I read somewhere that a rat's teeth are naturally yellow, and get darker with age. So if that's true a sort've light yellow would be a younger rat, and a darker orange-ish color would be an older rat.
This seems to be generally true with my own rats.
Of course, size is always a good way to tell too. I wish I knew how old my rats are.
The incisors are colored with a yellowish pigment. The incisors start out white in the young rat, but by age 21 days the uppers have a slight yellow tinge. By 25 days the uppers are distinctly yellow and the lower incisors have acquired a little yellow. By 38 days these colors are more intense, with the uppers having more color than the lowers. The relationship between more pigmented upper incisors and less pigmented lower incisors remains true throughout the rat's life. In adult rats, the uppers are dark yellow-orange and the lowers are yellow (Addison and Appleton 1915).
So, the point is, it looks to me like the teeth can only really tell you if your rat is a full grown adult, which size should be able to tell you just as easily.
Hmph. I think I'll take a second look at my boy's teeth! If they are, in fact, differently colored from my younger rats' incisors, I'll take pictures for comparison
My favorite part about learning that was mostly to learn that my rats don't have "gross" teeth, they are supposed to be that color. I was worried maybe they weren't eating well enough or something.
All very interesting but I allready know the size and teeth stuff. I was wondering if there is a more efishent way to know thet you can do on your own.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Rat Forum
566.5K posts
49.4K members
Since 2006
A forum community dedicated to Rat owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about breeds, health, behavior, housing, adopting, care, classifieds, and more!