Is my puffer grinding his teeth?

[PufferGrrl]

I got about a 3 inch GSP yesterday from the LFS and I've never had the opportunity to see a bigger GSP before, so I'm not sure how long his teeth are in comparison to what they should be. Last night he was getting used to the tank and exploring, and he'd go up to the glass and I'm not sure what he was trying to do to it, but it almost looked like he was trying to bite it. I also gave him a piece of krill, which I wasn't sure if he would want after coming home the first day, but he liked it. My question is, when he goes to bite things, whether it's the glass or food, it sounds like he's grinding his teeth. I'm planning on giving him snails, but does anyone else have any other ideas of food I can give him that's hard that won't harm him back. For example, I've seen GSP's eat crayfish, etc, and I think I want to stay away from that sort of thing...but I'm just trying to think if there's anything other than snails that I can give him to wear down his teeth if that's the case. He's eating fine, I'm just concerned about his teeth and I know the pet store does tell people who buy puffers about the snails, but I'm not sure what he was even fed before he came to them. I don't think he was with them any longer than a month, if even that long.

[StormySkiez]

My gsp's teeth I can not see they are kept so trimmed. We bought them at 1 inch the larger one was almost 1 1/2 inches. We started feeding them snails, mussel w/ shell and cooked snow crab at least once to twice a week the first month. The mussel (fed this mainly because I had to purchase a large package) and snowcrab was fed the first 3 months because I put the snails through a long QT to breed and for other reasons.

To feed the frozen defrosted mussel I pull the meat out of the shell after it has been rinsed and soaked in garlic and vitamins. I hand feed the meat to the puffers until their bellies are full. Then I toss in both halfs of the mussel shell. There is usually a little meat left on the shell even if there isn't the gsp's go to town on the shell. They chew on it for a couple of hours off and on. I save the rest of the mussel meat for the next feeding. Now I have added the snails to their diet. They get at least 10 each a week if not more. I hate feeding snails but I have them so now I have to keep the snail population down in my 10g. This has worked great for me so far. My puffers have been in my care for 6 months. I wish I could see their teeth just a little. Perhaps when they get larger I will be able to.

I would start your gsp on hard shelled foods as soon as possible because once the teeth have overgrown the only way to trim them is to do it yourself. The hard shelled foods keep the teeth trimmed but will not shorten them once they have overgrown.

Congrats on your new puffer!

[PufferGrrl]

Sounds good. Did you get the mussel in a fish store or grocery store? I have some snails in there with him, but he's still figuring his space out, so he doesn't seem as interested in what I put in all the time. Once he settles in a little more I'm hoping he'll start begging like my little F8. I'm going to try to get a picture of what his teeth look like. I'm thinking they're more overgrown than they should be. Thanks for your help.

[StormySkiez]

I found the mussel in the frozen fish section at wal mart. A good picture would help determine if his teeth are ok. Give him time to adjust to his new home. lol, he should start begging soon!

[PufferGrrl]

Here's a pic of what he looks like with his mouth closed...

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm15 ... CN2839.jpg

This is the best pic I was able to get so far of his teeth. When he's roaming the glass, sometimes he pulls his mouth/lips back and shows his teeth. It's a little fuzzy, I'll try to get another, but wanted to get one up, not sure when he'll want another good pic

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm15 ... CN2848.jpg

[StormySkiez]

He looks good to me. Can anyone else tell if his teeth are over grown? Can he close his mouth all the way?

[PufferGrrl]

Here's a better picture of the teeth when he sticks them out.

..and he's eaten 2 snails this morning!

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm15 ... CN2859.jpg

[StormySkiez]

He is so cute. His teeth look fine to me especially if he can close his mouth all the way. Lets see if others chime in w/ opinions.

[PufferGrrl]

Good deal. His mouth closes most of the way, there's a little gap, but he's able to eat fine, and he seems to LOVE the snails, which is good, so I shouldn't have to worry about finding something hard that he likes. I was just concerned about the noise he makes when he's trying to bite at something that's not edible, like the glass yesterday. I'm hoping as long as he continues on the snails he should be good. I'm going to pick some more up at Petsmart today, they're usually willing to wipe down their tanks for me to get rid of them. He loves riding the bubble wand though, it's so cute, he'll swim down it, and float back up with it, and then do that over and over until he gets worn out.

[StormySkiez]

Perhaps the grinding is a sign that his teeth are getting a bit long so the hard shelled food is very important for him to eat.

[PufferGrrl]

Yeah, I'm guessing they'd be sticking out when he had his mouth closed, so I'll keep a close eye on them. He looks like he's going to do well. I was concerned when I picked him up yesterday because he was dark, but I'm thinking he's just moody... he went to white (belly) once he got settled... he still changes back and forth a little, but I'm thinking it's mood since his water quality is good.

[Happy_Puffer]

My gsp are kinda small but every gsp I have ever had have always made noise when they eat. You can hear them eating all the way across the room. Their teeth aren't overgrown, I can't even see them. I thought this was weird when I first got them but then I had the lfs feed theirs and they all sound the same, I think its kinda cute!!

[PufferGrrl]

That's good to hear. I only have a very small F8 that is a very picky eater and I can never hear him eat, but his teeth are probably very small, have never had the chance to even see them. I'm glad to hear this is sounding pretty normal.

[StormySkiez]

I'm another one who can not hear my gsp's grind their teeth.