The teeth of rodents grow continuously and since hamsters
are rodents their teeth also continue to grow over the course
of their lives. Wood chews provided to your hamster will
help your hamster to keep its teeth at an appropriate length
and growing straight. Hamsters are also known to chew on
the bars of its cage in an attempt to stop their teeth from
growing too long. This is not helpful overall for the hamster
though because this can chip the hamsters tooth or cause
it to grow in crooked.
If the teeth of your hamster do grow too long they can
be clipped. This procedure can be performed yourself but
it is safer if you have a veterinarian that is willing to
do it. Great caution must be taken to ensure that you do
not accidentally cut the tongue of your hamster. As hamsters
grow older some of them will naturally grow curved or crooked
teeth which will require regular clipping. In this case
it is probably better to learn how to do it yourself by
having the veterinarian show you. This way you will not
need to take your hamster on a regular basis which sometimes
can be as often as weekly. Again, the most important thing
to remember when clipping your hamsters teeth is to take
great care in ensuring you do not injure it. The hamster
will probably be nervous while this procedure is being performed
so you may have to have someone help stabilize the hamster
while you clip the tooth or teeth.
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