Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[abyssa]

Hey all, My chin is 4 years old now. He has decided not to continue chewing on bark or the lava rocks to keep his teeth from growing to long. I have been taking him every few months to the vet to get the teeth cut down. Has anyone else had this experience?
Can I reteach him to knaw. I don't want to keep exposing him to sedation if I don't need to and I don't want to get his teeth removed. Which is the vets reccomendation.

[Jenova]

Chong never used to chew until he moved in with my female, Cheech. She doesn't stop chewing (she even dream chews in her sleep) and he learned from her. It's not the most practical thing, so I would suggest getting one of his chew toys and rubbing a raisin all over it. Other than that, perhaps someone else will have some better ideas.

[BrightEyed]

I have heard once you start having a chins teeth filed or trimmed you have to continue to take them. He may not be chewing b/c it hurts him- but a vet should be able to look into that further. Try giving him something new to chew on and see if he shows interest. Any safe wood, search the internet for people who sell cute things that chins chew. I myself get Popsicle sticks, boil them, bake them and my chins LOVE it. I would say try something new first.. the vet may have to look further for an underlying problem if that doesn't help.

[chinclub]

Which teeth is your vet cutting?  It still amazes me at the lack of education most vets have on chinchillas.  If your chinchilla is needing his teeth cut he has malocclusion.  There are a ton of articles all of the web if you are not familiar with this illness. It is a genetic disorder that  a chinchilla can be born with.  If the chinchilla has it his molars will begin over growing.  It can happen any time after a year of age but studies have found that 3 to 5 years is the most common age it begins to present.  Because the back teeth are growing incorrectly the front teeth no longer meet at a straight angle.  After a time the front teeth wear incorrectly and usually at that point the chinchilla will no longer to able to chew on toys and soon will not be able to eat correctly. Sometimes the chinchilla will also begin to drool causing his whole front to become wet and he will have a sour odor.

 Many vets tend to think that the front teeth are the problem, but actually it is the molars.  At this point an x-ray is a must!

Sometimes one molar (either upper or lower) will grow too long and the opposite molar will be too short.  The biggest problem with this is that the root of the bad molar will also be too long and can grow up into the sinus cavity causing extreme pain.

If your chinchilla has malocclusion there is no cure.  Treatment will have to be preformed for the life of your chinchilla.  As it is genetic these chinchillas should never be bred.

[Debbie.nl.ca]

Awww poor chinnie,
No this doesn't sound good.
How can you tell he needs another trim?Does he stop eating all together.
I have seem some get very sick while a scattered one hides it until it just too late for trims.
Yes I have had several over the years, and treated one for over 6 years.He was 5 when it started.Dear sweet Cody was a trooper.
Sad to say most didn't /don't do as well and I have had to put them down.
If he's happy between trims he's one of the fighters and may still live a long life.
Keep offering him new chews. Mine like the small animal shew blocks that look like hunks of chalk. It's a calcium supplement too.
Try him with Tums or a liquid calcium, and give him Vit. C to keep his gums healthy.
3-4 trims a years sounds normal to me.

[Lori Ramsey Earle]

Abyssa,
I can't understand why your vet would recommend that your chin's teeth be removed. Try to find another vet with experience in rodent dentistry. Another thing - if a vet is experienced, it's possible for routine filings to be done without anesthesia.
Every case of malocclusion is different, and you'll hear of alot of different opinions on how to deal with this. Keep that in mind as you decide how best to care for your chin. I currently have a couple of chins that have routine dental filing done twice a year(they bounce right back and don't require any handfeeding), and then two others that need filings every other month(these two chins do require supplemental handfeeding).
I think the best thing you can do is read all you can on malocclusion, and meet with a knowledgeable vet to take a look at treatment options. The most in depth look on malocclusion I've seen online is in the Dental Health section on Chincare.com. You owe it to your chin to read this, and you'll come away with a better understanding of your options.
Lori

[abyssa]

Thank you all for all your information. I did go and look up the malocclusion. I really hope this is not the case. I am going to get an xray to see if it's the molars. Until then, I will try to rub the raisin on his chews.

[abyssa]

I forgot to add that my vet is the only one in town who takes care of chin's. He also takes care of all the ones that are sold at the pet stores. I think he did mention the malocclusion the first time I took Gandolf to him, but hasn't mentioned it since.