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Post by Lily on Mar 17, 2012 10:14:12 GMT -8
I have two gerbils, Harley and Trace. They're both female, and Trace is older than Harley. They both have overgrown teeth and can't close their mouths. If you hold them, their teeth is just a tad visible. I did a little research and found out I had to go to the vet to get them trimmed. How much will a vet checkup cost? Can I trim their teeth at home (and if so, how?) Thanks for any advice anyone can offer. I'll be checking this regularly to find replies. :)
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Post by puddlesisa on Mar 17, 2012 10:21:25 GMT -8
Hi Lily,
Overgrown teeth is a horrible thing for a gerbil to have - unable to eat, express natural behaviour and quite painful, thus 3 of the animal freedoms are not being met.
I would recommend taking them to the vet, i am unsure of the cost, but you cannot put a price of the health or welfare of your animals. =]
Take care and good luck!
Lisa
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Post by Lily on Mar 17, 2012 10:32:05 GMT -8
Hi Lily, Overgrown teeth is a horrible thing for a gerbil to have - unable to eat, express natural behaviour and quite painful, thus 3 of the animal freedoms are not being met. I would recommend taking them to the vet, i am unsure of the cost, but you cannot put a price of the health or welfare of your animals. =] Take care and good luck! Lisa They can still eat and they groom each other happily. Just so you know  I think I should call my gerbil breeder first, see if she can trim the teeth. |
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Post by banditcuster on Mar 17, 2012 10:37:51 GMT -8
do you have a picture? also how much hard chews have you been giving them?
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Post by Lily on Mar 17, 2012 10:42:56 GMT -8
do you have a picture? also how much hard chews have you been giving them? I don't give them hard chews, but I always, always, always make sure they have paper to chew on in their cage. Sometimes I give them chopsticks to chew on, but I have not done that recently, since I'm afraid the splinters that they chew off might hurt them. And sorry, I don't have a picture, but if you hold them up, I would estimate their teeth is half a millimeter visible. How do you open their mouth? Because I only saw the length of Trace's teeth when she was yawning. They were about two millimeters. |
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Post by Lily on Mar 17, 2012 10:46:01 GMT -8
Sorry, I meant half a centimeter. Sorry for any confusion.
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Post by banditcuster on Mar 17, 2012 10:56:48 GMT -8
I would get something harder for them to chew on. Paper and tp rolls though fun to chew, don't really make them work. I have noticed my guys will go weeks with out touching some of the wood, lava ledges, or thicker cardboard, but then be woken up like I was to day with someone destroying part of a wooden hide away like no tomorrow. When I rescued the two agouti boys... from how they went at the lava ledge I gave them once I had a topper for them... I feel like they had never been given something to make them work at other than the plastic cage they had. if they can still eat i think they can fix their teeth themselves if given something a bit harder to get through. For me when I hold them steady in one hand i use my other to raise their lips a bit to look at their teeth, and since most don't like that i do get them to open enough to see both top and bottom. I don't blame you on the chopsticks... if they are the cheep ones... I have gotten splinters from those  you could by them a plain wooden bird ladder, my boys loved to chew and climb on theirs till destroying it. A wooden hut is always fun, and currently they have a wooden bowl that i put their seed in that they can chew at if they want. I still give them plenty of paper, and cardboard to chew on but it seems like they know when they need to file down their teeth. |
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Post by Lily on Mar 17, 2012 11:13:06 GMT -8
I would get something harder for them to chew on. Paper and tp rolls though fun to chew, don't really make them work. I have noticed my guys will go weeks with out touching some of the wood, lava ledges, or thicker cardboard, but then be woken up like I was to day with someone destroying part of a wooden hide away like no tomorrow. When I rescued the two agouti boys... from how they went at the lava ledge I gave them once I had a topper for them... I feel like they had never been given something to make them work at other than the plastic cage they had. if they can still eat i think they can fix their teeth themselves if given something a bit harder to get through. For me when I hold them steady in one hand i use my other to raise their lips a bit to look at their teeth, and since most don't like that i do get them to open enough to see both top and bottom. I don't blame you on the chopsticks... if they are the cheep ones... I have gotten splinters from those you could by them a plain wooden bird ladder, my boys loved to chew and climb on theirs till destroying it. A wooden hut is always fun, and currently they have a wooden bowl that i put their seed in that they can chew at if they want. I still give them plenty of paper, and cardboard to chew on but it seems like they know when they need to file down their teeth. \ Thanks. Right now, I'm giving them a shoebox to chew on. I'm going to call my gerbil breeder tomorrow. Thanks for the help! |
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Post by banditcuster on Mar 17, 2012 11:27:41 GMT -8
No problem.
I don't know that what all I said is like proven or not, but it is what I observe with my gerbils, and so far none of them seem to really develop teeth issues.
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I think I should call my gerbil breeder first, see if she can trim the teeth. 
