Chinchilla teeth

Chinchilla & Hedgehog Pet Forum

Help Support Chinchilla & Hedgehog Pet Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Status
Not open for further replies.

tunes

Administrator/Owner
Staff member
Admin
Moderatr
Joined
Jan 28, 2009
Messages
10,064
Location
South Dakota
Written by dawn

The normal color of a chinchilla's teeth should be dark orange. If the teeth are chalky, yellow or white this is a sign of calcium deficiency. In this case, a calcium supplement could be used and the chinchillas diet should be reviewed. Using a good quality pellet should NOT result in a calcium deficiency. Vitamin C is also a important part of a chinchilla's tooth heath. The chinchillas teeth are not imbedded in bone like most animals. They are free floating are are connected in the socket with connective tissue.

Chinchilla teeth grow through out the chinchilla's life so this is why they have the constant need to chew and file them down. Provide plenty of chew toys to help them fulfill this need along with plenty of hay and good quality pellets. Vitamin C helps keep the tissue tight - if the tissue is loose the chinchilla could get tooth spurs resulting in a loss of appetite, possible absesses and maybe even death. The first signs of tooth spurs is the chinchilla will sample their food and drop it, possible drooling, swiping of the mouth with the paw after eating, acting like they are choking, and acting like is a painful experience to eat. You should watch your chinchilla eat on a regular basis to check for warning signs.

Weigh on a regular basis to moniter weight loss. A high quality chinchilla pellet and supplementing young chinchillas with a 150-200 mg dose of Vitamin C a day will help you achieve good tooth health. There are cases when teeth problems are hereditary and regular teeth filing by a vet is required. These chinchillas should not be bred but can have a good quality of life.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top