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Health / Re: Won't eat hard foods - can't find tooth problem
« on: June 19, 2019, 11:48:55 AM »
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Health / Re: Won't eat hard foods - can't find tooth problem
« on: June 18, 2019, 07:29:39 PM »
Sadly Einstein passed away today. The saddest part is that we actually had his tooth problem under control compared to where we started. We got a solid month of hay and pellet consumption recently for the first time since this started. I thought he might make it for the long haul. We were almost back to normal and things were getting better as each month went on whereas I thought it would get worse each month.
After about 3 months since the last trimming, he went in for a proactive trimming (more trimming was always expected to fine tune things) and the vet nicked an artery. He lost a lot of blood and his heart stopped a few times. They could not bring him back. I got to see him after his heart stopped twice and I think he recognized me. He was checked in for observation overnight and died a few hours after I had to leave him.
I can say that with his particular type of malo (the way his specific bite was misaligned), he had a good quality of life the past several months. His teeth were not growing inward and he never even drooled from it. Yes, we had a few trimmings and most of the time the recovery was not very prolonged with 1 exception.
His death was an unfortunate accident or mistake based on how you look at it.
I appreciate everyone's support here over the past few months.
After about 3 months since the last trimming, he went in for a proactive trimming (more trimming was always expected to fine tune things) and the vet nicked an artery. He lost a lot of blood and his heart stopped a few times. They could not bring him back. I got to see him after his heart stopped twice and I think he recognized me. He was checked in for observation overnight and died a few hours after I had to leave him.
I can say that with his particular type of malo (the way his specific bite was misaligned), he had a good quality of life the past several months. His teeth were not growing inward and he never even drooled from it. Yes, we had a few trimmings and most of the time the recovery was not very prolonged with 1 exception.
His death was an unfortunate accident or mistake based on how you look at it.
I appreciate everyone's support here over the past few months.
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Health / Re: Won't eat hard foods - can't find tooth problem
« on: March 14, 2019, 07:51:14 PM »
We went in for another trimming and it set us back a few weeks in terms of eating hay, pellets, or getting off the pain medicines.
We're almost off all the pain medicine right now and he is eating some hay and a few pellets the last week. I need to try to wean him off the critical care again. I'm still feeding him breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He's eating some on his own overnight right now but not every night.
So, it's basically the same old story which, on the bright side, is good because he's alive and seems to be acting normal. I am less optimistic that he will ever go back to his normal eating habits but you never know.
We're almost off all the pain medicine right now and he is eating some hay and a few pellets the last week. I need to try to wean him off the critical care again. I'm still feeding him breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He's eating some on his own overnight right now but not every night.
So, it's basically the same old story which, on the bright side, is good because he's alive and seems to be acting normal. I am less optimistic that he will ever go back to his normal eating habits but you never know.
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Health / Re: Won't eat hard foods - can't find tooth problem
« on: January 29, 2019, 12:42:21 PM »
The good news is that he's eating some hay throughout each week. It's not quite every day and not a lot of volume. He won't eat any pellets except for one kind that upset his stomach. I think I am having trouble weaning him off the wet foods at this point. He's also acting perfectly normal. He's extremely energetic and you would not think he's 13-14 years old.
It's been two and a half months since the trimming and we are going back in this week. They wanted him back after 2 months. I'm not sure if he needs more trimming but since he hasn't been eating enough hay for such a long time, I assume he might. My theory is I can be more aggressive about taking away the wet food once I know there's no medical reason he can't chew comfortably. I sure hate to put him under anesthesia because of the risk but I think this is the best way to go. His weight is up and he seems healthy so I hope he will pull through the procedure.
It's been two and a half months since the trimming and we are going back in this week. They wanted him back after 2 months. I'm not sure if he needs more trimming but since he hasn't been eating enough hay for such a long time, I assume he might. My theory is I can be more aggressive about taking away the wet food once I know there's no medical reason he can't chew comfortably. I sure hate to put him under anesthesia because of the risk but I think this is the best way to go. His weight is up and he seems healthy so I hope he will pull through the procedure.
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Health / Re: Won't eat hard foods - can't find tooth problem
« on: December 21, 2018, 06:03:10 PM »
Thanks. Hope yours are healthy and well over the holiday too.
