Health & Veterinary Care

Rodents are prey animals and may hide illness until disease is advanced. The most useful home-health tool is knowing what is normal for this individual: appetite, weight/body condition, stool, urine, posture, coat, breathing, movement, sleep and social behavior.

Important concerns for this group include obesity or inappropriate seasonal weight pattern, dental wear problems or broken incisors, foot/joint problems from hard or cramped housing, parasites or skin disease, abnormal hibernation behavior, prolonged anorexia or respiratory signs.

• Rodent incisors grow continuously. Appropriate gnawing and a nutritionally sound diet support normal wear, but a damaged or misaligned tooth still needs veterinary care.
• Do not clip teeth at home. Improper clipping can split teeth and damage roots; veterinary grinding/filing is safer when correction is needed.
• Nutrition problems may show as weakness, coat changes, poor growth or abnormal bone quality. A favorite-food diet can still be deficient.
• Drooling, jaw swelling, reduced chewing or sudden refusal of hard foods are not normal.

Identify an exotics veterinarian willing and able to see the exact species, and keep the clinic’s normal and after-hours numbers with the carrier. Bring a current food list, body-weight history, photos of the enclosure, medication list and a fresh stool sample if requested. For older or medically complex animals, ask the veterinarian how often routine examinations should occur.

• Difficulty breathing, collapse, seizure or major trauma.
• Sudden inability to eat, chew or swallow.
• Persistent diarrhea, repeated gagging or choking-like behavior, or severe abdominal distention.
• Major weight loss, dehydration, marked weakness or abnormal body temperature.
• Eye injury, facial swelling, suspected fracture, deep bite wound or uncontrollable bleeding.
• Any abrupt change from normal that persists or is accompanied by pain.