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> You see, the thing about rodents—be they rat or shrew or vole—is that they really like to gnaw. IIRC, they don't like to, they have to. If they don't wear do
by palmotea 2y ago
> You see, the thing about rodents—be they rat or shrew or vole—is that they really like to gnaw.
IIRC, they don't like to, they have to. If they don't wear down their teeth, they'll grow out of control and kill them.
- fkyoureadthedoc 2y agoOr, hear me out, their teeth have to grow because they like to chew so much they'd wear them down and starve
- SV_BubbleTime 2y agoReally a mouth half full kinda of guy.
- zimpenfish 2y ago> If they don't wear down their teeth, they'll grow out of control and kill them. cf the Babirusa - "If a male babirusa does not grind his tusks (achievable through regular activity), they can eventually keep growing and, rarely, penetrate the individual's skull."[0] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babirusa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babirusa
- i80and 2y agoUnfun pet rat fact: if their teeth start growing at weird angles for whatever reason, this mechanism stops working and you have to get the teeth trimmed every couple weeks.
- Clamchop 2y agoTo be fair, the biological mechanism for motivating behaviors is usually by making it rewarding. They both have to and like to!