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Health / Re: Won't eat hard foods - can't find tooth problem
« on: December 13, 2018, 08:08:53 PM »
Still up and down. He's been almost all good but it looks like he has pain shortly after eating small amounts of hay. On the bright side, he tried to eat that hay on his own during the day when he has access to critical care. We might have to go back for a 2nd trimming. It's just unfortunate since he went ~13 years without any dental trimmings.
Appreciate you asking.
Is your new boy bonding well?
Appreciate you asking.
Is your new boy bonding well?
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Health / Re: Won't eat hard foods - can't find tooth problem
« on: December 04, 2018, 09:56:38 PM »
So, he will take a piece of shredded wheat now without fail. He'll also eat a hard chinchilla safe treat (it's like a cookie texture). I am thinking he's preferring the soft/wet food mixes vs. pellets/hay. It's really hard to do (personally) but I guess I will need to further reduce the EFL/CC. He's not losing weight but he's only getting ~2-3 teaspoons of EFL a day. It mixes up into a small 2" dish that I am filling 3 times a day of which I give more in the AM hours.
I also need to start reducing the gabapentin, as I've read it can be addictive as well as the meloxicam because long term it can cause kidney damage. I honestly don't know if he even needs it anymore. I'm going to have to reduce and see what happens.
I also need to start reducing the gabapentin, as I've read it can be addictive as well as the meloxicam because long term it can cause kidney damage. I honestly don't know if he even needs it anymore. I'm going to have to reduce and see what happens.
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Health / Re: Won't eat hard foods - can't find tooth problem
« on: December 02, 2018, 07:37:06 PM »
Glad he is eating and being social.
I don't really know how Einstein is doing honestly. He's still behaving normally (playing, activity level) but there's still some tooth grinding/noise.
I have hay that has some herbs mixed in from the woman that makes EFL. I think he is eating the herbs but possibly not the hay. I have other fresh hay options for him that he's not touching. On the bright side, he is eating small slivers of shredded wheat albeit very slowly and carefully. There's no more picking at pellets unfortunately. I am trying to slowly reduce the amount of wet food I am making for him. It's just going slowly.
I am able to recognize some mouth gestures he does when just sitting on me. He's making an O shape with his mouth and moving it. It's like what you might do if you have too much peanut butter in your mouth. I am wondering if this aligns with the theory that there's not enough room in his mouth for his tongue to move freely enough. So, if anyone else reads this in the future, check into the angle of the teeth and distance between the lower teeth for free tongue movement.
I don't really know how Einstein is doing honestly. He's still behaving normally (playing, activity level) but there's still some tooth grinding/noise.
I have hay that has some herbs mixed in from the woman that makes EFL. I think he is eating the herbs but possibly not the hay. I have other fresh hay options for him that he's not touching. On the bright side, he is eating small slivers of shredded wheat albeit very slowly and carefully. There's no more picking at pellets unfortunately. I am trying to slowly reduce the amount of wet food I am making for him. It's just going slowly.
I am able to recognize some mouth gestures he does when just sitting on me. He's making an O shape with his mouth and moving it. It's like what you might do if you have too much peanut butter in your mouth. I am wondering if this aligns with the theory that there's not enough room in his mouth for his tongue to move freely enough. So, if anyone else reads this in the future, check into the angle of the teeth and distance between the lower teeth for free tongue movement.
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Health / Re: Won't eat hard foods - can't find tooth problem
« on: November 28, 2018, 07:40:10 PM »
I'm glad the mosaic boy is bonding well. That's good to hear.
I got some Sherwood Chinchilla pellets on Saturday and he immediately took a few bites. He hasn't tried any Oxbow since this all started.
A few days later I reduced his amount of EFL/CC and overnight I believe he started eating hay for the first time. However, the next morning I believe he had mouth pain or discomfort with visible symptoms for the first time in a few weeks while eating his EFL. So, I increased the EFL/CC and will try reducing again tomorrow night so I can monitor him the next day.
Otherwise, behavior has been perfectly normal and happy. The signs of eating pain only lasted for a few minutes in total and was over.
I got some Sherwood Chinchilla pellets on Saturday and he immediately took a few bites. He hasn't tried any Oxbow since this all started.
A few days later I reduced his amount of EFL/CC and overnight I believe he started eating hay for the first time. However, the next morning I believe he had mouth pain or discomfort with visible symptoms for the first time in a few weeks while eating his EFL. So, I increased the EFL/CC and will try reducing again tomorrow night so I can monitor him the next day.
Otherwise, behavior has been perfectly normal and happy. The signs of eating pain only lasted for a few minutes in total and was over.
