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By Lora Colver and Bev Reeve TEETH: Rats have 16 teeth in total. Six upper and six lower back teeth (molars) for grinding and chewing, and two upper and two lower front incisor teeth. There are folds of hairy skin tucked inside the mouth behind the front teeth, covering the front part of the roof of the mouth. The function of these giant, in-folded lips is to create a strong skin barrier between the front teeth and the tongue and throat so that the rat can gnaw splintery, inedible and even slightly poisonous materials without the shreds falling onto the tongue and being swallowed. The teeth only overgrow if there is a medical problem, which prevents the teeth from grinding together. In an older rat, you often find that the teeth have become naturally loose. Also if there is an accident (a fall in the cage or a fight), a tooth may be knocked out of alignment or completely knocked out. When this happens both the affected and the opposing teeth start to overgrow. Overgrown teeth can rub sores inside the mouth, puncture the inside of the mouth, cause infections and stop the rat from eating, and usually the first outward sign that anything is wrong, is weight loss. Swelling on the side of the face normally indicates a tooth root abcess with one of the back teeth. Any problem involving back teeth or abcesses should be treated by a vet. Front teeth, whether overgrown due to misalignment or a missing opposing tooth, can be kept trim at home but you should never attempt to clip teeth unless a vet has shown you how. There are no nerves in the front teeth but cut too far down and you will hit blood vessels. You cannot cut teeth; the idea is to make them snap at the correct point. You can use dog or cat clippers, bird clippers or human fingernail clippers. You should always cut each tooth at an angle (slanting back into the mouth). Top teeth should be no shorter than a quarter of an inch and bottom teeth no shorter than half an inch. The edges of the teeth will be sharp after clipping, use a metal nail file to smooth them down if your rat will allow, or give him/her bones or dog biscuits to gnaw on to help smooth the teeth to the correct shape. A rat with misaligned teeth (this is called malocclusion) will need the overgrown teeth clipped every couple of weeks. ALWAYS be very careful when clipping, that the tongue is well out of the way, some rats like to try to lick at the clippers as you’re using them. Claws It's always best to let a vet or another rat owner show you how to clip claws before you attempt to do them yourself. Rat claws tend to wear down as they walk and climb about. Placing objects in their cage such as a brick or pumice stone will help to keep claws from overgrowing. However, the very tips of those claws are often razor sharp points. You don't usually have to do anything to them as long as the actual claw itself isn't damaged or overgrown to a point where it digs into the rat's foot. But if entering your rat in a show, they will be judged on the sharpness of the claws so you will need to trim them. Also, some owners get a skin reaction after holding their rats. This is because rats walk about in their own urine and excrement and no matter how clean the cage is kept, some of it stays on the tips of those claws. Then they walk on you and those claws act like little needles, puncturing your skin and you end up with bumps and welts and itchy patches where your rats have walked. Everybody has their own way of clipping claws and it's up to you to find the most comfortable position to hold the rat in. Rats rarely sit still and will struggle so it's important to be very careful when clipping. Personally I find the best way to do paws is to sit the rat on my lap and just lift each paw as necessary, limiting my rat's movement (but not pinning it down) with my arms. It's easier to clip claws if you start when the rat is very young. That way they will quickly become used to procedure and won't struggle or fight with you quite so much. Another way to hold rats is to tuck them under your arm with the paw you want to work on sticking out. By far the easiest method is to have another person to hand, holding the rat steady as you trim the claws. If you prefer, small pieces of very fine sandpaper, such as birdcage liners or the outer layer of nail emery boards, stuck down in various places in the cage (not in a bed) will help to keep the sharp points of the claws blunt. It's also now possible to buy special inserts for Wodent Wheels which file down your pet's claws as she runs in the wheel. Wodent whee;s are available from www.transoniq.com |
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