Clipping hamster teeth is not easy. It requires a steady hand. And good clippers.

These work just fine.
First look at the teeth and decide if they need clipping. If the hamster can't eat and drink then the teeth must be clipped. The alternative is death of the hamster. Without food and water they do not last long.

These teeth curve in over the tongue because the top teeth broke off.

See how they curve.


Hold the hamster in one hand and the clippers in the other.

Line the clippers up with the teeth.

Both teeth must line up between the two blades.


Clip quickly, without hesitation(that is why the image is blury)

Don't worry if the hamster struggles, it doesn't hurt. They just can't hold still.

Hold the hamster firmly like this through the whole the procedure. It won't hurt him.

Notice the difference in the teeth. There is a space now between the upper and lower set.


I find it best not to think about it too much. I just do it. When I clean cages I usually check teeth. If a hamster is losing weight I check teeth. If I don't like what I see, I just clip them.

If it needs to be done, then it needs to be done. Sometimes there is no one else to do it but you. And sometimes the need is quite urgent. After you have done teeth, clipping claws is nothing.

And yes it still scares me if I think about what could go wrong. Have I ever had anything go wrong? Only very minor stuff. I have never killed or injured a hamster in eight years. The worst was a little nick on the hamster's lip. And no, I have never been bitten while doing this. Hamsters behave very well. Act with confidence and your hamster will trust you.

Great set of pictures and instructions Catherine, thanks for that, it is extremely helpful.

I had to wait until I had someone whose teeth needed clipping. I will post more pictures when I have them. It is a little harder to clip the upper teeth. I will deal with that as soon as I have an example. You know I will have somebody with teeth trouble before long. It comes from having so many seniors.

Quoted from catherine

I had to wait until I had someone whose teeth needed clipping. I will post more pictures when I have them. It is a little harder to clip the upper teeth. I will deal with that as soon as I have an example. You know I will have somebody with teeth trouble before long. It comes from having so many seniors.

He he, wonder if hamsters had anything to do with the origin of the phrase...

"getting a bit long in the tooth!!!

Brilliant pictures Catherine, clipping teeth - even on a Syrian is daunting to me ( i dont think i hold them with enough strengh), I have to point out though that if anyone plans to do this try only if your 100% confidant with doing it, if not please take the ham to a vets for its first clipping (it only costs about 6/8 pounds after all)

Oooh, I was gritting my teeth and wincing at those pictures - they're very informative, though.  What needs must, I guess - I come out in a hot sweat after I've vaccinated the sheep, so I think I'd need a lie down for a while if I was to try anything as brave as teeth clipping

Quoted Text

please take the ham to a vets for its first clipping (it only costs about 6/8 pounds after all)

It would cost a great deal more here.  Also If the teeth need clipping chances are it will need doing again and again. In some cases it has to be done twice a month. I have more than one hamster that needs clipping. It could easily run me the equivalent of a month's rent for the teeth alone. Even with one hamster who would really want to pay even $100.00 a month vet bills for a dwarfie. It is not a matter of not caring, it is a matter of resourses. Most of us just can't do it. Vet costs here are very high.

The other issue is the need to act quickly. When the teeth need clipping you can't wait. Emergency vet clinics are even more expensive. If a dwarfie can't eat or drink you need to help it right away. Sometimes there isn't a vet around who has had experience with dwarfies. I am at least familiar with my pet and how to handle him. If the vet has never clipped teeth before why should I pay him to learn on my pet.

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( i dont think i hold them with enough strengh),

It isn't a strength issue. You could crush a dwarfie with your hand the size/strength difference is so great. It is a matter of holding the animal confidently and steadily. Practice holding your dwarfie with one hand and flipping it to examine the underside. That way you will both be familiar with the holding part. You will also get to know what looks right. I check everybody when I clean the cages. I don't  fuss about the cleaning. I move pretty quickly and systematically because I have a lot of cages to clean. I do like to check the hamster physically and make sure everything is fine. There are lots of things you can do for your hamster at home. I clip claws if they get too long. I watch for cheek pouch problems and empty any that are in trouble. Can you imagine what my weekly vets bill would be if I did not do these things myself!
Practice cutting claws and then if you need to do teeth you will be used to holding the hamster and the clippers. The more you handle the hamster like that the more used to things you will both be. Dwarfies are really very easy to handle. Look how many I manage.

great pics catherine. I think (my opinion only) that they should be sticky.

Quoted from s3irios

great pics catherine. I think (my opinion only) that they should be sticky.

I agree, thanks S3irios, done.

Now we're just waiting for the video Catherine!!!  

yea, thats going to be a really good source of information! great suggestion John!

Catherine, i didn't say you should take them to the vets - i understand you have loads of experience clipping teeth. I said if people do not have confidence with clipping them they should take them to the vets, that way the vet can show them first hand how to do it themselves - most people will only have 1 or 2 dwarfs so i don't see the vets bills being an issue to them (and i did say for the first clipping, not repetitively).

I can hold dwarfs fine - its Syrians I can't - Monty always makes a little unhappy noise so i hold back from doing it lol. Ive however luckily never experienced problems with teeth that are too long.