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Health / Re: Won't eat hard foods - can't find tooth problem
« on: November 21, 2018, 05:02:02 PM »
He is hungry and eating CC/EFL on his own. Normal behavior. I am thinking he does not want to eat pellets and hay anymore. I just started mixing pellet dust with the EFL plus water. I also sprinkled dry EFL on his hard pellets.
The only sign of mouth pain, if I am reading it correctly, is he kind of recoils when he starts eating his critical care mix but only for a second or two.
Otherwise, he ate 1 oxbow pellet (just one) after I handed it to him. Would not go for a 2nd.
He has also eaten a few slivers of shredded wheat, which he would not do previously.
We're still on both pain meds. I may try to back these off and see if shows signs of pain.
Not sure what to do from here...
The only sign of mouth pain, if I am reading it correctly, is he kind of recoils when he starts eating his critical care mix but only for a second or two.
Otherwise, he ate 1 oxbow pellet (just one) after I handed it to him. Would not go for a 2nd.
He has also eaten a few slivers of shredded wheat, which he would not do previously.
We're still on both pain meds. I may try to back these off and see if shows signs of pain.
Not sure what to do from here...
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Health / Re: Won't eat hard foods - can't find tooth problem
« on: November 17, 2018, 09:42:59 AM »
He seemed more energetic last night than he has been in awhile. His appetite for CC was good as well. He was also putting his nose in the hay basket sniffing around for the first time in awhile.
This morning he hasn't wanted to eat much so I will force feed him shortly. Hopefully he recovers from the trimming shortly. The vet said the type of trimming she did should not be very painful.
This morning he hasn't wanted to eat much so I will force feed him shortly. Hopefully he recovers from the trimming shortly. The vet said the type of trimming she did should not be very painful.
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Health / Re: Won't eat hard foods - can't find tooth problem
« on: November 16, 2018, 07:59:17 AM »
I hope your cage mate is doing okay today.
My vet visit had mixed results. Nothing in his mouth appeared so serious that he would stop eating completely, in her opinion. She said it's not often that a 13-14 year old chinchilla just gets a major dental disease all of the sudden. No issues with the roots of the teeth growing the wrong way.
However, the 5 weeks of not grinding his teeth down might have caused his incisors to overgrow a bit. It's possible the original irritation healed up but then we transitioned into the side effect of the critical care only diet. There was also another point on a molar.
She did find some moderate misalignment of teeth but we knew that before. What's new info to me is she said the distance between the lower sets of teeth and the tongue was not wide enough. Trimming was required. That could be the problem. It wasn't advanced where the tongue was lacerated, etc.
So, we just need to get through the recovery and see what happens.
My vet visit had mixed results. Nothing in his mouth appeared so serious that he would stop eating completely, in her opinion. She said it's not often that a 13-14 year old chinchilla just gets a major dental disease all of the sudden. No issues with the roots of the teeth growing the wrong way.
However, the 5 weeks of not grinding his teeth down might have caused his incisors to overgrow a bit. It's possible the original irritation healed up but then we transitioned into the side effect of the critical care only diet. There was also another point on a molar.
She did find some moderate misalignment of teeth but we knew that before. What's new info to me is she said the distance between the lower sets of teeth and the tongue was not wide enough. Trimming was required. That could be the problem. It wasn't advanced where the tongue was lacerated, etc.
So, we just need to get through the recovery and see what happens.
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Health / Re: Won't eat hard foods - can't find tooth problem
« on: November 15, 2018, 05:25:40 AM »
Oh no, I am so sorry for your loss. You are both in our prayers here.
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Health / Re: Won't eat hard foods - can't find tooth problem
« on: November 14, 2018, 08:18:38 AM »I'm taking one of my boys to the vet's tomorrow for suspected teeth issues.
Prayers to you and yours.
My 24 hours of problems seem to have subsided except for a slightly weaker appetite. Oddly enough, I weighed him several times on different scales and he was remarkably heavier each time during this period. This morning he's back to normal weight and acting more normal. He was actually starting to behave more normal last night.
We'll be addressing the underlying tooth/mouth issue tomorrow at the 3rd vet.
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Health / Re: Won't eat hard foods - can't find tooth problem
« on: November 13, 2018, 03:40:41 PM »
We've got buprenex which I understand has it's own set of a problems. But, worse case if he's miserable tonight I can give him some. I plan on making sure his GI system is working well first.