Hamsters have 16 teeth: four incisors; two on the top and two on the bottom, and 12 molars. Unlike many animals, hamsters are actually born with these teeth and do not have baby teeth and adult teeth. They just have one set of teeth that last them their entire life!
Hamster teeth need to be taken care of properly, otherwise they can cause many issues. Because your hamster can’t talk, you’ll need to be on the look out for any problems with their teeth, and ensure you’re doing everything you can to keep their teeth healthy.
Fortunately, we’ve compiled a guide all about hamster teeth so you can learn everything you need to about them. Keeping read on to find out more.
Hamster Teeth Are Always Growing
Did you know that hamster teeth are always growing? Just like rabbits and guinea pigs, hamster teeth continually grow throughout their life. This means that the teeth need to be filed down to prevent any issues.
Fortunately, this can be done every day at home by giving your hamster plenty of things to chew on. The right food can also help to keep the teeth trimmed down.
If your hamster’s teeth get too long or overgrown, they can be filed by a vet. However, if you take good care of their teeth, this may never need to happen.
Take a look below at our tips on keeping your hamster’s teeth healthy.
How To Keep Your Hamster’s Teeth Healthy
A Healthy Diet
Providing your hamster with a healthy diet is one of the most important things as a hamster owner. Not only will it help to keep their teeth in check, but it will also help to keep them in the best health. A correct diet helps to keep your hamster’s teeth strong and growing properly, preventing any issues. If your hamster doesn’t have access to a healthy diet, their teeth can even fall out.
The best hamster diet should be made up predominantly of pellets or seeds that are specially formulated for hamsters. These can be bought at a pet shop. Avoid giving your hamster a granola-style food mix because they will pick out the unhealthy bits!
Be careful not to feed your hamster sugar-filled hamster treats that are becoming more and more common in pet stores. These can cause dental decay. Your hamster will enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables as a treat, or certain dried flowers. Take a look at what you should be feeding your hamster here.
You should also ensure your hamster always has access to clean, fresh water. If they don’t, their cheek pouches can dry out which could result in food becoming impacted in these areas.
Plenty Of Chew Toys
As hamster teeth are constantly growing, they need plenty of items in their home to chew on to help wear down the teeth. Small branches such as from trees like apple, hazelnut, walnut or hawthorn are good. Pinecones and wooden toys found in pet stores are also good for them to gnaw on.
If you don’t want to spend a lot of money on chew toys, you can give them cardboard boxes or even the inside of toilet rolls to chew on. Here are some of our favorite toys for your hamster.
Check Their Teeth Often
As their owner, you should check your hamster’s teeth often. This is easy to do: gently pull the skin at the back of your hamster’s neck so the skin around its mouth looks like a smile.
You might find it easier to do this if you take your hamster out of their cage and carefully place them on their back. You also might be able to see the teeth better if they are eating.
If your hamster’s teeth are a yellowish-brown color, they don’t look too long and none are severely broken, then the teeth are healthy. If you suspect anything is wrong, don’t hesitate to take them to the vet.
Keep Them Active
It is very important that you keep your hamster entertained and engaged with plenty of toys, hideouts, platforms and tunnels within their home. If your hamster is not kept both mentally and physically stimulated, they can become bored.
Boredom can lead to chewing on objects that your hamster shouldn’t chew on. For example, they may begin chewing on the bars of their cage. This is very bad for their teeth as it can chip or break the teeth, or cause them to become unevenly worn.
What To Do If Your Hamster’s Teeth Are Overgrown
If your hamster’s teeth get too long, this can cause a lot of issues for them. To name a few: the teeth can dig into their mouth and gums, the teeth can break, and your hamster can find it difficult to eat.
If your hamster has overgrown teeth, you may see them drooling or losing interest in food. You should check their mouth for signs of overgrown teeth.
Overgrown teeth can be easily treated by your vet. They simply clip the teeth down to prevent any further issues. This isn’t an expensive procedure and shouldn’t be attempted by you at home.
After they have been trimmed, ensure you are doing everything you can to keep your hamster’s teeth at the right length. This includes keeping them on a healthy diet and providing them with lots of chew toys to help wear their teeth down.
Symptoms Of Dental Issues In Hamsters
Drooling
Drooling is a common symptom of malocclusion in hamsters, which is when their teeth are misaligned due to either a broken incisor or because the teeth are overgrown.
If you suspect your hamster’s teeth are overgrown, you should take them to the vet to get their teeth clipped. Never try to do this at home alone.
Drooling can also indicate dental decay or an infection in your hamster’s mouth or cheek pouches. It is a good idea to get them checked out by a professional if you see your pet drooling.
