Teeth Care

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LA

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 21, 2007
Messages
5,094
Location
Midland, ON
I know some people have talked about how their rats are crazy chewers. Mine aren't so much. They like treats so I buy them big crunchy things. There is a treat I used to get now I will be getting again YAY Vitakraft Twinis which they loved and would eat in 2 days flat.

But I am worried about their teeth. I can't tell if they are too long or how long they should be. I don't know if I should get them a mineral stone or something. I don't want the salt ones but there are mineral ones I can get.

Do you guys have any other suggestions. Am I just over thinking this?
 
I bet the rats would enjoy wood chews. But you don't need to worry about their teeth, it's uncommon to need to have them trimmed. I think I did it once out of over 100 rats.
You can buy the wood chews and you could soak them in fruit juices to make them more yummy.
 
My girls aren't terribly chewy, but they do enjoy distroying wooden baby blocks.

The vet told me that the bottom teeth always "seem" too long. I think as long as they're about the same length, they're probably ok.
 
I'm glad you asked this as I was wondering the same thing myself. Elphie's not much of a chewer so like suggested above I started dosing the wooden toys they have in fruit juices and that helped a lot. :)

Only once did I take a rat in to have them trimmed and in hindsight (he was only my second rat) I don't think it was necessary.
 
Hazel is a bruxer... but Ruby barely does it. They don't like the wood chews, they don't even really chew the snak shak. But they like the lab blocks so I guess that's a good thing.
 
A quick fix for a rat in need of a chewy, wooden clothes pins. Iuse them to reclose my frozen veggies. I just take the metal clip off of the middle and get two rat chews. Besides I also use the wooden clothes pins to keep one of my cages shut (ferret cage for the flip top), Luke enjoys chewing on them in that situation too. Keeps him occupied lol.
 
My kids want to chew up their house. You know, the wood thing built for critters? They're very good when I say "no" but how come they don't chew the alphabet blocks or the clothespegs that they like first instead of the house?
 
My rats chew everything, from their wooden toys, plastic toys, litter pans and even the cage tray. In one cage I had to change their litter pan (it only lasted a week) to a small tray which for some reason, they don't chew.
 
LOL. Like cats, they seem to know just what they're not supposed to do. :lol:

Textbooks...I like that idea...
 
Bronwyn said:
LOL. Like cats, they seem to know just what they're not supposed to do. :lol:

Textbooks...I like that idea...

As for books, when we recently went through and had to get rid of a bunch of books for space, I kept a few in the rat box. Each cage got a paperback book or two, they loved it!
 
lately my crew has been chewing everything, the cage pans, litterboxes, the wood i give them, a corner of my tv.. let's just say i don't have this problem :p

if you're really worried you can get the edible nyla bones for dogs, they should last longer than any sort of treat ment for rodents, just watch the protine levels, they have a lot of different flavors.
 
Generally the teeth only overgrow when the jaw and teeth are not properly aligned (malocclusion) -- they just can't wear them down then. It is not a case of them not chewing enough. Luckily, malocclusion seems to be pretty rare in rats. (It is much more common in rabbits.) Finally, an area where rat owners tend to get a break! LOL
 
if you're really worried you can get the edible nyla bones for dogs, they should last longer than any sort of treat ment for rodents, just watch the protine levels, they have a lot of different flavors.

Just a note about this... I have found that the fruit flavoured bones (banana and strawberry) are much lower in protein and whatnot than any of the other flavours... cheese, bacon, etc etc.
 
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