Troublesome Teeth

In June 2009, D'Agosta stopped chewing on cardboard tubes.

I knew instantly that something was the matter, since D'Agosta and Pendy would never refuse a toilet paper tube! The little guy would sniff the tube and then ignore it. I also noticed that he was yawning frequently, and his paws were constantly at his mouth.

After phoning several veterinary offices, looking for a doctor who was familiar with gerbils,  we took D to the Maritime Animal Hospital. The staff was beyond friendly and helpful, and I would recommend their services to any gerbil owners in the area. Upon investigation, it seemed as though D's teeth front teeth were too long, and were preventing his back teeth from touching. A quick tooth trim, and D was sent home, no worse for the wear.

A few days later, D was back to pawing at his mouth. When I looked into his mouth (which is a little challenging with a squirmy gerbil) I saw that one of his front teeth was hanging a little crooked. We went back to the doctor's to have it checked out. When the doctor trimmed his crooked tooth - surprise! - the tooth fell out! D apparently had a loose tooth, which was what had been bothering him all this time.

D's behavior improved quickly after that. His tooth grew back, and he was eating again (although he was very spoiled from having Mama shell all of his seeds for him when he couldn't chew!) And most importantly to D'Agosta, he could chew on his beloved cardboard tubes once more!

Little did I know then, but this situation prepared me for what happened to Tig in the first few days we had him home. Tig was not eating, and did not seem to be interested in chewing on anything. I first chalked it up to him being in a new environment, and I wondered whether he favored a different brand of food. After some observation, I then noticed the same yawning/pawing-at-the-mouth behavior that I had seen in D'Agosta.

Upon inspection, Tig was missing one tooth, and the other tooth appeared to be loose. We spent the next day feeding him through a syringe, softening up his food with water, and watching his mouth to make sure it did not show signs of infection. Luckily, Tig's teeth grew in quickly, and he has already put on a few healthy pounds with all the food he's been eating :) I feel like I could be a gerbil dentist!