Teeth questions & possible malo?

[mishellyshel]

This may be a long multiple question but i would really appreciate any honest advice from longtime chinchilla owners.
My standard, Richie is a little over 3, he was given to us and we have no idea of where he is from on his history.
before this forum i was feeding him lots of treats but he has always been on mazuri & always got plenty of hay. now he still gets the mazuri but i mix in a little PANR and he gets his "bowl" of treats at night which consist of a small amount of lifeline and a pinch of this chinchilla herb mix that has some oats and a crunched up rosehips & other good stuff. sometimes i put a whole rosehip in there or a shredded wheat. but no more dried fruits or nuts. also i split 1 cherrio in half & he & my other chin get 1/2 a cheerio most mornings.
and lots of apple wood to chew.
i am writing all this because since i have stopped he has lost some weight and i am not sure if it is because of less fatty treats or because of what i am asking next.
Over the last month I have been noticing he was drooling & doing some teeth grinding, so I took him to my vet. she is not an exotic specialist but she does treat chins and she is really good.
upon her first look she said his mouth looked irritated but wait a week & see what happens (she swabbed his mouth & made sure there was nothing stuck) so he still had the symptoms, brought him back, she diagnosed him with a mouth infection (after a day hospital stay) and gave me meds. two weeks later he seems much better, started eating again but is down in weight (again could be combo of no more treats & teeth promblems.)
okay now down to my question!!
He is still drooling so I contacted a friend of mine who is an exotic specialist about an hour away and she wants to see him.
I have already spent over 200 dollars on the first vet and now this vet wants to do another exam, anethesia, x-rays, etc.... which will cost another 500 dollars. which i am okay with. But if they are to determine that he does infact has tooth root problems (malo). is there anything that can be done for him?? Or will he eventually have to be put to sleep (crying as i type)
he does not seem to currently be in pain, is eating well. pooping & peeing a lot. he is pretty active during playtime. I just wanted to hear from some people who have went thru this and kinda know what to expect.
please no sugar coating..........i need realistic thoughts.
thanks. please feel free to PM me with any specific questions and right now this is consuming my every thought and making me very very sad.

 

[Kansas City Chinchillas]

If his teeth roots are elongated he is in pain even if he doesn't show it. Unfortunately there is no cure for this. I'm sorry.

 

[Sandi]

A good sign to all of this is that he is eating, pooping & peeing, but is he eating his pellets and hay or just more of the powdery treat dish that you give him at night? I remember you posting about his mouth infection about a month ago, I believe the only way to be 100% sure if he has malo is to have head xrays done, even if his teeth looked normal at that last visit, you cannot see if his roots are elongated. Some vets are able to feel it along the bottom of the chin though. I know that chins that do have malo can survive as long as they are not in pain and are eating normally but do need more vet care. Good luck at the vets and keep us posted. My thoughts are with you and your chinnie.

 

[mishellyshel]

he IS eating his pellets & hay. but doesnt seem to be gaining the weight he lost since being on the antibiotics (and since not eating all the fatty treats!)
i guess i will have to get the x-rays to determine how bad it is and if there is anything that came make him comfortable for the time being.
im just so sad that he will not be with me for the time i thougth he would be.

 

[eycamry]

Do get an xray done. That is the ONLY way to tell if he has malo. Don't think too much now until you see the xray. Before I took my chin in to see my vet, I was just like you, thinking that she had malo and was not going to make it. I cried for hours thinking about the possibility of putting her down once she was diagnosed with malo because I did not want her to suffer. It turned out to be just teeth spurs and mouth infections. So, my advice to you is that don't worry too much now and get an xray done. Best of luck to you and your chin. My thoughts are with you! Keep us updated.

 

[mishellyshel]

I am definitely going to get the xrays. Thanks for the optimistic reply ellen, I was crying & so depressed yesterday..............after reading your email I at least realized that it could be something else.
Whatever his problem is, i will do whatever I can to make him comfortable for as long as it takes and when its time to decide I will do what is best for him.

