white teeth?

[Boo<3]

my chester has white teeth just recently. What does this indicate? he also over grooms his bum and belly a lot, the hairs are very thin and in some places his skin is showing.... My other guy douglas seems to be fine, his teeth are yellow he is of a good weight, and his fur is normal...

 

[TorachiKatashi]

I'm afraid I'm not sure what could cause that, but I do know that rat teeth should be yellow/orange. It was pretty jarring for me when I first got my guys, owning a cat and a dog, whose teeth I try to keep as white as possible. I think it usually has something to do with some kind of deficiency. As far as fur, when my guy Whiskers came home, he had very thin, patchy fur and was nearly bald on his entire rear end. It was a result of a diet in his previous home that was much too high in protein. The vast majority of commercial foods labeled as "rat food" are too high in protein; what are you feeding your guys?

Hopefully someone can give you some more information than I can.

 

[jorats]

My vet told me that some medications can cause rats teeth to turn white or it could be an indication to some type of illness. I wonder if it could also be a deficiency in their diet?

 

[RatsForever]

Very interesting post. My new boy I adopted from the SPCA has white teeth and I was also wondering why; he has an appointment with the vet next week for a health check and that will be one thing I'll bring up.

 

[Dazzle87]

Vitamins A and E deficiency can cause it:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1257853/pdf/biochemj00975-0120.pdf

I do agree a vet trip is a good idea though.

 

[fenshae]

The missing fur could very well be self-barbering...my guy Einstein is a barberer, he is extremely intelligent and when he gets bored he starts pulling out his fur to give him something to do I guess. I wonder if your little guy is stressed out (possibly by whatever deficiency/whatever) is causing the teeth issue, and that's causing him to barber?

I'd definitely investigate his diet first. What are you feeding?

 

[SQ]

I have had many rescue rats with white teeth.
I have heard that their teeth may be more brittle.
There are many possible causes for white teeth, including genetics, medication, diet early in life, the blood supply to the teeth, amount of iron in the blood, & kidney function.

Please see viewtopic.php?f=26&t=1216&hilit=white+teeth&start=0

As previously mentioned, the hair loss is likely due to barbering.
This could be caused by being stressed or bored

 

[Joanne]

The hair loss could also be due to a buggie infestation - has he ever been treated with Revolution? It kills mites, lice, etc...

 

[Bamboo]

Vitamins A and E deficiency can cause it:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1257853/pdf/biochemj00975-0120.pdf

This was my first thought too. I would try adding some dark, leafy greens, like spinach and dandelion leaves to the diet. Sweet potato, broccoli and peaches are also good sources of both vitamin A and E.

 

[Boo<3]

I will make a visit to the vet as soon as I can. I feed them extrusion along with some other treats. I noticed he is slightly slimmer than douglas alsoo,, and kinda boney.... not as chubby as my previous rats. He has been treated for mites.

 

[SQ]

If they were not treated with revolution, it is likely that they still have mites.


Off topic:
btw, there is now a Canadian distributer for Harlan Tech. 2014 (http://chinchilla.ca/list.php?Category=F&source=feed) which may be less expensive then buying extrusian, and oxbow has come out with an improved version of Regal Rat that ratties are said to like a lot.

 

[RatsForever]

Very interesting post. My new boy I adopted from the SPCA has white teeth and I was also wondering why; he has an appointment with the vet next week for a health check and that will be one thing I'll bring up.

I just came back from the vet and he informed me that white teeth (my boy is not on any meds) is an enamel deficiency and is genetic. There is nothing that can be done. Also, he said rats with white teeth tend to be more prone to illnesses. Besides the white teeth the vet thought he was in good health.

 

[Fyodor Dos]

my chester has white teeth just recently. What does this indicate? he also over grooms his bum and belly a lot, the hairs are very thin and in some places his skin is showing.... My other guy douglas seems to be fine, his teeth are yellow he is of a good weight, and his fur is normal...

hey mine too...tell me what is this..