to catch him yawning, as it's difficult to see when his mouth is shut. the first photo is from the day after his first vet app, the second one before his second vet app, and the last one is from today(featuring his brother). i want to make sure he is eating and staying hydrated before we can get him back to the vet, so any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

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It looks like the tooth is dying, best option will most likely be having it removed, until you can get him back to the vet I would continue making the mush as that's the best source of food and water right now since he's eating it, you're going to want to make sure he has access to some at all times for the support until he's seen again.
 
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