how are you suppose to brush teeth for ferrets?
i bought my ferrets some dental gel and i dont know how to brush their teeth at all. they always chew and lick the gel and wont stay still. also i was wondering what kind of a tooth brush to use. i bought some little kid brush and it seems pretty soft.
I use a Q tip to smear it on there teeth really quickly. They squirm a lot but mine will do just about anything I want as long as I time it right. I like to pick times when they are really active and looking for a treat. They are most agreeable at that time. You can also purchase the finger toothbrush for dogs and just kind of smear it across their teeth. Kind of funny.
My kids don’t have a lot of trouble with tartar on their teeth because the eat bits of raw chicken. The raw chicken breasts make them chew the meat and it helps clean the surface of their teeth. It did not take me a long time to get them to eat the meat, but I had to start them out on a chicken soup type mixture of baby food, ADV cat food and vitamins. I added little slivers of chicken breast in and now they love it.
I use a Q tip to smear it on there teeth really quickly. They squirm a lot but mine will do just about anything I want as long as I time it right. I like to pick times when they are really active and looking for a treat. They are most agreeable at that time. You can also purchase the finger toothbrush for dogs and just kind of smear it across their teeth. Kind of funny.
My kids don’t have a lot of trouble with tartar on their teeth because the eat bits of raw chicken. The raw chicken breasts make them chew the meat and it helps clean the surface of their teeth. It did not take me a long time to get them to eat the meat, but I had to start them out on a chicken soup type mixture of baby food, ADV cat food and vitamins. I added little slivers of chicken breast in and now they love it.
References :
First, since you did not say what type of gel you bought do not use it if it is for humans. The fluoride level would be too high.
The enzymatic toothpastes for carnivores that vets sell tend to be best. You can use the kind of tiny toothbrush they have, can use a swab, or can put a bit of gauze around your smallest finger and use that. (Be careful with the cheek teeth to not have them gag and accidently bite you because those are sharp.)
Also very good for cleaning teeth are ferret protein chew treats like "Foamy Fries" (made by Hyperfur) but don’t let them have too many because they will cause diarrhea in that case.
Ferrets teeth usually have their worst tarter on the buccal (cheek) side so be careful to get there. If there is substantial tarter, plaque., evidence of decay, inflamed gums, etc. then they need dental care by the vet.
Sukie (not a vet)
Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
References :
If you want to lose some of your fingers brush their teeth
References :
The best natural way to clean ferrets teeth is to feed raw chicken legs and wings. The ferret crunching on the bones naturally removes tartar. I always feed chicken wings before a show. When feeding chicken legs and wings its important to feed them raw, cooked bones will splinter and cause injuries.
References :