Sore in mouth & Tooth filing

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ChinchieRoo

ChinchieRoo

Vegan Pet Lover
Joined
Feb 28, 2009
Messages
93
Location
Washington
Hello,

Six months ago my Bailey had to have his tooth filed down. He has a tilted molar tooth that got a point on it. I took him in on the 21st and had the point filed again (which wasn't too bad I was told), but he had a sore on his cheek. He doesn't seem to be doing so well with this. He is on pain meds (just started those on the 26th) and also antibiotics. He is slowly eating less and I am getting concerned. I am going to call some places tomorrow to see if I can find some Oxbow Critical Care because my vet does not carry it. If he won't eat though, will I have to "force" feed him the Critical Care? I am feeling so bad for him and I don't know how else to help him. I will call the vet as well, but she said it just didn't look that bad, that is why she decided to try the pain meds, assuming he is uncomfortable and that is why he won't eat. I thought maybe it was the antibiotics? I am on some and have lost most of my appetite. Thanks for listening.

Sincerely,
Bailey's Mom
 
From what I read in your post Bailey is eating. Pain medication makes them a bit "high" and the surgery makes the teeth sensative or still hurts.
He also has a mouth wound and thus he no doubt doesn't want to eat as much because it hurts! As long as he is eating I wouldn't buy the CC. CC is meant for those really needing force feeding.
One of my girls had two spurs ground down. She refused to eat and I had to force feed her CC. In case of an emergency you can grind pellets to a dust and add water and Pedialyte. (sp?)
But mine wouldn't eat it unless I added a scant amount of infant baby stage one apple puree. Just enough to interst them. To help jump start them to eating with a force feeding. Hand feeding is a last resort for those who stopped eating.
Offer a soft orchard grass or some second cut timothy. It's softer. They do come around. That antibiotic is for the mouth wound. The pain med is for both.
If little Bailey stops eating altogether then its time to take serious action.
Remain calm and do all your special loving and talking to him. They do seem to need that extra boost.
And watch his water intake!
Good luck with your little man,
Alex
 
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6Dusters said:
As long as he is eating I wouldn't buy the CC. CC is meant for those really needing force feeding.
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I disagree, I always have it on hand for not only emergencies, but also after surgery or tooth grinding as they often don't feel like eating. I don't wait for them to not have been eating for days and going down hill before I start trying to get them to eat.

6Dusters said:
In case of an emergency you can grind pellets to a dust and add water and Pedialyte. (sp?)
But mine wouldn't eat it unless I added a scant amount of infant baby stage one apple puree. Just enough to interst them. To help jump start them to eating with a force feeding. Hand feeding is a last resort for those who stopped eating.
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I wouldn't use any fruit product as if they are not eating you are risking messing up their digestive system further and causing them to bloat or go into stasis. I have used a drizzle of molasses in with CC to change the taste.
 
I think handfeeding is a first resort to those that have stopped eating, not a last resort. I hand feed first and diagnose the problem after I get food into them.
 
menagerie said:
I wouldn't use any fruit product as if they are not eating you are risking messing up their digestive system further and causing them to bloat or go into stasis. I have used a drizzle of molasses in with CC to change the taste.
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I've also heard of people adding a little bit of pumpkin puree to get their chins interested
 
Hello and thank you to all of you who replied. I appreciate it. As of this morning he would not take oats or a piece of dried apple. I crushed pellets last night and mixed some with sweet potato and some with molasses and he wouldn't touch either. I do have some softer hay in the cage with him as well. He lives with his brother so it is hard to determine exactly if he is having a few pellets or not. I have not witnessed him eating a pellet for two days. I called his vet today who told me that his sore is like a chunk of scar tissue I guess that could describe it. When she filed his tooth, she said she didn't want to trim the tissue, but now she may have to. She thinks he just keeps biting it by accident which is causing him to not want to eat. I need to call her tomorrow and I guess decide if she should trim that. I just never heard of this situation (the tissue in the mouth getting like this). I don't know how to force feed him. I haven't done that before either. I will call the vet in the morning. Has anyone dealt with the tissue problem in the mouth?

He is getting lots of loves and hugs and when he wants to come out of his cage, I let him. He usually just runs for a few minutes and wants to go back.

Thanks again,
Bailey's mom
 
Always have Critical Care on hand b/c you never know when you have to suddenly force feed. I agree with ticklechin in that force feed first if they are not eating and ask questions later. You will need some good syringes for force feeding Critical Care as well as you have to learn how to burrito/swaddle the chin in a blanket or towel, hold them into position and syringe the food into their mouths. It does take a bit of practice and can be quite messy at first but it does get easier. Are you seeing some smaller/misshaped poops in the cage? That is an indication that the chin is not eating enough food on their own.
 
