Bottom Gap Tooth boys

[degualot]

Hi Guys, after some more adivce for my boys, well two of them anyway.

Ok people have heard me mention Victor who is an inbred Degu I rescued from a cruel petstore in Leeds.

I also rescued a young Degu called Casper who I fear is also inbred. What can I say I have a thing for inbreds, I just feel sorry for the guys. They just don't get the start in life they deserve.

When I found Casper he couldn't eat, beileve it or not his bottom teeth were so overgrown they were piercing his top lip. and his top teeth were overlaping really far down to his inner bottom gum, basically with both teeth overlaping to such a degree he couldn't open he couldn't eat at all.

Once we saw him is this state we complained immediately and they took him away the next day to get his teeth clipped. we came in a few days later and took him off their hands. Poor little guy.... He is a blue Degu so I imagine the reason he was inbread was lack of other blue Degus to breed so to keep the blue line of colour they inbread. Anyway that's my theory. The petstore would not give me infomation about the breeders. They told me they would "Let him no not to breed from that line again" was their words.


Anyway I managed to successfuly introduce Victor and Casper who are now really good friends and are enjoying each others company. They snuggle next to each other in their Degu Bed which I love, got it from E-bay... Both of them are eating despite their teeth problems and both seem pretty happy and healthy. However Victor still refuses to eat hay despite there being an unlimited suppy for months now, he still won't eat it. On a previous post I already explained how i've tried different kinds of hay.

Casper on the othert hand loves his hay which is great. However what bothers me still is mainly their bottom teeth. Both of them have gaps between the bottom set of teeth, I know this is down to inbreeding but I was wondering if anyone knows if this can cause a problem eating, I Know this sounds ridiculous but is there such a thing as rodent braces.

well as always any help would be appreciated... thanks people.

[fred]

I have had a look around the German forum regarding degus that don't eat hay. There seem to be quite a few ways around it but there was one idea which may be worth trying first. Someone offered a hay tunnel to get them used to hay and this seems to have worked fine. P@H has the Woodlands ones www.petsathome.com/shop/woodlands-small-pet-hay-tunnel-15935.

[degualot]

thanks, I hadn't thought of trying that, maybe if he gets a taste of it from the tunnel then He will go onto his hay from the rack.... Let you know how it goes.

[blossombrooks]

I'm not sure if this helps degualot but one of mine has always had a gap between her bottom teeth, the only way I can describe it is like a v. The teeth meet at the base but not at the top. Pepper has never had trouble eating anything, she's actually more inclined to eat hay than my other one with perfect teeth. I just make sure she's always got plenty to chew on to keep her teeth trim, which I'm sure you do too :-). The hay tunnels went down a treat with mine too, it got my fussy one to start on hay.

[degualot]

thanks, i'll try the hay tunnel, yeah both Casper and Victor have the V shape on their bottom teeth. Oh well...

[andrew6666]

One of my degu has V shaped bottom teeth also, they dont seem to mesh with the top teeth so are not getting worn down. Pedro is eating hay and eating his normal food. I am getting his teeth clipped tonight at the vets to ensure that they dont get too long and cause him problems.

Is this a common problem?

Is getting the teeth clipped by a vet the only way of ensuring they dont grow into the sides of his mouth or tongue?

[deguconvert]

I wouldn't call it common, but it isn't rare either. Sometimes it will correct itself as the teeth grow out, and other times it seems to be persistent. The best I can tell you right now is that getting his teeth clipped tonight is a good thing for him, and then keep a close eye on him so that you know what state they are in. Teeth grow unbelieveably fast so be checking all the time. Have some really good chewing things on hand, pumice stone is really good, and woods/branches of course. Hopefully with these things to gnaw on, he will be helping to keep them in good shape and will require few visits to the vet for clipping.