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Old 10-07-2017, 07:07 AM   #1
EmmaJane
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Default Advice on white bottom teeth?

Hi, I was doing a quick health check on Mae (my Winter White hamster) and noticed her bottom teeth look a lot whiter than her upper teeth.

She has a really varied diet: Harry Hamster mix, millet, mealworms, Supreme Science Selective pellets, linseeds, suet pellets, Nature's Touch (hay and seeds mix), pasta, treats such as sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds as well as dog biscuits (checked ingredients) and the odd hamster treat (which she isn't that keen on). We give her a lettuce leaf now and then but I'm wary of water content and last month she had a spinach plant in her cage that she demolished in a few days. She also gets egg and chicken now and then. I am regrowing some more spinach for her but read that the whiteness may be a lack of nutrients so I'm raiding my boyfriend's snacking spinach and just gave her a leaf.

I was wondering if anyone had any advice? Does this look normal?
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Old 10-07-2017, 10:11 AM   #2
souffle
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Default Re: Advice on white bottom teeth?

I don't think her teeth look overly white Emmajane. The yellow colour is the harder enamel and if you see bright white teeth then this can indicate an issue with the enamel laid down being softer or even absent which can mean the teeth are slightly weaker than normal. Your ham still has yellowish teeth so I would not worry about them. Maybe try and ensure she does not bar chew and risk snapping them. Her diet sounds fine - welcome to HC.
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Old 10-07-2017, 10:24 AM   #3
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Default Re: Advice on white bottom teeth?

I'd advise changing to Burgess dwarf,as Harry Hamster does have artificial dyes(not obviously listed but still confirmed,which are best avoided).Make sure the dog biscuits don't have digest/derivatives/etc(popular ones in the hamster community do,for example Bonios and Biscrok do in fact have these ingredients which really shouldn't be used).

Suet pellets are quite unhealthy too,being essentially pure fat Remove that from the diet completely,it has absolutely no purpose.The Science Selective pellets wouldn't be necessary either with Burgess,same with adding mealworms.Nature's Touch isn't diabetes friendly by the way as it does have fruit so if your hamster has a questionable genetic background(such as being a pet shop hamster or being an adopted hamster)then it would be best to just remove it from the diet.
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Old 10-07-2017, 10:57 AM   #4
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Default Re: Advice on white bottom teeth?

We feed almost exactly the same as you and have never had any issues with our hamsters most of which live to a ripe old age. We are happy with our diets and find that avoiding or picking out things is more detrimental to the health.
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Old 10-07-2017, 11:23 AM   #5
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Default Re: Advice on white bottom teeth?

There would be no real picking out of anything important in the diet,only things that are added as a supplement(ones which aren't beneficial or necessary to begin with,like the Nature's Touch which as mentioned includes fruit and suet which is as mentioned basically pure fat and would have no value to hamsters anyways).The Harry Hamster would be replaced by a formulated diet anyways,so that's not going to cause an imbalance.

I'd still avoid the artificial dyes and any other unnecessary low quality ingredients.That doesn't automatically mean a diet is going to be imbalanced in some way.If someone were to pick out pieces of fruit in the main diet or peas,corn,etc then yes,it would cause an imbalance,but replacing a formulated mix that contains artificial dyes with a higher quality formulated mix that does not contain artificial dyes will absolutely not cause an imbalance!
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Old 10-07-2017, 09:47 PM   #6
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Default Re: Advice on white bottom teeth?

Welcome to HC EmmaJane.

As souffle said there doesn't look to be any real problem with your hams teeth, if she's doing well on the diet she has then I would just carry on with that although I really don't think suet pellets have a place in a hams diet & I wouldn't worry about introducing more veg into her diet, no need to worry about the water content, if they eat more veg they may drink less that's all, there's a wide variety of veg that it's safe for them to have so give plenty of different things & work up slowly to a small piece each day.
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Old 10-08-2017, 02:54 AM   #7
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Default Re: Advice on white bottom teeth?

Hello and welcome It sounds like you're doing all the right things. Personally I wouldn't give lettuce (or cabbage). I can't remember what the possible issues are with lettuce and cabbage, but there are lots of other veg they can have. A small bit every day as Cypher says (maybe every 3 days for a week, then every 2 days for a week, then every day).

I tend to keep broccoli, carrots and cucumber in the fridge - they all keep quite a while in the fridge. Carrots in the fridge last for weeks Cucumber maybe a week (you can just buy half a cucumber though) and broccoli at least a week. I also sometimes get packs of baby corn or green beans. And spinach is great but doesn't keep that long in the fridge.

Just a very small piece the size of your thumbnail each day. I find we eat more veg ourselves now I get a variety for the hammy lol.

For treats I might give a small piece of walnut or brazil nut but only once a week for those. Our hammy also likes dried coconut pieces or Rosewood little hearts as treats. Pumpkin seeds always go down well
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Old 10-09-2017, 10:38 AM   #8
EmmaJane
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Default Re: Advice on white bottom teeth?

Hi everyone! Thank you so much for your advice and thanks for reassuring an overly concerned new hammy mummy!

I'm definitely going to increase her veggies (as I want to spoil her and introduce her to new flavours) but I'm not too concerned about her sugar content as I got her from a breeder who provided me with a certificate of her ancestry. I'm still cautious because ideally I want her to have what's best for her, but thankfully she is a pure Winter White.

Thank you all for your knowledge and wisdom! Will definitely be taking some points on board! (:
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