From:
Brenda
Date: 2001-08-10 20:09:00 UTC
Subject: Upper canine problem
I'm hoping to gain a little more insight, get opinions, etc.
I noticed on 8/2 my Sparky (F 3years 1.6lbs) was gagging, grinding
her teeth and rubbing her face after trying to drink some water, as
well as pick up her kibble and drop it immediately without eating.
Her stools were loose and green in color (not ECE green). I kept an
eye on her, over the next day, and on 8/4 I took her to the vet as
their was no improvement and I was obviously getting very concerned.
Upon exam, they found a lot a lot of buildup on her teeth, and she
was running a fever of 103.6. I was thinking the obvious ulcer
culprit, as the signs were their except for the black tarry stools.
We gave her.25ml Amoxy 2xs/day and Sucralfate 1/8 tab 3 xs/day, spoon
feeding of Gerbers Chicken. The vet didn't want to do anything yet
with the teeth until we were able to bring her fever down first, and
see if it was ulcers.
After a few days, there was no improvement with her, and through
close supervision, just didn't feel my first thought was correct with
the ulcers, Even when being spoon fed the Gerbers, as soon as she
would come across a little chunck or an area that was not totally
smooth, she would grind her teeth, rub her face and refuse to eat for
a few minutes. She would also grind her teeth when I would
rub/massage the outside of her mouth in hopes to make it feel better.
She was still having problems drinking the water. I stopped the
Sucralfate as there was absolutely no response to it, and their was
no change/deterioration in her eating/drinking.
I took her back in today to have another thorough look at her teeth,
as my gut feeling tells me this is where the problem is stemming
from. After biting the tec, vet and tongue depressor, we were finally
able to get a really good look at her teeth, and besides the large
buildup on her back teeth, we also noticed that one of her top canine
is grey in color and appears to be broken. Her fever is gone, her
temp was 102.6. She is scheduled for extraction and cleanng this
Wednesday, 8/15. I never would have expected her teeth to be that
bad at 3, especially since she doesn't get any treats and has always
been fed a kibble diet of 8 in 1 ultimate and totally ferret.
Has anyone else experienced this? Are there any specific dangers to
the tooth extraction---surgically or after care? Thanks ahead of
time for your feedback, I really appreciate it, there is nothing that
I wouldn't do for any of my little fuzzies.
Brenda
http://www.ferret-universe.com