[sneakers88]

ok my rats teeth are so long and yellow and there still very very young...i i give them sticks and foods that are hard so there teeth will shorten but ya...i dont know what to do to get there teeth shorter...any ideas?

 

[Phobie]

Yellow means healthy teeth! White teeth for rats is bad.

You can give them a brick/rock in their cage for them to nibble, that will hopefully shorten their teethies naturally, or you can take them to a vet to get them cut.

 

[simbakitten]

i wouldnt advise getting them cut at a vet unless there so long there causing discomfort, the only reason you would normally get their teeth cut at a vets would be if they have a disorder (i cant recall what its called O.O)were there teeth grow like really fast. but ya i think a brick is a better idea

 

[Kimmiekins]

There's nothing wrong with a vet trimming teeth if they are too long. Sometimes, it does happen with no disorder present. It's stressful for the rat, so of course you wouldn't want to do it if it's not needed.

My advice would be to seek out your vet - hopefully, an exotics that's seen a lot of rats/rodents - and see what they think. Sometimes, a rat's teeth look longer than they should be, but a second look reveals they're actually fine.

Encourage chewing with woods and whatnot, and hard foods (which they should be getting anyhow). But if you're concerned, definitely see a vet. Any good, competent vet should know if they're too long, and if they need to be trimmed.

 

[glindella]

Malocclusion is when their teeth are not alligned correctly and it causes problems in keeping teeth worn down and with chewing. Also, along with being yellow/orange, rat teeth are supposed to be somewhat long. If you could post pics someone might be able to let you know if they are too long

 

[allynpsych]

Make sure your vet does actually know how long rat teeth are. The bottom teeth are always much longer than the top. My previous vet insisted on cutting both my rats teeth every two - 4 weeks. He cut them to the same length as the top teeth and they bled and bled. He seemed to think that was normal. But they were so sore, they stopped eating for a few days. From what I have read and been told here, when trimmed, they should not bleed! I would do as much research as I could and look at as many healthy rat pics as I could before I let a pair of clippers near my poor girl's teeth again.

 

[A1APassion]

definitely posts some pics before anyone starts clipping their teeth

too often vets are not well informed or educated on the proper care of rats... or their education/training is severely out dated

There really isn't a reason to trim there teeth unless their teeth are causing injury to the insides of their mouth

here is a good site about teeth that shows normal teeth & the teeth that are not normal

Right up top it say to not trim their teeth unless you absolutely have to

http://www.ratballs.com/RatTails/Tails080.html

 

[BlueSkyy]

oh geeze...
i could never trim my rats' teeth.
it makes me all agitated even thinking about it - i've had a "tooth" thing ever since i was little...i never pulled my baby teeth out so the dentist had to do it and he did like 5 at one time.
i am all squiggly right now just thinking about cutting their teeth...
if my boys ever need a trim they are headed straight to the exotics vet.

 

[lilspaz68]

oh geeze...
i could never trim my rats' teeth.
it makes me all agitated even thinking about it - i've had a "tooth" thing ever since i was little...i never pulled my baby teeth out so the dentist had to do it and he did like 5 at one time.
i am all squiggly right now just thinking about cutting their teeth...
if my boys ever need a trim they are headed straight to the exotics vet.

You'd be surprised what you can make yourself do if necessary. I got over my complete fear of needles to be able to handle 3 of them and do sub-cutaneous injections on my very sick ratgirl.