 

[jmdebb]

I agree with the other people that it could be malo, but if it's in the roots you do need x-rays, and if I remember correctly the need to take at least two different views, side and top and bottom.

But I'm going to pretend for a minute that it's not malo because you said the first time he had a mouth infection and just wanted to let you know something that happens to my chins sometimes with full rosehips. And maybe this could possibly be it.

Okay, I do feed whole rosehips to my chins every now and then, and in the past I have had the seeds get stuck in their mouth in between teeth. When we went to the vet because the chin was pawing [if i remember correctly] at the mouth and not eating good, she noticed some irritation in the mouth, but by they the seed had come loose.

Now whenever I feed a full rosehip, I always watch to see if anyone gets a seed caught in their teeth, I really believe it has happened again to another chin because after eating them, I saw someone [sorry don't remember which one] pawing at their mouth again. So what I did, and I know this isn't the best treat to use and I don't usually give it, but for something like this I do because it is squishy and seems to pull out whatever is stuck, but I use a raisin or two.

Now I am not saying this is what is wrong with your chin, I don't know. Just saying what I have been through in the past, again because you said the first time he had a mouth infection [and you also said you feed whole rosehips sometimes] I'm wondering [and I could be wrong with this thought, maybe it can't happen] if he is getting the seeds caught too in his mouth, and maybe that's what caused the first infection in his mouth, and it came out and that's why they didn't find anything in there. Especially because you said he went back to eating for awhile after treatment. But drooling is a sign of malo, or a tooth problem.

And while not trying to be a pro on information on them, not knowing exactly what he is eating, but it is a possibility that he lost some weight due to the change of treats. I mean if you were eating something fattening every night and then stopped it you would lose weight. So why can't a chin if they are given fattening treats and then stopped and replaced with good ones.

Best of luck to you, keep us posted please.
And I hope he gets better for you and it's nothing serious
Jean

 

[mishellyshel]

I made an appointment for tomorrow for another full exam & x-rays. While he is under for the x-ray she is going to do a full mouth exam. I will mention the seeds and will make sure she gets a couple views. she said she will do a full one so she can view his stomach to make sure there are not other problems there. She told me I would be there for an hour to an hour & 1/2 so sounds like it is a pretty thourough exam. The facilities look really amazing, so I am hoping for some good results.
She also said she would put a copy on a disk so i can post it here.
Is there anything else I should ask while I am there. This visit is going to cost about $500 so I want to make sure I cover everything! Thank God for credit cards!!!
Please keep my little Richie in your thoughts. I have grown to love this little guy even though I didnt even know I wanted chinchillas til i met him! Thanks!

 

[Sandi]

I know how it is to grow and love these little guys. Your Ritchie has been in my thoughts since your post about his mouth infection. I hope that if they do find something tomorrow that it can be fixed. My little guy did have malo so I'm crossing my fingers and saying a little prayer that your Ritchie will be ok.

 

[eycamry]

Any words from the doc yet? My thoughts are with you!

 

[mishellyshel]

I go tomorrow afternoon..............

 

[eycamry]

LOL! I am sorry, I thought you were going today. After going through so much with my chin in the last several weeks, I am feeling anxious about the well being of other chins that are experiencing the same thing.:cute:

 

[lauralynne]

What's the latest, Michelle?

 

[mishellyshel]

i dont know how to post a link from another thread but if you check in the health & hygene section, i posted this topic: Back from the vet & some pix

http://chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5360

that will give you the info.

 

[mishellyshel]

oohhhh............i did it, i figured out how to post the thread. yay me!

 

[lauralynne]

I'm so sorry!!! That has to be so hard. I know one of these days I'll go through it, but am thankful I haven't had to yet. I hope things go as smoothly as possible for you.
Also - I'm a scrapbooker! If you check my blog there are a few pictures of some of my work.
Best wishes!