Bill Cole <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote
>
>Below is from Sue Green's "Gerbil Health Check" on NGS Index:
>
>5 - Examine your gerbil's teeth
>Often the first time an owner realises there is a tooth problem, is when
>the gerbil rapidly loses weight but otherwise appears healthy. On
>examination it will be found to have lost one or more of its front teeth.
>This means it cannot eat its usual food and needs a soft diet e.g. baby
>food, biscuit crumb, bread soaked in milk. Usually the tooth grows back
>again within a week. Meanwhile, the gerbil cannot gnaw and the remaining
>teeth may grow too long and require trimming. This is not as difficult as
>it sounds. The first time it happens, you may need a vet to show you what
>to do, but after that you should be able to trim the teeth yourself. An
>excellent test for teeth problems is to offer your gerbil a piece of
>paper. It will immediately try to chew it. All gerbils do. It's
>instinctive. If the teeth are able to cut the paper, they are fine.
>However, if they can't, then there is a problem.
As Sue says, the other teeth need to be trimmed, soon. Otherwise things
will not grow back right.
--
Julian
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* Jackie and Julian *
* [EMAIL PROTECTED] *
* National Gerbil Society *
* http://www.gerbils.co.uk/ *
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