Chinchillas > Health

Won't eat hard foods - can't find tooth problem

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chinca1:
Hello,

I have a 14 year old chinchilla with no history of dental problems in the past.  14 days ago it appeared he poked his mouth with a piece of hay and immediately began to paw at it.  He spent 5-10 minutes in obvious pain.  His behavior and appetite was normal before this.  He has not eaten hard foods since then (pellets, hay, treats, or use of the water bottle).

I’ve seen two vets.  One of which is very reputable with exotic animals and the other is experienced as well.  Both sedated him and could not find anything wrong with his teeth or gums.  Both said the x-rays are fine (or some minor irrelevant misalignment).  One vet did file down some sharp points on the molars but there was no sign of laceration on the cheek/tongue.  She did not think these points are the underlying issue.

At first his appetite was strong but now he’s fighting me on the critical care.

Has anyone else seen this type of problem?  A mouth issue but no evidence of the problem?

I appreciate any advice…

Thanks

Flint:
The minor irregular misalignment is the worrying thing. Spurs on teeth are in most cases secondary to something else going on with teeth. Did either vet mention root extension/elongation? I can't view the x-rays for some reason. Can you repost them?

chinca1:
On the misalignment, the vet said chinchilla teeth are never perfect and the x-rays taken from the other vet didn't have his head positioned just right.  At least that was the inference.

She said the roots look good.  I double checked on that concern. 

Here are the x-rays:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/xoij6mkpm38p2jh/1405979-1-X-00000842-3.JPG?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/3l02z5td7mlbje1/1405979-1-X-00000843-3.JPG?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/fc5ozzba10yok37/1405979-1-X-00000844-3.JPG?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/o9e1f1hv7r61fsc/1405979-1-X-00000845-3.JPG?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/mj1b9dux5llh7j0/1405979-1-X-00000846-3.JPG?dl=0

Thanks for taking a look.

Flint:
I still feel that the issue is teeth related. Have you had bloodwork carried out to rule out any infection or organ problems? Is your chinchilla still eating hay in normal quantity?

chinca1:
I agree completely on the tooth/mouth issue.  His other behavior is still indicating that for the most part.  (He is chewing on a few hard items but sometimes I feel like he's doing that when he's in pain). 

Plus, I am 90% sure the problem started instantly when he was grabbing at the new hay I was putting in his cage.  There's a small chance he may have slowed down some of his eating for a few days leading up to this but the "hay incident" was followed instantly by him refusing all food/water bottles.  I am just second guessing everything at this point.

I should have the chem panel, CBC, urinalysis, and fecal gram stain results today.  Although, they typically would have called already if something came up in those tests. 

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