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Post by Sherry on Jan 16, 2011 15:58:25 GMT -5
Heather's thread of a ferrets teeth. If you look at a kits teeth, they're bright white and solid.  As a ferret gets older if you look at the tip of the fang you will see a clear almost translucent appearance at the tip. As they age this rides further and further up the tooth. At about 3 or 4 you will see this clarity about a third the way up the tooth  , at about 6 or 7 you will see it half way up and you will start to see it on the gum line as well  Photos aren't really good but if you look hard you will see what I mean. I don't have the proper lights and filters to take a clear photo. At 10 or so you will see this clarity about two thirds of the way up and probably will see some browning at the root as the tooth dies. Now that part is pure conjecture on my part as I've only had 3 or 4 hit that age and it happened with each of those ferrets. This is how we age ferrets. Jennifer, your vet is correct to a point or at least with Napoleon and Boris. There is some translucency but.... It doesn't go through the tooth, it's only on the edges. You have to look very closely (not like the kibble fed brats) and you can still see it but with the raw fed kids the tooth is still solid. Now, Lady Natasha (kibble fed for 6 months) has the same dentashion as any of the rest of the kibble brats. Boris on the other hand has solid teeth like Napoleon. I'm thinking that the benefits of the added minerals and such can only be absorbed into the teeth for a limited time. Boris and Napoleon were both raw fed from the date of purchase and both were fresh off the shipping docks. Their adult teeth still hadn't formed yet. I would be interested to hear from the raw feeding breeders on this site. Perhaps, they could help us further??!! ciao |
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Post by katt on Jan 18, 2011 4:57:05 GMT -5
I wanted to add this picture Heather sent me when I got Kenai:  |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2011 16:46:33 GMT -5
I have a question about teeth, Mojito who is some where near 4.5-5 y/o, according to his previous owner, has the translucency on the tip - i'd say almost half way up (Ill see if I can get a decent pic) but they are super super yellow, like if he has been smoking heavily for 35 years. I know that can come from kibble but he was all MF all the way up until I started switching them both (I had been switching them to better kibble then on the old forum everyone said I could go raw even with my schedual so now were switchng raw-- which u know since you replied to me on the other board looool) . Kahlua who is approx. 3, according to her previous owner, has teeth like pic 2 - well.. they arent that white but they are much whiter than Mojito's but she had been on some kind of food that I cant even locate to tell you what it is, all i can tell you is that it looked and smelled like the food I fed my rats (the same food the rat breeder fed her rats which were feeder rats) and the box looked the exact same too, except it had ferrets on it and not rats. It was extremely inexpensive when i fed it to my rats, i can tell you that and when I looked at the "ferret" version it was totally inappropriate for ferrets. Its no wonder she was in wretched condition, really nearly dead and all her previous cage mates had been circled in red (on MF paperwork) and marked deseaced. It kills me to think but judging by her state when I picked her up, I think they probably starved to death.
So how is it possible that shes got better teeth than he does? Sorry if this seems pointless but its mostly for curiosity sake since the ferret shown has such beautifully white teeth.
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Post by Sherry on Jan 25, 2011 22:31:13 GMT -5
From what I understand, some ferret's teeth seem to be discoloured due to genetics. The same way some people have to have bleaching done, even though they take marvelously good care of their teeth. This does seem to happen only with ferrets who've been fed kibble, or even if their mother's have been fed kibble.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2011 13:43:05 GMT -5
or even if their mother's have been fed kibble. That is an interesting fact, it makes sence when you think about it but it never would have occured to me. I guess it could be genetics, i tried to get a picture last night to no avail- well.. some avail I guess. Pretty poor though, I finally remembered to get out my real camera which takes better pictures than the itouch but still you cant really see much.   and He is a wriggler!! It would've been easier had I waited for my fiancee and then taken pictures while my fiancee scruffed him but I had one heck of a migrane by the time I picked my fiancee up, plus I was more preoccupied by Kahlua's poop issues. |
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Post by Sherry on Jan 26, 2011 18:10:20 GMT -5
Sorry- I can't make those out very well.
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Post by Heather on Jan 29, 2011 12:23:27 GMT -5
Just a thought to keep in mind. This whole method of gauging ferret ages goes out the window if you've had a kit raised on raw. This message is ongoing on the old forum but this translucency doesn't occur in raw switched kits. For those that rescue your furkids this method of telling age will probably still stand (I've only had two fuzzes turned into me who were raw fed from the time that the person bought them) Those of you who are trying to figure it out. Look for the translucency....none...kit to about 18 months.....1/3 is about 3 to 5 yrs. 1/2 is about 5 to 7. 2/3 is about 8 or so. After that the translucency actually travels up into the gum line. You will notice the gums will also develop this clarity. Again if the ferret is natural fed properly, you will not see this. What that points toward (in my opinion) is that despite claiming a balanced diet there is considerable calcium and mineral shortages during the initial growth stages in life. These shortages will effect the ferret throughout it's lifetime.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2011 7:24:06 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2011 13:24:05 GMT -5
Marie, those little baby teeth are soo cute! Larv have some nice chompers.
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Post by Heather on Feb 4, 2011 13:46:28 GMT -5
Thanks Marie for allowing us access to your kit tooth photos. We've had a number of members who when they have purchased baby farm ferrets have questioned the age of those ferrets. These little ones cannot seem to eat kibbles and exhibit severe separation anxiety thus making their new ferrants to question the actual the age of their fuzzies. Your documentation of the weekly stages of tooth growth will be hugely beneficial when trying to narrow down the little ones ages. Thank you  ciao |
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Post by tinytippytoes on Feb 9, 2011 11:58:17 GMT -5
I happened to love his wee nose. So cute  |
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Post by trippyferret on Feb 9, 2011 17:38:01 GMT -5
Salem, 7 yrs old, kibble fed all her life until just recently(she is on raw soups right now):   Gwen, will be 4 yrs this month, kibble fed until just recently and also on raw soups:   Bomber, 2 yrs old, kibble fed and was supplemented with raw and mice until I recently put him on a raw diet a few weeks ago:   Evie, 3 yrs old, kibble fed, supplemented, and also on raw now:   These pics were not easy to get! |
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Post by Sherry on Feb 9, 2011 17:56:47 GMT -5
I can tell ;D Proves the rule, though.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 9, 2011 20:56:13 GMT -5
Wow, nice pics! Must have been a struggle to snap them  |
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Post by Heather on Feb 10, 2011 0:22:59 GMT -5
Excellent pics. Great job
ciao
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