Broken tooth :(

[Jane]

Toe has somehow broken his bottom left tooth..he was being a bit strange and his mouth looked funny so i opened it (he didn't bite me, I'm so proud ;)) but anyway..we called the vet and they asked whether it had broke at an angle or straight, we told them it broke straight and the vet says that it should grow back really quickly aslong as he is eating..if we notice he doesn't eat and drink then tomorrow we need to call them and take him in..

does all this sound right? this is the second time I've had a err..hamster problem (lol) and these vets seem really good.

Any foods I should feed him to help? I'm defrosting him some baby food - I thought because it's soft it will be easy for him to eat but will that mean his other tooth grows too high? I guess I'll just watch him and keep looking at his teeth and see how it goes.

If he refuses to eat hard food for a day or so is it okay to feed him softer foods? I know with guinea pigs when they're not eating people feed them like..I dunno, food out of a syringe for a bit..liquid/soft food..could I do this (not with a syringe, I was planning on just offering it to him :P) or will that mean his other tooth grows too high?

Hellp :(

Jane

[suga]

One of mine recently broke her tooth. I waited a day before taking her to the vet to be checked. The day after I could see it had already started to grow back. I think they do grow back quite quickly and as long as its not causing a problem for eating it should be okay. Soft food just in case is a good idea though.

I checked mine and both of her teeth are now back at the same length. :)

[Holly]

I don't have any experience of this, Jane, other than what I've read but I think you are doing the right thing by seeing the vet - and by giving baby food tonight (I don't think it will matter about the top tooth not wearing down on hard food in the very short term!).

Good luck with him and well done for being so observant (It's made me wonder if I would spot it as quickly as you have :? ).

[Jane]

Thanks guys. He is eating a bit..his pouches are full too so I'm sure he'll get his appetite back soon. He is a lot livelier (sp?) today too so I'm hoping he's on the mend.

Holly - I'm not taking him to the vet today :? the vet said aslong as he is eating he'll be fine...? I'm worried now lol :(

[Holly]

Well I expect the vet knows more than me! :wink:

I expect you just need to keep a close eye on him and check that the broken tooth keeps growing and that the opposite one is wearing as it should.

[suga]

When conker broke her tooth it had grown back within a week :-)

[Jane]

Thanks guys :D

He's definately feeling a lot better so I assume he's eating ;) Well..he must be otherwise he wouldn't be acting like he is :P

He is very lively again and nipped my brothers lip earlier..then decided to nip my finger haha..but really, that is a good sign, he's back to his normal nippy lively lovey self ;)

Havn't had the chance to check his teeth because he's a little wriggler and i can get anyone to hold him whilst I open his mouth at the moment but all signs are good. Also, he has lost no weight since Tuesday night so that's great too :D

[babyboos]

the vet can cut the other to the same length which will make it more comfortable for him to eat
make sure to provide some hard things to keep the other tooth from growing any longer allowing the shorter one a chance to catch up

[racinghamster]

I agree with babyboos. The vet should be able (quite easily) to snip off the longer, lower tooth and align it up with the broken one. This only take a few seconds for a vet to scruff the hamster, snip the longer tooth back and allow the teeth to be the same lenght.

I have a gerbil with no top teeth (he managed to pull one top tooth to the side, that fell out, the longer, sharp tooth was trimmed by the vet and then that too fell out!) and he only had his two lower teeth now which have to be trimmed every three-four weeks by my vet now or they just keep growing.

Once tooth trimming starts, it`s easy for problems to begin, so do keep a close eye on things and crush up any larger biscuits in the food. This enables the hamster to nibble them better if they have tooth trouble. x

[Jane]

Thanks for replying.

He recovered fine and is his normal self as usual :D

[babyboos]

great to hear
hope he doesn't do it again :wink: :oops: :roll: