Aging your ferret by their teeth

[msav]

here are the 2 new ferret's teeth.

not sure what age they are, I was told that they were between a year and a year and a half.

gypsy





Al

[Heather]

I think Gypsy is the older of the two...but you're looking at less than 2 yrs of age. Gypsy appears to have tiny bit of clarity on the tip of the tooth...She could be as old as 2 but I'd be thinking more like 18 months or so. Al appears to be just the tip so I'd say older than a year but not more than 18 months. To be honest at this age and level it could even be how the light is reflecting off the teeth. I'd say it appears that the age you were told was close to their actual age
ciao

[Deleted]

Thought I'd add in Marcie's toofer pics here Heather you aged her for me on the FB page the other day, I originally thought she was 1-2 yrs but the clarity on her teeth suggest she's around 6 yrs.

I do have a question though, is it odd that her teeth are way more clean than any 6-7 yr old ferts I've seen? When I first got her she was eating iams cat food I think, that was 4-5 months ago, her molars just barely had the slightest bit of yellow on them (barely noticeable) she's been on raw soup for 4 months (she's on 3/4 slivers now and we just started tony bone pieces) and she has a bit of yellow/brownish on her teeth. But compared to Jules teeth who were awful and chipped and brown, and 5 yr old Cais who are brown and chipped and plaque filled also (chronic gingivitis) hers are remarkably clean (at least to me).. Is this odd?








For comparison these are Cai's teeth and he's 5 yrs old, eating the same thing Marcie is eating.




(That picture is from over a month ago but it shows his molars best)

Is it just that she has good genetics or possibly ate raw prior to coming to me?

[Celene]

Dentition is also very genetic.

I brush my teeth twice a day with a $200 electric toothbrush and floss daily as well... Most recently at the dentist they told me I have 4 cavities and receding gum lines (I'm 24) and will likely need skin grafts on my teeth.

I made my OH go since he hadn't been to the dentist in 8 years and he only brushes once a day in the mornings and never flosses unless he has food stuck in them. His teeth are PERFECT and he got compliments from the hygienist AND dentist. The only issue with his is that one of his wisdom teeth was crooked - he's 31 and never had them removed.. So they suggested he get them pull. He was seriously SO smug after since I'm always telling him he should brush more...

I started telling that story to his sister and she was like "let me guess, he had no cavities". Apparently it runs in their family. I, on the other hand, have a long family history of gum disease and excessive dental bills.

If I had looked at Marcie's teeth pics before reading Heather's opinion I would have said 5-6, but she has a million amounts more experience than I. Caillou has poor dentition to begin with (although I'm glad to hear his gums are getting better) so it's not surprising.

These are my Mo's teeth, she is aged at about 4-5 based on others' opinions including Heather, a ferret knowledgeable vet tech, and someone who has volounteered at a busy ferret shelter for a long time. As you can see, other than her chipped fang, her teeth and gums are generally pretty clean (for a ferret her age who was kibble fed most of her life).



I also found out that if you use flash with a camera, it REALLY helps show exactly where the clarity is.

[Deleted]

My family comes from a long line of bad teeth lol. Mine are all perfectly straight, I brush every day twice a day and floss, and last year I had 12 cavities. Not kidding, TWELVE. I can't get any cavities because all of my teeth have been filled. My dentist calls them "pit cavities" he says they aren't really sure why but a lot of adolescents get them and no amount of brushing or cleanings can prevent them. Also my jaw line is so messed up my dentist is baffled and says he has no idea how in the world I manage to even eat food with the way my "bite" is. Only way to fix it is to break my jaw and re-align it, or have a special lazer surgery. Ack. My family has a lot of health issues (like, everyone on my moms side has had cancer). My dog has terrible teeth that we've pinned on genetics also. He's 4 yrs old and his teeth are 1 year away from rotting out of his mouth. They're green and brown and his gum line is receding, so he is getting a cleaning this year. He's on raw, has been for 2 months and its helped but he needs a cleaning and a fresh start. Our other dog is a 6 year old pound dog mutt/mix and her teeth are near perfect.

