Rodent Home Dentistry

Yesterday I was playing with the rats when Eva tried some half-assed manoeuver and fell on the floor. It's not the first time this happens and it's not for carelesness on my part. Rats are real daredevils. But unlike their squirrel cousins, they're not that skilled. They'll fall on their ass two out of three times they try a stunt. Luckily for them, their small size enables them to survive a 15 meters fall usualy without serious injuries. They also tend to fall on their feet, almost as good as their nemesis the cat. And the word here is 'usualy'.

So right after the fall I noticed something was wrong with Eva. She kept squeaking, something rats only do out of fear or pain. I thought maybe she had sprained a paw, something she did once when she was a baby, but she seemed to be able to walk and climbed normally. Maybe she was just scared, so I gave her a yogurt drop (kinda like a white chocolate chip). That's when I noticed everytime she tried to eat it, she'd jump and squeak. I looked at her mouth and noticed a tooth was crooked. She probably fell on her face. I rolled her into a towel like a fajita to restrain her and have a good look. I could move the tooth, to Eva's obvious discomfort, but didn't know how strong it remained attached. I was hoping I wouldn't have to go to the vet again. So I put Eva back into her cage for the night, hoping the tooth would come loose by itself.

Eva was able to eat, with some difficulty, but still the tooth remained in place. I was afraid it would continue to grow crooked. So I rolled Eva in a towel fajita again under a bright lamp, took a pair of pliers and pulled the tooth out. It came off easily. It was probably only holding to the gums and would have dropped eventually. Now Eva looks relatively fine, lying in the hammock, being groomed by Blackie. :-)