Hamster teeth: incisors that never stop growing

According to the MSD Veterinary Manual, a hamster’s incisors, at the front of the mouth, keep growing throughout its life. They stay at the right length because the hamster is constantly gnawing and chewing.

Hamsters generally have fewer dental problems than other rodents, but they are not rare, the RSPCA points out. The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) hospital lists overgrown teeth among the most common reasons hamsters are brought to the vet.

A broken tooth

According to the RSPCA, if one incisor is damaged, the opposite one is no longer worn down and keeps growing, until the hamster can’t eat.

A sugary diet

The PDSA explains that by picking the sugary pieces out of a muesli-style mix, a hamster puts on weight and risks overgrown, painful teeth.

Not enough to gnaw

Without hard objects or foods to nibble, the incisors wear down less.

• Pellets rather than a sugary mix, plus hay.
• Plain, unprinted cardboard, hay cubes, a coconut shell, seagrass.
• Untreated branches from apple, pear, hazel or willow, for example: the PDSA advises washing them and baking them for an hour in a low oven.
• The MSD Manual also lists small wooden blocks as safe chew toys.

A hamster’s cheek pouches are huge: when full, they can double the width of its head. The MSD Manual notes that they are sometimes mistaken for a lump or tumour. A pouch that empties normally is nothing to worry about.

However, a pouch can become blocked: the veterinary edition of the MSD Manual advises checking them at every examination. The RVC advises against cotton-wool bedding, as it can get stuck in the pouches. Use unscented paper torn into strips for the nest instead.

• Drooling, or a wet chin.
• Eating less, dropping food or ignoring hard food.
• Weight loss: according to the RSPCA, hamsters lose condition quickly when ill, and show little sign of pain.
• Incisors that are visibly too long, broken or no longer meet.

Look at its incisors regularly, as the RSPCA advises, and weigh your hamster every week: weight loss is often the first visible sign.

A hamster that struggles to chew loses weight, often before any other sign. Log a weigh-in every week in MyArk: the weight tracker shows the trend at a glance, for everyone in the household.

• A weight chart for each hamster, over time
• A weekly weigh-in reminder, shared with the household
• Dental treatment kept in the health record
• A dated note when it drools or a cheek stays swollen