Just wondering if someone can help..so worried about my chin :(

[Aleanora]

Hi everybody, I am new here and really need some help. I have three chins all females, two of them live together in one cage. My four year old standard grey Bella has been acting strange for the past week. She still eats and drinks, but is really subdued. She has gone off chewing completely and juat wants to sit in the hay box all the time. She ia normally really active and perky. My husband and I have noticed when she does eat she seems to be stugfling to swallow. We took her to the vet who had a look at her teeth, she gave her some gas and checked her back teeth too and said all was well. That was three days ago ans her behavior is still the same. I can't understand what is wrong and have no idea what to do to get my girl back She means the world to me and I am scared that there is something I can be doing that I am not. Can someone please give me some advice?

 

[Amethyst]

It sounds like a dental issue to me. Unfortunately unless they did x-rays you can't get a 100% view of the teeth, just the crowns (the part above the gum line), there could be root elongation going on that you can't see without x-rays. If x-rays were done too however my next guess would be impaction or since you said she seems to be having a hard time swallowing then maybe something stuck in her throat or she swallowed something that hurt her throat. Full body x-rays maybe in order, to check for a blockage or gas buildup if head x-rays alone don't show a problem.

 

[Aleanora]

We took her back to the vet today for xrays, and the vet said she had a rotten tooth in the back, and her chances weren't good. My husband and I had her put to sleep while she was under when the vet called us. My heart is breaking, but I couldn't bear the idea of her living in pain. I feel like I did a horrible thing She was my baby and her cage mate is devastated, she has never been without the company of another chon and I worry about her now...