twitch
Well-Known Member
perhaps, but zen has a heart condition too that results in low blood pressure. when this thread was posted i checked to make sure but no, his teeth are nice and yellow.
White teeth!
- Thread starter lindsayfawn
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I think that Beni's CHF and Zen's heart condition wouldn't effect them the same way. With the CHF being an ongoing disease that was probably caused by a heart condition of some sort, think of Beni as far more advanced in illness than Zen. He's been dealing with this problem for quite some time, so the long term effects may have caused the white teeth. As already stated, genetic predisposition could also play a role in it. This also applies to any other illness. Their teeth don't turn white from a week long URI. It would be something very long term that would cause their bodies to something like that. Genetic predisposition could lay a role.
As for lack of nutrition/inability to absorb nutrition, this would be something long term. It could have been from the very beginning, when they were first born that the mother wasn't receiving adequate nutrition, so the bubs didn't, either. It could have been from a prior owner who consistently did not provide adequate nutrition. These are all long term things, not something that would happen after a couple of days or weeks with a bad diet. Genetic predisposition also would play a role in this. If Rat A comes from fairly healthy and hardy lines, then she won't show as many symptoms of being fed a bad diet. If Rat B comes from lines that are predisposed to illnesses, it may be more likely to show up there.
Twitch, as far as cavities go, I've never come across any articles or case studies regarding tooth decay in rats. As far as I understand, cavities aren't something that are 'naturally' occurring in rats. Maybe if they were fed a ridiculously high sugar and/or acidic diet it would wear away their tooth enamel to some point, but I'm not sure to the extent of dental problems such as that.
As for lack of nutrition/inability to absorb nutrition, this would be something long term. It could have been from the very beginning, when they were first born that the mother wasn't receiving adequate nutrition, so the bubs didn't, either. It could have been from a prior owner who consistently did not provide adequate nutrition. These are all long term things, not something that would happen after a couple of days or weeks with a bad diet. Genetic predisposition also would play a role in this. If Rat A comes from fairly healthy and hardy lines, then she won't show as many symptoms of being fed a bad diet. If Rat B comes from lines that are predisposed to illnesses, it may be more likely to show up there.
Twitch, as far as cavities go, I've never come across any articles or case studies regarding tooth decay in rats. As far as I understand, cavities aren't something that are 'naturally' occurring in rats. Maybe if they were fed a ridiculously high sugar and/or acidic diet it would wear away their tooth enamel to some point, but I'm not sure to the extent of dental problems such as that.
lindsayfawn
Well-Known Member
No she's never been on meds, I don't know if she was at Clark's or not.
She's a good size, not to small and not to plump.
I'm going to keep an eye on her, she seems to be fine but when I saw the white teeth kinda sent alarm bells off.
RatsForever
Well-Known Member
lilspaz68 said:
I just noticed that my boy Oliver has white teeth and I would hate to think he is suffering from malnutrition :sad3: I'm hoping its the medication (the white teeth appeared when he starting to take zithromax) as I try to feed my rats a healthy diet of fruits, veggies, and Oxbow. Oliver appears fine...
If the teeth changed colors when a new medication was introduced, then it is very possible that it's just the medication and their body's reaction to it. If the teeth return to normal after the medication has been stopped, then it most definitely was just that. If they don't return to normal after the course, then you can look into other reasons.
twitch
Well-Known Member
bribery was being a bugger about taking his meds last night and i noticed that his bottom teeth are now white and his top teeth are a palern yellow. he's been fighting a resp infection since may though so i suspect it is prolonged illness based. zen's teeth (heart condition rat) remain yellow.
jorats
Loving rats since 2002.
I've noticed my Jasper (Casper) has extremely white teeth, top and bottom. I'm keeping an eye on them, I don't like the length of the top ones, may bring him in for a trimming.
