TARDIS: The Ancient Rodent Dental Inspection Service
Seriously, looking after you chinchilla's teeth is very important
One of the most common problems that chinchillas have today, is with their teeth.
This may be due to uneven tooth wear causing spikes and spurs, overgrown teeth, root elongation and more, all of which can cause great discomfort to a chinchilla.
The information below and other health matters can be found on the Health page
Information and help on hand-feeding can be found if you click here
Chinchillas' Teeth
Chinchillas have 20 teeth, 4 incisors and 16 molars.
The dental formula for their teeth is:
I 1/1 C 0/0 P 1/1 M 3/3
Chinchilla's teeth should be yellowish in colour and the top teeth should not overhang the lower set.
Their teeth are open-rooted and grow all the time. The incisors can grow 2 to 3 inches in a year.
A chinchilla must chew and grind food to prevent the teeth from overgrowing and creating problems.
Not all tooth problems are through incorrect or poor feeding, some are inherited.
Help to prevent some dental problems by always providing a correct, healthy diet of chinchilla pellets,
good quality hay and suitable items to chew, which will help wear down his teeth. Chinchillas need good quality hay to chew.
Hay not only provides fibre, essential to your chinnie's diet, but also helps them to grind and wear their teeth down.
The first signs of a dental problem, maybe a discharge from the eye and then the chinchilla
might start to eat less, eat softer food and as a result will lose weight.
A chinchilla may also paw at his mouth and drool to a point that his paws and
chest will be wet. The droppings may also be much smaller and of an irregualr shape.
Sometimes, there are no obvious signs and unfortunately, some problems are inherited.
If your chinchilla shows sign of having problems with his teeth, you must take him to see your vet.
It is not always apparent if there is a problem, so here again, are some of the obvious signs:
Drooling/wet chest
Watery eyes/discharge
Weight loss
Small droppings
Pawing at the mouth
Eating slowly and unable to chew food
Crumbled pellets
Looking after your chinchilla's teeth is VERY important
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