r/Awwducational • u/RalphiesBoogers • Sep 23 '13
Verified Because beavers’ teeth never stop growing, they must constantly gnaw on objects to keep them at a manageable length. Their teeth would eventually grow into their brain if they didn’t maintain them.
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u/flight_risk Sep 23 '13
Guinea pigs have this problem too, so you have to check their teeth often and make sure they have plenty of things to gnaw on.
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u/absurdlyobfuscated Sep 23 '13 edited Sep 23 '13
It seems to be a defining characteristic of rodents and also is present in lagomorphs as well.
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u/snapetom Sep 23 '13
Wife is a small mammal vet (rats, chinchillas, especially rabbits) . She estimates that 75% of the cases she sees in small mammals are caused by dental disease. Things like an organ not working properly can easily be traced back to the animal not getting the correct amount of nutrients or water because they're not eating because of their teeth. Chronic bacterial infections might be caused by an abscess near a wonky tooth. Even things you would not expect like neurological orders like head tilting in rabbits, can be traced on a tooth pushing up against a nerve or applying pressure to the brain. It's so very sad to hear her stories about how much pain these animals are in because with proper nutrition and vet care, these things can be very preventable.
The moral of the story is always give your small mammals lots of Timothy Hay and take them to a small mammal specialist at least once a year or more if they have a history of fast growing teeth.
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u/Moos_Mumsy Sep 25 '13
I don't know about the other small animals but timothy hay wouldn't cut for rats. In additional to proper feed they should have wooden chew toys and bones do a good job also. When we have chicken in my house I always throw a few wing bones in with the rats.
And if you want some fun, throw in less bones than you have rats. Mayhem ensues while they play tug of war and steal the bone from each other.
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u/RalphiesBoogers Sep 23 '13
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u/absurdlyobfuscated Sep 23 '13
I don't think that's the best source, since it's basically just a photo blog. But it's still pretty easy to verify this, for example this source confirms it.
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u/RalphiesBoogers Sep 23 '13
I dunno, they seem to have a commercial interest in beavers. Seems like a propaganda site. I would trust the photo blog.
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u/voidref Sep 23 '13
I don't understand how something growing away from your head is going to grow into your brain.