Hey all, my chinchilla Gwen recently got her teeth filed. About two days after the filing, I took her to the vet again because she still wasn't eating the critical care and she was still drooling. The vet checked her out and said that she had an ulcer on her tongue so she probably wasn't eating because it was painful for her. So to combat this he told me to force feed her critical care and keep up with the pain meds...but that was three days ago from the second visit to the vet- five days from her original tooth filing visit. I just don't know what is causing the drooling? She's also pawing at her mouth, is she still in pain despite the pain meds, or is it the pain meds that's making her drool? She is taking Meloxidyl (meloxicam) oral susp 1.5. She takes one 0.07 mL syringe once a day. To this date she has had 6 doses. Does anyone have any insight for me on this?!?
Still drooling after the teeth filing
- Thread starter adrienneh
- Start date
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ticklechin
Well-known member
What is the degree of malo? Is this the first filing? If the vet was agressive with the filing or there was alot to be filed-meaning trimming the sides and the chewing surfaces the teeth will be sensitive for awhile. Its not uncommon for it to take a couple of weeks for the chin to think about eating if it was a aggressive procedure. You will need to feed the chin at least 45ml of critical care a day until the chin decides to start eating, break it up into 4-6 feedings a day if possible.
Dreamlite
Well-known member
Did your get xrays done to check the roots?
Yep X Rays were done, the vet said no problems with the roots but her teeth are misaligned causing her bite to wear the teeth down unevenly. She didn't say she was really aggressive with the filing but she could have been. I'll stick to the main meds and critical care, thank you for your help!
Dreamlite
Well-known member
Misalignment means this poor chin will need dentals on a regular basis for the rest of her life. Are you willing to do that? You will have to syringe feed her and continue with the pain meds until she starts eating on her own. Malo isnt something that can be cured. This will be a life long maintenance thing and a major cost to you. Can you get a copy of the xrays? We can help double check that your vet didnt miss anything
Yes, I can probably get the x-Rays, my vet is an hour away...each way, so it might be a while. However, I don't think it will be a huge problem, I've had her for over five years and she's never had a problem, so I think it's a real slow moving thing. If I have to take her in once every five years to have this done I'll be ok with that. I think she still will have a good quality of life. I'll get the x-Rays and we can take it from there and you guys can give me your opinion.
ticklechin
Well-known member
The chin may just be a lazy chewer, one of those chins who do not use the full range of motion to chew food and the teeth get worn down unevenly, I had one, his first filing was at 4 years old, he needed to be filed anywhere from once every 6-9 months, to sometimes a couple of years between filings, he lived until he was 17, his last filing went wrong and he passed shortly after. Not all filing is done because of malo.
