Extruded Pellets to help combat malo

[rem]

I found that one of my chins has the onset of malocclusion, likely from the year and a half spent at the pet store being fed on low quality feed and no hay, no chew toys, etc.

I have been told that Beaphar Care+ is really good to reverse the malocclusion, but I have two problems:

1. I have two chins, will it be okay to give this as regular food for both chins? What about a 50/50 mix? I currently feed them Oxbow and 3rd cut Timothy Hay (from KMS Hayloft).

2. It is extremely expensive to ship to the U.S. (around 15$ for a 1.5Kg bag, about 3.4 pounds, plus shipping of 60$) Even at a 50/50 mix, they will go through this in about 6 weeks. Is there an alternative used here in the states that would be just as good for them?

Is there anything else I can do to help reverse the effects of malocclusion? I have tons of wood for them to chew on (and they do... frequently), as well as natural pumice and blue cloud blocks, all of which they love.

I was told that a possible natural calcium mix might help, or even added calcium like a tums once a week, but I personally have kidney stones, and I know how quickly they can develop and adding calcium makes me a bit afraid.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[tunes]

I found that one of my chins has the onset of malocclusion, likely from the year and a half spent at the pet store being fed on low quality feed and no hay, no chew toys, etc.

I doubt it. Low quality feed, eh, maybe, but lack of hay and toys has nothing to do with it. My chins don't get toys. They do occasionally get wood, when I can afford it for 300 chins (which isn't often), but other than that they eat their pellets, chew on their houses sometimes, and that's about it.

I have been told that Beaphar Care+ is really good to reverse the malocclusion, but I have two problems:

Nothing reverses malo - despite internet claims of miracle cures. You can keep surface malo in check (sometimes) with regular trimmings, but malo is at it's heart a genetic defect and trimmings and special foods are only going to keep it at bay for so long. At some point for chins with malo, it becomes a quality of life over a quantity of life issue.

1. I have two chins, will it be okay to give this as regular food for both chins? What about a 50/50 mix? I currently feed them Oxbow and 3rd cut Timothy Hay (from KMS Hayloft).

There are some people that feed it regularly because they have dental chins and this is something their chins can eat. It would get VERY spendy to feed it as the only food for 2 chins, because of the horrible shipping. It's still a crunchy food, it's just not so hard and compact as our pellets here are. So for a dental chin, I would think mixing it would just end up having the harder pellets left behind for both chins and the extra pellets would just be an extra expense. Lots of people give Beaphar as a treat and I'd guess your nonmalo chin would dig into that as well and leave the other pellets behind.

2. It is extremely expensive to ship to the U.S. (around 15$ for a 1.5Kg bag, about 3.4 pounds, plus shipping of 60$) Even at a 50/50 mix, they will go through this in about 6 weeks. Is there an alternative used here in the states that would be just as good for them?

Nope, they are the only folks that have that type of feed. I have contacted them and asked about becoming a wholesaler for them in the past, and they weren't interested.

 

[rem]

Thank you tunes, this is as I expected. To be fair, the diagnosis was not one from a vet, it was from another chin owner who has had experience with chins for quite a long time. The only way to be certain is through an xray, is that correct? (Basically the person felt for bumps on the lower chin as it was explained to me).

As far as a "treat", neither of my boys seem to really like the beaphar, they eat it, but they prefer the Oxbow pellets.

 

[tunes]

Yes, the only way to know for sure is with your chin sedated and with full x-rays done. There are a few ranchers that I would trust to check for malo by feel, but not your average chin owner. I think sometimes they find bumps that aren't there and the ones that are might just be a natural part of the jaw.

Before you do anything or order anything, I would get those x-ray done. Find out what type, if any, of malo that your chin has. If it's root (and if there really were bumps then it would be) no food is going to do anything, nor will trimmings. You can only burr down surface malo. Root related malo will continue to grow and grow until it punche through the lower jaw or up through the nasal cavities and into the eye sockets in the upper jaw. I don't mean that to sound brutal, it's just the reality of what you can expect with a root issue malocclusion in your chin.

 

[rem]

No problem, it's better to know what to expect. Thank you.

 

[Jaina_Organasolo]

Id just like to add in my opinions really.

I live in the UK and feed an exclusive diet of Care +, it is pricey especially feeding 3 on it, even with free post and bulk buy discount.

I have also had 2 confirmed Malo chins and one suspected (he goes for x-ray tomorrow). one was fed Care + from around 1 year old and the other confirmed chin (plus the unconfirmed) have been on it all their lives (they will be 3 in March if they make it).

All of them are apparently due to root issues and have had the best hay and toys. Its not a magic bullet and certainly will only help with surface Malo and tooth issues.

It is however popular with the fluffs and a great option for UK based people.

 

[Brittany]

To be fair, the diagnosis was not one from a vet, it was from another chin owner who has had experience with chins for quite a long time. The only way to be certain is through an xray, is that correct? (Basically the person felt for bumps on the lower chin as it was explained to me).

Richard,

Has your chin been displaying any other symptoms? Excessive grinding of teeth, drooling, not eating, losing weight, smaller poop etc... If the only 'diagnosis' is bumps on the jaw, and it didn't come from a vet, I would be very skeptical of this diagnosis. As a pet owner with no medical training I feel "bumps" on the jaws of my healthy chins. The aren't completely smooth surfaces. I don't think I could tell the difference between a healthy jaw and malo bumps unless a vet pointed out the difference. If your chin does have malo he's going to need vet care.

I just wanted to add my own two cents about Beaphar. I have one chin who is on it. We go through a bag every 2 1/2 - 3 months. If you're worried about the cost of importing it you could always separate your chins. Since it does not cure/reverse malo I would only switch your chin if you can't get him to eat anything else.

 

[Vyxxin]

As mentioned by everyone, if it's a root issue there is no help. If it's not, regular filings will keep it in check to some degree...but malo is and always will be a quality of life issue at some point.

That kept in mind, since you're in the states...not sure why you wanted to try Beaphar...but there IS a good extruded pellet in the US. I fed it for years, and loved it. Animals enjoyed it, was relatively inexpensive and the ingredient list was decent IMO...the ONLY reason we switched from it was availability.

The name of the feed is Show Hutch Delux and it's marketed by Blue Seal mills. It used to be available at TSC but the local ones have quit carrying Blue Seal in favor of MannaPro (hence our current use of Pro). However, I know for a fact that any feed store that carries Blue Seal can order you this. Mine will, and I think it's like $17/50lbs...which isn't bad and I spend that much getting MannaPro after gas...but my feed store was somewhat unreliable on ordering so it was just easier to switch. But if extruded is what you're looking for have a look see at it...it was and is a very decent extruded feed:

http://www.blueseal.com/smallanimal/feeds.php