Puffer teeth are constantly growing. The teeth do have a beak-like appearance and that is why sometimes it is referred to as their beak. Just like rabbits need something hard to wear down their teeth, so do puffers.
I've not had to do this yet, but my F8's teeth were somewhat neglected and I may have to in the next few weeks. Over the summer I hadn't been able to get many foods that were hard, meaty, and crunchy, so his teeth got a bit long. I did get a shipment of frozen krill, clams, squid, etc and my snails and shrimp are finally breeding to the point that I won't have to worry about wiping out the population. So I've been giving a better diet the last few weeks and it seems I might not have to trim his teeth manually. I'm going to give it a couple more weeks, and after that I'll have to try trimming.
The general rule is try diet first and only trim manually if absolutely necessary. Mainly because of the unpleasantness for the owner but also because of the risk with sedation.
Btw, the article hasn't been updated yet (I think), but Finquel is also an option for sedating the puffer. You still have to be careful about giving the right dose because if you overdose, the side effect is death. But, lots of people do it, and as long as you are careful, everything should be okay.
I've not had to do this yet, but my F8's teeth were somewhat neglected and I may have to in the next few weeks. Over the summer I hadn't been able to get many foods that were hard, meaty, and crunchy, so his teeth got a bit long. I did get a shipment of frozen krill, clams, squid, etc and my snails and shrimp are finally breeding to the point that I won't have to worry about wiping out the population. So I've been giving a better diet the last few weeks and it seems I might not have to trim his teeth manually. I'm going to give it a couple more weeks, and after that I'll have to try trimming.
The general rule is try diet first and only trim manually if absolutely necessary. Mainly because of the unpleasantness for the owner but also because of the risk with sedation.
Btw, the article hasn't been updated yet (I think), but Finquel is also an option for sedating the puffer. You still have to be careful about giving the right dose because if you overdose, the side effect is death. But, lots of people do it, and as long as you are careful, everything should be okay.