Not Eating
If your hamster has suddenly stopped eating, this could be an indication that there is something wrong with their teeth. This could be a number of reasons, such as overgrown teeth, broken teeth, dental decay, an infection or impacted food.
Check their teeth to see if you can see any signs that there is an issue. Take your hamster to the vet if you are unsure.
Broken Teeth
Hamster teeth can often get chipped and broken throughout their life. Luckily, because their teeth are ever growing, these teeth will usually grow back.
If you spot that your hamster’s tooth is chipped, it is usually nothing to worry about, unless it is causing them problems with eating. However, if any of the teeth are severely broken, it is a good idea to take them to the vet.
If there is a broken tooth, the other teeth in your hamster’s mouth may need to be clipped so they don’t overgrow. This will also stop the teeth from becoming misaligned as the broken tooth grows back.
Broken teeth can also impact your hamster’s jaws and lips, which could result in them being very sore or even bleeding. This can then lead to a loss of interest in food.
In severe cases, broken teeth can cause infections and abscesses in your hamster’s mouth. This can be very painful for your pet, so it is a good idea to take them to the vet if any of their teeth are broken.
If your hamster is old, they may break teeth more often as they are more brittle. This can become more of an issue. If your older hamster isn’t eating because of their teeth, you need to feed them soft foods, such as bread, eggs, wet cereal or softened hamster mix.
Swelling
Your hamster has cheek pouches in which they can hold a lot of food. Sometimes, when they have a lot of food stuffed in their cheeks, this can make their mouth look swollen. It is usually nothing to worry about and their mouth will go back to normal when their cheek pouches are emptied.
However, if your hamster isn’t holding any food in their mouth and their mouth is still swollen, this could indicate a dental or cheek abscess. These can be painful and can also lead to drooling and a lack of appetite, so you’ll want to get them to the vet ASAP to get treated.
Swelling could also be a sign of dental decay, broken teeth or a cut or sore in your pet’s mouth.
What Color Should My Hamster’s Teeth Be?
Hamster teeth are naturally yellow and should be this color. They are yellow because they have extra enamel, making the teeth hard for all the chewing they have to do.
Over the course of their life, it is common for the teeth to get stained. As your hamster gets older their teeth can begin to look more yellow, brown, orange or even red. It is even possible to tell how old a hamster is by the darkness of its teeth.
However, to be on the safe side, if your hamster’s teeth look red, double check that this is just from staining and not from blood.
While as humans we desire white teeth, white teeth in hamsters can indicate there is an issue. This could mean there is something wrong with the enamel or dentin, the layer below the enamel. Take your hamster to the vet if their teeth don’t look the right color.
How Do I Know If My Hamster’s Teeth Are Too Long?
It can be difficult to know if your hamster’s teeth are too long. However, one way of checking is to give your hamster a large treat, like a monkey nut in the shell. If they cannot open their jaws wide enough to grasp it then their teeth are too long. In this case, the teeth must be clipped by a vet.
Hamster Teeth FAQs
Do hamster teeth grow back?
The two front incisor teeth in your hamster’s upper and lower jaw are ever-growing. Over their life, it is not uncommon for them to break these teeth. This may be from chewing on the bars of their cage, biting into foods, or they may just get chipped.
If the root of the tooth remains intact when this happens, then your hamster’s tooth will grow back. However, if the root is damaged, then the tooth may never grow back.
Why are my hamster’s teeth yellow?
While yellow teeth in humans is not all that desirable, yellow teeth in hamsters is completely normal. In fact, this is the color they should be.
Hamster teeth are yellow because they have extra enamel, making the teeth hard for all the chewing they have to do. If your hamster’s teeth are white, this can indicate a problem.
Why does my hamster have bad breath?
If your hamster has bad breath, it is a sign there is something wrong. Your furry friend could have a dental issue such as abscess or an infection either in their tooth or in their cheek. They could also have an intestinal issue which is causing their breath to smell.
Hamsters have cheek pouches in which they can store their food and move it from place to place. Sometimes, hamsters can store food in their mouth for too long and this can begin to rot, causing a bad smell.
Do my hamster’s teeth need trimming?
If your hamster’s teeth grow too long, this can become painful for them and cause many dental issues. It also might affect their eating and they might be in a lot of pain.
If you suspect your hamster’s teeth need trimming, take them to the vet. The vet can clip their teeth and it is an inexpensive procedure. You should never try to trim your hamster’s teeth at home.
How fast do hamster teeth grow?
Hamster teeth grow about as fast as human fingernails. This means they grow about 1mm a day. However, they’ll grow a lot slower if they have lots of chew toys in their home to help them wear their teeth down.