Caillou has a lot of health issues, Insulinoma, Lymphoma, Autoimmune Disorder causing Chronic Gingivitis, he's a Waardie and my Vet is pretty certain he has Pica. God knows what else is going on with him. Oh and can't forget the totally random unexplainable gastric bleed out he had in December. And his teeth are horrid. Then Marcie is 6 years old, PERFECT health bill from the vet and her teeth barely have plaque. They're from the same mill too. Hm.

[Heather]

Very nice toofy pick Celene. I wish that was the way most people would take their pics. That is the absolute best shot. You can see the clarity and where it sits on the tooth. You can also see the damage to the other chipped tooth and what is probably a dead nerve or pulp (this will probably mean that despite the chip she won't be feeling any pain).
Great shot
Yes, there will be genetics involved as well. A perfect example was Napoleon. He was raw fed from 6 weeks. Despite the raw feeding at 5 yrs of age he received extensive dental surgery (the removal of a back molar that had actually abscessed) and the need to do an extensive cleaning on the left side...the right side was clean. We assumed this showed that this molar had probably been causing him pain for a considerable length of time and he's been favouring that side. Raw feeding doesn't mean that dental care isn't necessary and if you feed grind or soupy the dental care must be as extensive as if feeding kibbles.
ciao

[Deleted]

Caillou's clarity is much more noticeable also. Poor bub has terrible genetics. Marcie on the other hand is totally opposite. Acts like a 2 yr old, is in the physical shape of a 2 yr old, but is 6 years old. Maybe she will live forever

I have more pictures (just for the heck of it)

Marcie- (estimated 6 years)




Caillou- (estimated 5 years)




The way I get them to sit still is sit them in my lap right after waking them up, scruff them gently and with the same hand while scruffing pull their gums up and snap some pictures. This is where positively reinforcing scruffing is wonderful lol.

[Deleted]

Hi
im new here and while looking around the place i saw this post on aging ferrets by their teeth.
We have had our ferret Dr Zane Weaselehoffer for around two weeks.
We know very little about his background except that he was kept on somebodies allotment and fed cat food, we now have him on complete ferret food and raw meat.
He seems young to me and i wondered if anyone could have a guess at his age from his teeth, hopefully you can see enough in the pics.
Thanks in advance.

[Deleted]

Hi and Welcome to the HFF

I love that name. It's so fun!
I can't age ferrets by their teeth yet, but Dr Zane looks youngish with nice white teeth. Wait for an expert to weigh in.

Heather is good at this, I tagged her for you.
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[Sherry]

He is definitely a young one I'd say a year and a bit. Just the tips are starting to clarify

[Heather]

I'm in agreement with Sherry....this little one is about 18 months (there is trace of clarity) to 2 yrs of age.
ciao

[Deleted]

Hello; not sure if im posting in the right place. Trying to figure out how old my 2 are. They wiggle a lot and I can't figure out how to remove the setting on my camera for it to wait until its in focus -.- I was told they're around 6 to 8 months old.. I want to find out if that's actually true. My little girl has Adrenal Gland disease so I'm just curious to see if she's truly that young.

I'm sorry if this is the wrong area to post or the photos aren't good enough, they move so much and my camera has some weird issues.

This is Blue- Apparently the older one of the 2, but I kind of assumed they were siblings or from the same location.




And this is Mocha, the one with Adrenal

[Celene]

Funny coincidence, my Mocha has a broken left canine too!



Heather is (much) more of an expert than I, but I would say they are both at the very least several years old. I think Blue might actually be the younger of the two, maybe 3-5, and Mocha 4-6. Even her tiny top teeth look transparent.

[Deleted]

Awwww we have Mocha twins!!!! Wow!! That's crazy!! Well good to know!! will definitley see and wait to see what all the ranges are. So surprising! They've grown so much in my care I assumed they were young!

[Heather]

I'm going to say 7 yrs for Mocha. The clarity is half way up the canines. There is clarity at the root and around some of the molars. The first ferret, I'm going to say 6ish....I'm seeing clarity almost half way but it's not as extensive as Mochas
ciao