Mei looking a bit "off"

[alli713]

This week, I've really started to notice that one of my girls, Mei looks a bit "off". Not her normal look. She's eating fine, I was switching my girls to a new feed (back to Mazuri) and she's eating that pellets fine from what I can tell, as soon as I put the new pellets in she goes right down to the bowl and starts eating them. I've also seen her nibble on hay.

Here's the thing... Both her eyes appear a bit watery. As in, the rims around them look like they've been moist. No gunk however. And not pink. They don't look like they're infected, as MuShu had an eye infection a couple years ago and I remember what that looked like. And this is both eyes.

Also, just today I noticed that underneath her chin appears like it was moist, and is a bit brown tinged, not white like it used to be. And then her two front paws also appeared like they were moist but had dried (you know, the chunky fur look) also are a bit brown tinged.

I have not noticed her pawing at her mouth from what I've observed. And I never see her with the moist paws, it looks like it's dried on there.

Also her front top incisors are also very very pale yellow, which has me worried. They used to be a nice orange. That I just noticed.

Are there any other possibilities other than teeth issues? She comes from good lines from a good breeder. Would there be an illness that would cause these symptoms?

 

[tunes]

I would get her x-rayed Allison, to be sure it's not malo. Those are all the classic symptoms of it, unfortunately. The paws being dry is not an indicator. I would get an x-ray to be sure.

The teeth not being yellow could be from the food switch or it could be she's not eating as much as she should be, so she's not getting enough calcium from her feed.

 

[alli713]

Yeah... that's what I was afraid of. I'm assuming T's vet is good at x-rays on chins?

Man, when one chin gets sick do they all get something wrong with them? haha. At least MuShu is better now though!

 

[Sandi]

I just saw this Allison, I wanted to let you know that I'll keep my fingers crossed for your Mei. I'm sorry you and your baby are going through this.

 

[tunes]

Yeah, T's vet is exceptionally good with x-rays. I'd definitely go there.

Hopefully it's a piece of hay stuck in her teeth. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

 

[Stackie]

Keep us updated, Alli. I really hope it's something much less serious than the dreaded m word.

 

[alli713]

Thanks, we have an appt. at 4 today, so we'll see what's wrong with her. It's with the same vet I had with MuShu, who I think is not the one T goes to, but she seemed competent enough too.

She has small poops too, so something definitely is up

 

[lauralynne]

Good luck!

 

[Parkerspetchins]

Ugh. I am keeping my fingers crossed that it isn't teeth issues Alli!

 

[starleomach]

any news?

 

[alli713]

Well, Mei was less than pleased at the vet's. Needless to say she sprayed the vet assistant in the face lol! I had warned her though that Mei is a sprayer, so she at least knew it might be coming.

We didn't get x-rays done. The vet got a really good look inside her mouth, Mei was real cooperative with that, and she said all the teeth looked perfect, no spurs or anything growing oddly. She was able to even move her mouth around to see if they lined up correctly and she said they fit perfectly. Her incisors were actually orange, it must have been the lighting downstairs that made them look pale. And she felt her jaw and didn't feel anything there either.

Although when she was feeling her stomach area she said it did feel like there was some gas issues there. So she gave me some medicine to move that along, I don't have the name right in front of me. And I asked if I should give some gas drops as well, which she said wouldn't hurt.

So she felt like since I knew she was eating, and the fact that her teeth looked great on the outside, that we would see if it was just her stomach issues bothering her at this point. And then if it doesn't get better within a week to bring her back.

So since they seem to have a lot of experience with chins, and T trusts them, I'm going to take their word on this and see if it gets better this route.

 

[alpayton]

Alli dear - I know of absolutely no stomach issues that would cause runny/watery eyes. I'd highly suggest getting an x-ray so that if it IS malo, you can get a handle on it before bloat and stasis set up even worse.

 

[Parkerspetchins]

I agree with Amanda. You can't see root issues with an otoscope. Hopefully the vet was correct. Has Mei been maintaining her weight? If she has no spurs or anything cutting her tongue or cheek she may be able to eat fine even is she has root elongation but weight loss is a good indicator of a serious issue as you know.

 

[alli713]

Yeah... unfortunately I have to agree with you. Last night I so wanted to believe the vet. So I gave her the meds this morning and everything.

However I'm sitting there observing her and something just isn't right. I tried giving her some alfalfa hay (which she loves) and I could tell she wanted to eat some. She picked up a piece, started to nibble it, then pawed at her mouth and dropped it. I tried it again with a leafier part and the same thing, try to nibble, then paw at the mouth. She is also scratching at her chin with her back foot a bunch.

Sometimes her eyes look okay but then just now they look watery again. Maybe I should take a picture, I don't know if that will help.

The unfortunate thing is, if it's the roots I can't keep her alive knowing that it's only prolonging the inevitable. So I'm going to talk it over with my fiance and see what he thinks, but I really do agree that I need to get her an x-ray just to know for sure.

I just wish I were more outspoken and would have felt comfortable saying that I didn't believe the vet. I'll have to call the vet office and ask for the other vet, the one Tawana normally sees.

Sigh..

 

[lauralynne]

I'm sorry, Alli! None of us want to hear the dreaded "m" word, so until you have your answers, I'll keep hoping that there's something else going on. You and Mei are in my thoughts!

 

[Stackie]

It definitely sounds like teeth problems to me too, Alli. I agree that Mei needs x-rays. I'm sorry to say that just avoiding it means that she will just be in pain longer. I'm sorry you have to deal with this.

 

[alli713]

Yeah, I know. She just looks so unhappy.

So I'm going to be calling them right now and try and get in with the other vet. Hopefully we'll be able to get a definite answer one way or another..

 

[Stackie]

Big hugs to you and Mei.

 

[Sandi]

Allison, don't feel bad for wanting to believe in your heart that Mei will be ok. It's hard, I know, I've been there before but I will keep you and Mei in my thoughts today, please let us know what happens.

 

[alpayton]

I understand not feeling confident enough to say anything, but there are ways you can go about it without making it a real issue. For example, I'd just tell the vet that since you really have no positive diagnosis, you'd like to rule out malo by getting an xray, if nothing else but to ease your mind. If you're like me, it's the not knowing that drives you absolutely bonkers. I don't mean that if it is malo, you'll be relieved, but you'll definitely have the knowledge that you need in order to formulate an action.

Also, I know you said that the vet felt of the jawline which would possibly tell you about issues on the bottom teeth, but what about the top teeth? The top teeth would be the most likely to be causing the eye issues and there's really no way to examine the top teeth/roots without an xray.