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[dozla]

Hi, my chinchilla has a broken bottom incisor tooth.. its hard to explain but it has pretty much cracked from top to bottom, he has been to the vets and he said it was best to leave it and let it grow out and has been prescribed metacam for the next few months to help manage the pain but his weight is still dropping and I am at a loss as what to do.. has any one every heard of a chinchilla having a filling? as obviously the pulp of the tooth is exposed so will be very sore he is still picking at his food but crumbling it alot.
Have started giving him critical care to help him but he hates it and forcing a syringe into his mouth when he has a broken tooth is obviously not the best way to go. On his last vet visit the vet said he isn't too concerned about his weight at the moment but I don't want him to lose any more.
He grinds his teeth still and I can see a small red sore.
Are there any better pain meds available or shall I get the tooth removed?
please anyone who has had experience with this any help would be greatfully recieved

[GrayRodent]

I'm certainly no expert on this but if it's causing a sore something must be done to correct this. I am concerned mostly about the sore. You should ask your veterinarian about this as it could result in an infection if it is not healing. If the problem is caused by the damaged tooth it may need to be removed which can result in a different set of complications and isn't necessarily the best solution either. You'll need to manage this based on the least traumatic option. A filling is totally out of the question. The tooth will grow continually and must be ground down by the tooth above it.

Metacam is probably the best you're going to get without some serious side effects long term. And even at that watch for side effects and learn how identify them. Consult your veterinarian if you think your pet's pain is affecting its health.

It is true you don't want to him to continue him to lose weight, but unfortunately, the only way you'll prevent that is syringe feeding until your pet can eat properly. Do not feed treats or anything besides normal hay, pellets, and critical care until your pet is health again. You can try to see if he'll eat critical care off a spoon but chances are that's not going to happen. Certainly monitor your pet's weight closely and provide its nutrition as prescribed to maintain its weight. If you carefully plan ahead and systematize your syringe feeding routine you can minimize the stress on your pet and the time it takes to accomplish your feedings. Keep in mind that rodents have a sizable gap between their incisors and molars. See if you can take advantage of that as much as possible without choking him. Make sure he swallows the food down on his own.

I'm sorry you are going through this. It has to be a major pain to deal with!

[dozla]

I don't know what has changed from last night to this morning but I thought I would try putting a tiny bit of metacam in the syringe just on the tip so he thought he was getting that but the syringe was actually filled with critical care and he has just ate about a teaspoons worth watered down! he seems to prefer it feed through the bars of his cage at his pace I had a look at his mouth again and I think I was actually looking at a lower pinker bit of gum as opposed to a sore.. der.. I panicked.
Obviously I will not hesitate taking him back to the vets if I thought I could do something different/better than I am.
I am going to carry on topping him up with extra syringe feeds and see if I can start bulking him out abit but if any more signs of his weight going down with me helping him then back he will go.
Now he appears to be pigging the CC down, can I feed too much?? he is still eating his hay and pellets so I don't want him to stop that due to that keeping his teeth in check.

[GrayRodent]

Yes you can feed too much. If you overload his stomach it can cause him to aspirate into his lungs and this is deadly. This can also cause chemical imbalances in the intestines that can also be fatal. Follow the recommended dosing instructions from your vet. If you have questions on how to properly adjust the dosing consult your vet. Considering he is still eating his hay and pellets on top of that and you are not forcing it down I think you're safe. Chinchillas typically are self-regulating but still be careful. Feeding liquids is not a normal thing to do.

[BLS Chins]

If he is eating hay and his pellets, i would stop the syringe feeding. Are you weighing him to make sure he isnt loosing weight? CC is great but its best to only use it as needed. Chins love it but if they dont eat their regular food it can cause the molars to over grow, so it is for temporary use only. Make sure to watch his top incisors, now that the bottom one is broken off the top one may over grow till the bottom one grows back out to normal length and may need to be trimmed. Is there any gum disease or any sign of why the tooth broke off?

[GrayRodent]

How much does the chinchilla weigh now compared to when you took it to the vet this week? This is going to tell you how much you need to supplement its diet if anything.

[dozla]

his tooth isn't snapped off so its shorter it has snapped vertically (in half but downwards) does that make sense? he is hardly touching his pellets and hay.. I tried only giving him cc in the morning and leaving him be to eat his food through the night and he dropped 20 grams.. he is definitely not eating enough to maintain weight and grind down the tooth.. so I have a dilemma.. do I stop the CC totally and see if I can get him to eat by himself through hunger.. or get the tooth clipped down to the gum? as the break is down to the gum.
I really don't know what to do. I can go and see the exotics vet again but I like to get peoples opinions before hand if they have ever experienced this before.

The break is due to him jumping out of my hands and hitting the floor which makes me feel even worse first time I have ever dropped him in 9 years

[GrayRodent]

I'm sorry to hear that you've accidentally injured your pet. I know from experience that accidents do happen even with the best of us and chinchillas can be very unpredictable. The good news is you have a mechanical explanation for the problem so it should be curable as long as you keep your pet at a healthy weight. I have not experienced this particular problem but my understanding of chinchilla physiology is that weight is extremely important and you're going to have to set safe limits if you're going to try anything. The bowels must stay flowing and fecal output must be monitored carefully as well because there is a point of no return on both of these metrics. I do recommend consulting with an expert veterinarian who knows chinchillas. This is an unusual problem. More commonly teeth are either knocked out completely or dislocated resulting in malocclusion over time.

[dozla]

He is under exotic veterinarian care at the moment but the vet just wants to let his tooth grow out and said that will take a few months.. it has been over a month now and it doesn't show any signs of improvement yet.I don't believe he is eating enough pellets and hay to grind it down so now I can either remove it or clip it right down?? both which is going to be painful to him.. although it is painful already as its broken. He has 0.25ml of metacam everyday to help manage it but now I am at a loss at what to do?? waiting for a call back from the vet.

[GrayRodent]

How is his weight compared to his last known healthy weight? That is going to give you the information you need for managing his diet.

[dozla]

his weight goes up and down compared to how much I feed him but he is about 50 grams lighter than I want him to be.

[GrayRodent]

50g for a normally 500g male isn't terrible. That is a 10% difference and not out of line for what you're going through. Ask your vet what the acceptable limits are for your particular pet.

[BLS Chins]

you can get the teeth trimmed back to a certain length without it hurting him. It depends on how far down the tooth is broke. Can you get a pic of it?

[dozla]

its broken to the gum so would need it taken down to the gum I guess.. I will try and take a picture but he is very wriggly when I open his mouth. Think I am going to need his top tooth trimmed anyway due to only being half a tooth at bottom to rub against so a small nobble in forming .
I am going to try and stop feeding him the CC for one day and see if I can get him interested in his normal food again

[dozla]

it won't let me send the picture as file too big