Eine Untersuchung der Zahnlängen in wilden Chinchilla und Zuchtchinchilla:
Skull size and cheek-tooth length in wild-caught and captive-bred chinchillas
David A. Crossley, Maria del Mar Migue´lez
Es wird festgestellt, dass Zahnanomalien bei Zuchtchinchillas häufiger auftreten als bei wildlebenden Chinchillas. Es wird vermutet, dass es an der Ernährung liegt.
"The fibre content requires prolonged chewing, whilst the phytoliths (Baker et al., 1959) and soil contaminants (Lowder and Mueller, 1998) are highly abrasive. Prolongedchewing of this naturally abrasive diet causes rapid tooth wear for which chinchillas are highly adapted,
with continuous tooth growth and eruption replacing lost dental substance. In captivity, the diet tends to be composed of clean plant products grown in more favourable conditions. These have a higher energy and lower fibre and phytolith contents. As a result, the animals require a lower volume of less abrasive food, which also requires less chewing. Reduced chewing of a less abrasive diet significantly diminishes tooth wear, but tooth growth continues despite the lack of sufficient attrition, and as a result, the teeth elongate. A further factor in reduced tooth wear in many captive chinchillas is the form in which the food is provided, i.e. pellets of compressed, preground material, which alters the chewing pattern and further reduces the duration ofchewing. Addition of essential nutrients to commercial diets in amounts sufficient to permit maximal growth will result in maximal mineralization of the teeth, increasing their resistance to wear in contrast to the nutrient restriction apparent in the wild, which is likely to result in suboptimal mineralization of the developing tooth structure, thus increasing the tendency for rapid wear."
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