Dental disease can occur in ferrets as they age. The ferret’s baby teeth grow out within the first 9 months, so dental problems may start developing within the first year. Their adult teeth come out during this time, and that is when you need to think about risks of dental diseases and care for them the most.
Just like other animals, ferrets need to get routine checkups.
Dental diseases hold just as much importance as digestive problems, fur problems, and many other health-related obstacles that ferrets face in their lives.
Ferrets need their teeth to be sharp enough to chew or hunt their prey. Their diet is primarily meat, so having weak teeth will make it very difficult for them everyday.
Of course, a domestic ferret doesn’t get to do much hunting but it still requires a proper set of teeth so they don’t develop dental problems in the future.
So, let’s find out what causes dental disease in ferrets.
Causes of Dental Disease In Ferrets
Dental disease is normally caused by a lack of attention towards ferret’s proper teeth treatment.
When a piece of meat or some other food gets stuck between their teeth, it becomes the start of a future dental problem. Ferrets have 34 permanent teeth and about 30 baby teeth. They are really tiny so the food easily gets stuck between them.
If you don’t brush their teeth and ignore the food stuck in their mouth, the nutrients in the food remain there. The nutrients stay in their saliva and damage their mouth in so many ways. For example, the saliva filled with nutrients forms tartar in ferrets’ teeth.
But what happens if the tartar isn’t taken care of?
In that case, it will start attracting bacteria that love to reside inside the ferret’s mouth. It starts spreading serious dental disease issues that stay in long-term.
Other than that, ferrets also have other sorts of dental diseases but they are usually there since birth. For example, improper alignment of the teeth is a common dental disease found in ferrets. Known as malocclusion, the misalignment causes a clash between teeth near the jaw and because of that, the ferret cannot close its mouth properly.
The good news is that this issue can be treated by surgery if a professional vet gives a green sign. Your ferret will need to go through surgery and possible teeth removal. Your veterinarian will direct you exactly how the treatment will go and what will need to be done to give your ferret a perfect set of teeth.
For help finding a good quality vet near you, check out the tips in this article.
Signs Of Dental Disease In Ferrets
The starting point of dental disease is bad breath. If the disease has not been treated in a short time then it will show signs like yellow-colored teeth, and its gum will start to hurt too.
Extreme signs of dental disease include bleeding of gums and falling of teeth.
Once the gum starts itching, your ferret will start biting its toys or hard materials in hope of decreasing the pain in its gums; and a lot of biting will turn into a bleeding mouth.
Some of the major signs of dental disease in ferrets are:
- Bad breath
- Discolored teeth
- Red or inflamed gums
- Chipped tooth
- Swollen mouth
- Bleeding from gums
- Problem in chewing
Recovery From Dental Disease
Once your veterinarian starts the dental treatment of your ferret, you need to keep up the pace and keep your ferret’s health in check.
Either surgery or some other form of treatment is going to be performed on your ferret, and it will be solely done by the doctor. Once it is done, you will have to discuss the proper dental routine of your ferret with the vet.
They can recommend professional cleansing of the mouth at least 3-4 times a month. This can decrease the chances of chronic dental disease immensely.
Furthermore, if you don’t pay attention to its hygiene post-treatment then the disease will most likely strike back.
How To Clean Ferret’s Teeth At Home
As we have mentioned before, hygiene is the first rule of being healthy. Once you know about it, you need to learn the what and how of dental treatment at home.
For instance, what should you use to clean their teeth?
You can use a soft small brush to brush the teeth. Make sure it isn’t too stiff because animals have sensitive gums and even a little bit of harshness can cause bleeding.
If your ferret is still too small then you can use cotton buds and slowly rub the teeth and gums with them. As for toothpaste, baking soda works best for every animal. Apply some of it to the brush or the cotton tip and clean the mouth for a good little while.
This daily cleansing check will protect your ferret from all sorts of dental problems.
Ferret Teeth Guide And Function
Ferrets have 4 types of teeth in total. Once the milk teeth grow out and permanent teeth take their place, your ferret will have these four proper teeth.
- Canine: A canine tooth is a fang-like tooth. It is located at the very front and is pretty easy to distinguish. The function of a canine tooth is to capture and puncture anything they hold. Ferrets usually use their canine teeth to softly bite their owner with affection.
- Incisor: Incisor teeth are located in the middle of the canine teeth. They are really tiny and used for grabbing their food.
- Molar: Molar are located at the far end. They are used for crushing and chewing the food.
- Pre-molar: Pre-molar teeth are also located next to the canine. They are used for shredding and cutting food into pieces.
Conclusion
Well, this is all you need to know about a ferret’s teeth and their dental troubles. Keep in mind that even though you can get a ferret really cheap, their veterinarian checkups can often become quite expensive. They may be small but they still need all the proper care to live a healthy life, and taking care of their mouth is the most important part.