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[Stefan]

Hello,

So my chinchilla Egon had the following problems:

• Stopped eating his pellets
• Wheezy noise when breathing
• Pawing at mouth
• Coughs when eating
• Pain when grooming his whiskers
• Pawing beneath the eye with his hind feet

We had x-rays and the vets suspected malocclusion. He was put under and they filed his teeth. They also found a tooth which was totally lose and they took it out. The root remains, though.

He got home and we immediatly saw improvement. He no longer showed any of the problems above. He's slowly gaining back his ability to eat more rough food.

That was 2.5 weeks ago. I got home yesterday after being away for 8 hours and suddenly he's showing ALL of the problems (except the breathing) again. I tried to give him liquid critical care, and he tries to drink it and barely does but sometimes he whines and spits it out while pawing.

Could it be wound in his mouth, or an abcess? I don't think it's his roots because drinking shouldn't affect that?

[GrayRodent]

I really hate to say this but typically maloccusion is a chronic disease and it can take regular filings to manage it properly.
Also filing the teeth can be tricky and sometimes you'll get a case when the vet can't access all of the resulting spurs easily and will miss one.
Depending on the type of malocclusion, if it's an elongated root that is not curable. If the roots have extended into the sinuses your best option is euthanasia.
When the effect of the antibiotics has gone the infection comes back and the process starts over in cases where the treatment is ineffective.
Severe malocclusion is often a result of improper breeding techniques and sometimes can be from improper diet or care. Recovery after filing of the teeth is always temporary and sometimes the filing is altogether ineffective.

I'm sorry I don't really have any good news for you and I'm very sad to hear this. This is not particularly uncommon.

[Stefan]

Hi Chris!

Thanks for the kind words. He's got elongated roots, for sure. I guess that's why his breathing is making noise. But all that stopped after the dental, further boosting my hope..

Have you heard about some chinchillas having their roots recess when given a diet rich of Calcium? I know it's a long shot.. but that's what I wanted to try. He's still very bouncy and has appetite. I won't hesitate to put him down if he's miserable.

He's had no antibiotics though, he's on metacam and nothing else.

(PS. As a fellow programmer I love your Chinchilla-inventions!)

[BLS Chins]

The group that claimed calcium fixed the roots was proven false. There is no cure or treatment for roots. Honestly the kindest thing you can do is to euthanize. The roots will confine to grow down through the jaw till it eventually breaks, up into their brain (causing seizures before death) or up into the eye socket took it ruptures. Pulling teeth in chinchillas really isn't medically appropriate. Their teeth sit in a groove, so if one is removed then the others displace causing the teeth to misalign. I'm sorry but malo never has a happy ending

[Stefan]

The group that claimed calcium fixed the roots was proven false.

Do you have a source for that? Such a statement is unfortunatly worth nothing without a source. There were several groups, too. One from Japan if I remember correctly.

Honestly the kindest thing you can do is to euthanize. The roots will confine to grow down through the jaw till it eventually breaks, up into their brain (causing seizures before death) or up into the eye socket took it ruptures. Pulling teeth in chinchillas really isn't medically appropriate. Their teeth sit in a groove, so if one is removed then the others displace causing the teeth to misalign. I'm sorry but malo never has a happy ending

I know everyone's singing euthenization in chorus as soon as there's a problem. I know you can buy a new chinchilla like you can buy a new car. I know people claim there are no "happy endings" even though there are documented ones. But that's not what I asked.

[GrayRodent]

It's your chinchilla and your effort. I respect that so I'm not going to tell you how to take care of it but I've expressed my opinion.

There's a lot going on there and having the tooth removed has made a complex situation more complex. I think you need to consult with your veterinarian and have a good physical exam and maybe another x-ray. Anesthesia is required for an effective oral exam and they will need to explore closely. Tooth removal is traumatic and there can be complications. The other teeth can be migrating into the open space causing new issues as well and causing the situation to evolve in unexpected ways. An x-ray can give you a good baseline to monitor the roots as well.

Your most critical problem at this time is diet. A wasting chinchilla is vulnerable to infections and organ failure. It is also more likely to die from anesthesia so the problem needs to be resolved before you get to a point of no return. The typical recovery diet dosage may not be appropriate for an animal that cannot eat on its own. This is something you should consult your vet on with as well. You're going to need to monitor your pet's weight closely and manage its food intake.

[BLS Chins]

What sources would you like? There are little to no actual studies done on chinchillas but there are plenty on other rodents. There are no documented cases of root elongation that ends well for any animal. I know many people who have done every treatment under the sun including the calcium and sunlight bulbs only to find the same results (no cure or help). Speaking from personal experience (work in the veterinary field) I see people trim, file, pull teeth and try alternative treatments and it changes nothing. So Im not suggesting euthinasia lightly. I know from many many many malo cases that the animals suffer. It really is the kindest thing to do even though it sounds heartless it is a very loving act.
The 'malo' chins with happy endings are often misdiagnosis. A true malo case is irreversible and at best manageable for a limited time. Malo comes in a few froms. Misalignment where the teeth dont line up properly. This leads to spurs which can cause ulcers in the mouth and is very painful. The chin will need dentals (to file down the teeth) every 2-4 months for its whole life, plus meds which is costly and hard on the chin. Another form is root over growth. There is no treatment or management for this form. I personally spoke with Cornell zoologists who told me that there is NO option besides euthanasia for this type of malo. There are also lazy chewers who only chew on one side causing the other side to not wear at all. This also requires routine dentals to treat.
Look up the biology on chinchillas. Their teeth sit in a grove on the jaw, not in sockets like other animals. This means if one is removed the others will migrate since there is nothing to hold them in place causing misalignment in the teeth. It just makes a bad thing worse. The opposing tooth should have also been extracted (now that the tooth has nothing to wear on, it will overgrow in a matter of weeks).
Why was the tooth loose? Were the gums infected? Was there damage to the tooth? At this point you need to be realistic. You are buying time and really need to consider the quality of life. I know you keep hearing euth but would you like to live with migraines and constant discomfort? Meds are only going to dull that, not eliminate it. Speaking from personal experience, when i had a cavity in my wisdom tooth, pain killers didnt do a dang thing. So I cant imagine what a tooth growing into your brain must feel like. You can always repeat the xrays and stage the growth if you feel the need but i truly think that keeping a chin alive based on long shot hopes is selfish