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[kirby]

Hi everyone. I just wanted to post a note on how Kirby is doing. I bought some of the petromalt Joanne suggested. I think this may have helped something because his drooling has improved. Now he is just a little damp at the corner of of his mouth. He also has not been pulling out his fur any more. His skin where the fur is missing is a little dry though. Any suggestions? He still eats only pellets moistened with water. He'll eat a little bit of dry ones. I don't know if I'll put him through having teeth pulled again. He really stressed out from this last time. We are just really happy that he seems content.

[Debbie.nl.ca]

Thanks for the up date, bless his little heart.

[kirby]

Of course since I posted that Kirby was doing OK I noticed one of his front teeth is cracked and there is hair in between the two front teeth. Poor guy. He just can't seem to get a break from these teeth problems. I have acceptted the fact though that chinchillas with malocclusion have a shortened life. I have been researching it and have also noticed his teeth are not the proper color. They are pretty white. This is the first chinchilla we've had in 10 years so I guess I have forgotten how yellow they are suppose to be. We are going to keep Kirby comfortable as long as we can. If we put him through surgery again I don't think he will make it.

[Jo Ann]

   Poor Kirby.  As long as he is trying, give him all the support you can.  The teeth should be a yellow to a yellow-orange.  You might want to get a cuttlebone from the bird department of your local pet store and give him pieces of it ... he should be able to chew on it ... it's soft.

 I have one chinchilla that was born with only two teeth ... the bottom front two teeth ... he never developed any of the others.  His two teeth are clipped weekly and he is on food that is ground into almost powder by our Vita Mix blender and a supplement.  He's 5 now and still doing good.  He never got very big, but he's alive and happy.  They can be very resilient and cope much better than you would think.

   Jo Ann

[kirby]

Thanks Joanne for telling me about your chin. It makes me hopeful. Ever since I first posted on the forum I have been giving him cuttlebone. I follow all of the advice you give me. I appreciate it all more than you can ever know. Do you think that the cracked tooth will grow out? Or do you think the vet could clip it? I am very nervous about taking him back to the vet to have teeth work done. He hasn't been pulling out hair for the past couple of weeks and I don't want him to get stressed and start again. Any suggestions on what to do about crusty chinchilla hair? What fur Kirby has left is pretty yucky.

[Jo Ann]

   We are all here to help each other.     We've all been at the point you are now in learning about chinchillas ... and we are all still constantly learning.   

Do you think that the cracked tooth will grow out? Or do you think the vet could clip it?

I've never had one with a cracked tooth, so I'm not to sure about that one.   Let me do some checking around and see if I can find the answer for you.  I know of a man that was/is a dentist (for humans) and became a chinchilla dentist because of his love for chinchillas.  I'll try to get in touch with him.      Can you post a picture of the tooth, or describe better how it is cracked?  If it is a line crack, one that goes up and down, that's one thing ... but if it is cracked, as in a chip of it is gone, that's entirely different.

I am very nervous about taking him back to the vet to have teeth work done. He hasn't been pulling out hair for the past couple of weeks and I don't want him to get stressed and start again.

Stress is best avoided, if possible ... but, if he is in pain, that will stress him also.  You have to be the judge of which would be the least stressful of the two.   

Any suggestions on what to do about crusty chinchilla hair?  What fur Kirby has left is pretty yucky.

Can you post a picture of that, please?   Chinchillas are very clean animals and like to stay that way.  Sometimes they will chew away or pull out a clump of matted hair.  If by crusty, you mean it has gotten moist from the drool, then dried and is sticking together ... Is it sticking together just at the ends of the fur, or is it sticking together all the way to the skin?

    Jo Ann

[Debbie.nl.ca]

The little darling Amazing they are.

I know of one chin that broke off a bottom front tooth very close to the gum line, it did grow back and the chin is fine.