The teeth problem is a dwarfie thing. Their teeth do get into trouble. I had to clip teeth within the first year. Vet bills are very high here and I don't think too many vets have experience with dwarfies. A lot of times when you discover the dental problems it is on Sat when you are cage cleaning. You can't leave a dwarfie til monday safely, but going to an off hours clinic is even more expensive. Doing it yourself is sometimes the only answer.

A video would be a good idea. I will have to talk to my "film maker". I can't do the clipping and take the pictures. How do I post a video? Now I have to wait for a dwarfie to need its teeth clipped.

I posted pictures so that someone could do this themselves. I just had to figure it out myself because it was an emergency(Victoria would have died, but I gave her another 8 months).  I find with Dwarfies, if you can't fix it yourself, there is not likely any way to fix it. In other words first aid is about all you can do. Anything majoor, the animal would not live long enought to see a vet. Things like teeth and cheek pouch problems, we can do at home. It is less trauma to the hamster.  

Quoted from catherine

A video would be a good idea. I will have to talk to my "film maker". I can't do the clipping and take the pictures. How do I post a video? Now I have to wait for a dwarfie to need its teeth clipped.

It is much easier than you might think and probably even easier than pictures:

Most compact digital cameras have a video recording mode which is plenty good enough quality for the web and YouTube (you don't need a video camcorder).
So you just shoot the video and upload it to your computer same as pictures, it is usually a file format called .mpg (instead of .jpg for pics). The key thing is to ensure good light when shooting as the commonest problem with videos of YouTube is that they are too dark, so use a lamp, film by the window or do it in a very bright room somehow.

Once the video file is on your computer you can just upload it as is to YouTube (you do need to make a youtube account obviously) and YouTube converts it to the right format for them. Once it it ready you just copy the "embed code" and paste it into the post window to get the video to show in a square in the post like most of us do on here (you can also just post a url link but in the page looks better).

If you want some fancy title page, add text comments and credits just add these in Windows Moviemaker which comes with all versions of windows not, it is really easy to use, when you are done click publish movie to this computer and choose the DVD quality at 3Mb is a good choice of quality and file size. There is a limit of 100 Mb to the size of the file, this equates to about 6 minutes long.

Those are great pictures and advice Catherine, I agree, I think this should be sticky

great [ics very helpfull

The video sounds simple to do. Now it is a mater of waiting for a hamster to be in need of clipping on a day when someone can take the video. I can't do the clipping and the filming. I just did a clipping tonight, but I had no one available to take pictures. I might try a video of emptying cheek pouches as well. These things are simple enough to do. If I can clip teeth I should be able to post a video.  

is there a way around this? =/ i  dont' think my hamsters would let me do that haha, they dont' even let me hold them upside down

Quoted from jacklye

is there a way around this? =/ i  dont' think my hamsters would let me do that haha, they dont' even let me hold them upside down

Unfortunately, it's a case of having to ignore what your hamster may or may not want - I'm sure no hamster would enjoy having their teeth clipped but will very pleased at the outcome.  You have to just be firm but gentle - I don't like having to trim the guinea pigs nails because they really hate it but I just have to get on with it as I know it's for their own good

If the teeth have overgrown, then there is no choice. The hamster can't eat or drink. If you notice your hamster losing weight quickly, then you must check the teeth. I find the hamsters are very good when you do things for them. Yes they squirm a lot, but that is just how they are. They don't really fight me. I have not been bitten while doing this. They take it pretty easy. So practice holding them like I do in the picture. Then you and your hamster will be used to it. Always give treats afterwards!

hahaha, it spit out a whole bunch of stuff after i was holding it like that, at first i thought it threw up, but the food was whole

They sometimes do the food spitting thing for me. They will do that when they are nervous. Always fuss over them and give them treats every time you handle them like that and they will be good at it. The actual clipping is a help to them so they are quite good about it.

Quoted from catherine

If the teeth have overgrown, then there is no choice. The hamster can't eat or drink. If you notice your hamster losing weight quickly, then you must check the teeth.  

Well...all this advice came in handy.  I was cleaning out Harry's cage at the weekend and was quite shocked that he seemed to have lost quite a bit of weight from the previous week.  Harry is one of our dwarf boys from Elly and Sunny's first litter so he's just over a year old now.

On closer inspection of his mouth his top incisors were terribly overgrown and curling backwards into the roof of his mouth.  He had food trapped behind them and his poor tongue was purple and swollen.  I felt so bad for him

Anyway...I fully understand now what you meant, Catherine by needing to just act there and then.  It wasn't really a question of could we trim his teeth...this was an emergency, it was 9pm on a Sunday night and we needed to act.

Whilst I restrained a very angry Harry, John managed to cut his teeth...not sure we could have managed this on our own.  Anyway, it was one of those jobs you dread but wasn't as bad as anticipated and the relief for Harry made any of our worries fade into insignificance.

The little darling is getting spoilt with tofu and boiled egg at the moment...I suspect that Harry will probably need regular trimming as I assume that he has malocclusion and the overgrowth will only re-occur.  If this is the case, how often should we trim his teeth or is this something that is individual to each hamster?

What causes a hamsters teeth to get long?

The two front incisors both top and bottom grow continually throughout a hamsters life.  They are kept at the correct length essentially by gnawing and eating hard food.

Some hamsters, however have teeth that are not properly aligned and so they do not naturally wear away as they should...I think that this must be the case for our dwarf, Harry.  

I see, thank you.