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Old 01-23-2021, 10:10 AM   #1
Potato
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Join Date: Jan 2021
Location: Canada
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Post Elderly hamster broke teeth after grinding them. Any suggestions for a better diet?

So my Syrian hamster of almost 2 years has a few health problems going on. But one thing is that she keeps grinding her teeth and she broke the bottom two.

Quick drawing of the shape:

What I know: -I can feed her baby food
-I can soak pellets in water and create a mush to feed to her
-I can feed her fresh vegetables and fruits

Is there anything else? Also, is there a way to prevent her teeth from growing too long? She hasn't been chewing on anything other than food.

Last edited by Potato; 01-23-2021 at 10:16 AM.
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Old 01-24-2021, 02:32 AM   #2
Charlie Dunn
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Default Re: Elderly hamster broke teeth after grinding them. Any suggestions for a better die

Hello. I would be tempted to take her to the vet so they can trim her bottom teeth so they are squared off to prevent further injury and to enable them to grow back level. We used to have to take our dwarf boo to the vet to have his bottom teeth trimmed every 4 weeks and he always seemed fine once we got home. X
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Old 01-24-2021, 06:49 AM   #3
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Elderly hamster broke teeth after grinding them. Any suggestions for a better die

She is quite an old lady at two and they often get teeth problems at this age. Softened food is the way to go but still put her regular hamster mix out - they can still chew it and it helps keep teeth trim - plus it allows them normal behaviours - pouching it and hoarding it.

I agree with Charlie though - if the bottom tooth is broken with sharp edges it might need trimming. Difficult to say as it can be very stressful for them going to the vets and having a tooth trim and may also need a whiff of gas.

So have a careful look at them. If it could cause sores (eg sharp edges where it’s broken) then it probably needs trimming. If it has just broken I would go with soft food. Our last Syrian’s teeth actually fell out at a pit this age.

The one time it is essential to get the teeth trimmed is if the bottom ones get too long and they can’t close their mouths properly (also means they can’t eat and lose weight rapidly).

So I’d just make a Judgemebt call. If she is fine in herself, it is not causing and issue then just supplement with softened hamster mix and baby food. If it is affecting her, the teeth are very long or there are sores then get her bottom teeth trimmed by the vet. Even then their teeth can splinter when being trimmed and you might find the extra bit breaks off on its own now. Are both bottom teeth broken?
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Old 01-24-2021, 07:05 AM   #4
LunaTheHamster1
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Default Re: Elderly hamster broke teeth after grinding them. Any suggestions for a better die

I just wanted to check, are you sure she broke a tooth, this happened to my hamster and she hadn't broken a tooth, one tooth had grown longer than the other. There will normally be some underlying reason why this is happening, so definitely worth a visit to the vets.
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Old 01-24-2021, 09:29 AM   #5
Potato
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Default Re: Elderly hamster broke teeth after grinding them. Any suggestions for a better die

I guess chipped/split would be a better word. The diagram is only of one tooth, but what both look like. Her teeth have been trimmed now, but I still haven't seen her eat hard food. I'm assuming her tooth may have broke because it may have chipped on some hard food, and the unusual shape caused her to continuously grind her teeth which caused her tooth to chip even more.

She has eaten the mush on January 23, but after leaving it overnight, she hasn't seemed to have eaten it. I'm going to go get some baby food and possibly oatmeal to add to the mush to see if she'll eat it.
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Old 01-24-2021, 03:29 PM   #6
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Elderly hamster broke teeth after grinding them. Any suggestions for a better die

I would give them separately. I use lids from baby food jars as little dishes. One with baby food, one with soaked Hamster mix, one with porridge. Although you can just put porridge on a teaspoon.

You could try science selective and soak a few pellets on a lid. I gave that and then put the usual mix out dry as well.
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Old 01-24-2021, 04:45 PM   #7
Potato
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Default Re: Elderly hamster broke teeth after grinding them. Any suggestions for a better die

Ok!

A good thing is that she has eaten some baby food, just not much. But she really likes fresh fruits and vegetables so I'll make sure to include a bit more in her diet.
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