Many people come across an emergency and don't have CC or know what it is. I posted my emergency grinding of pellets when you don't have any other option until one has access to it through a vet or online. So if someone else is reading this with an emergency there is really another option vs death.
And my sentence saying "last resort" is what you would mean as first resort.

Now to clear up any issue's you all seem to have with my apple use during a force feeding......IT'S A BLOODY EMERGENCY AND YOU NEED TO GET THEM EATING BY ANY DARNED MEANS!! And for me this is what I use and will continue to use. And I do keep CC on hand. But it's a matter of what they will eat.

DO NOT use a large amount of the apple puree baby food. The pellet should and ALWAYS be your bulk of the mixture. Then a good water source to mix it up with a bit of pedialyte (sp?). And a bit of acidophilus. I use the live culture I keep in the fridge.
I've used this several times for an emergency and have no problems. Just use common sense! The apple in my mix is to encourage them to eat it. It's ALWAYS worked for me. My animals never suffer.

I know many people stick to their "tried and true" remedies. I'm simply saying what I have used works and has never caused any of my animals harm or gut problems. And I will continue to use it despite what anyone thinks.

Best wishes for his continued improvement. Your doing great.
 
Since this chin may continue to have teeth issues I would try out some Lifeline from www.chocolatechinchillas.com and see if the chin will eat that, try it straight first, then mix with the CC. Most chins dig the flavor and rather than something sugary for flavor, try something that can benefit health.
 
I am currently dealing with this issue with my Herby. The vet had to trim a molar spike and she was sore for weeks because the spike had rubbed a sore ( much like a canker core for us ) on her cheek. The vet put her on antibiotics and pain meds that took any semblance of an appetite away and I had a dickens of a time getting her back to eating normally. To do that, I got the Critical care and fed her 4 times a day on that until I took her back for her one week follow up visit and then I it was CC 3 times a day and ground pellets 1 time a day and then CC 2 times a day and ground pellets 2 times a day, and so on. then to get her eating her pellets again, I would moisten them with warm water and Life Line I got from www.chocolatechinchillas.com and let her eat as much as she wanted and she now doing fine and eating on her own. I definitely recommend you get some Critical Care and the Life Line, as these both will help her a lot. Good luck with the little man!
 
i always keep CC on hand for emergencies. I do use a daily crushed pellet mix for my one chin. I add a small amount of pumpkin. When i was trying to get him to eat it 8 months ago i did add a small teaspoon of baby food apple/pears and then cut that back.
every once in a while i will mix some CC into his mix. he is still on the handfeeding but he has backed off significantly and does eat some pellets on his own and is continuing to gain weight.
i also use lifeline several times daily, i think the ingredients are extremely beneficial to any chin on any type of medication or one that had any type of illness. As well as an excellant supplement for healthy chins.
I also use organic dried herbs daily for all my boys, they have different types of benefits....just a pinch.
 
mishellyshel said:
I also use organic dried herbs daily for all my boys, they have different types of benefits....just a pinch.
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What kind of herbs do you use? I am trying to find some healthier alternatives for the occasional snack for Herby and do not really trust anything like what they sell in pet stores,in the way of herbs for chinnies.
 
^^ Just be careful with experimenting with herbs b/c some of them are diuretics and can cause tummy upsets and runny poo. Since I don't know much about supplements and how much to give, I do order mine from a reputable seller.

Back to the Critical Care, if you don't have any on hand then pellets will work and I've been told that grinding them up in a coffee grinder works great. I haven't tried that myself but when I was desperate the first time I needed to force feed a chin I used the blender but apparently a little coffee grinder works great.
 
Thank you to all of you that posted. Sadly, I lost Bailey yesterday. It's too hard to talk about now, but I will in time. I miss him so very much.

Take care
 
I am so sorry to hear about Bailey. I know it hurts right now, but he is over the Rainbow Bridge now and in no more pain.

I am very sorry for your loss
:(

R.I.P Bailey:flowers5:
 
Sorry to hear about Bailey. I'm going through the same situation with you with a chin that has malo. She had her teeth filed 3 times this month already and not getting better.
 
6Dusters said:
Pain medication makes them a bit "high"
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Metacam is a non-steroidal antiinflammatory drug (NSAID); it does NOT make animals "high." It is in the same drug category as aspirin and ibuprofen.

Buprenorphine, or Buprenex, is an opioid (i.e., narcotic) and can cause sedation, constipation, and, yes, the feeling of being drugged or "high."

Both of these pain medications are used in chinchillas, sometimes at the same time, but more of you are familiar with Metacam. I just wanted to disperse the notion that Metacam makes an animal feel drugged.
 
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