Tuesday 30 April 2013

A nice evening out

Or, well, maybe not.

I had to take Annie to the vets yesterday. Her teeth were on the long side, and her bottom ones were behind her top ones instead of underneath them, like they should be. Vet number one diagnosed her with dental malocclusion, potentially caused by a gum infection, or a vitamin D deficiency. One suggestion was putting her on a course of baytril (antibiotics) and metacam (anti-inflamatory), which would cure any potential infection and hopefully make chewing less painful so she'd wear the teeth back down herself. Option number two involved putting her under general anaesthetic and looking properly in her mouth, filing down any spurs or protrusions that might be hiding in there, and trimming the errant incisors.

I ended up going with option number two, and we sat in the vet waiting room for another hour and a half until vet number two was free to root around in her mouth. He said afterwards that there was nothing wrong with her back teeth, so all that he did was trim her bottom incisors. Possibly the anaesthetic was unnecessary, but then the baytril would have been too. She may still end up on a brief course of metacam if she has issues after the trim, but it is apparently unlikely.

She recovered really well from the anaesthetic, too. When I put her back in her cage, she sat looking at me with a really dopey expression on her face until I put her in front of her house, and then she slunk in, but about twenty minutes later she was running around being her normal self. I'm keeping an eye on her food intake and weight to make sure her teeth are better, but hopefully I will not have to take her back to the vets any time soon!

4 comments:

  1. Wow! What a coincidence!!! I am so glad she is fine!!! I have often wondered how hammys do with being put under! They are so small so it seems so scary. Xo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I asked the vet if she needed to have her wheel taken off her or anything, because I was worried too :) He told me it wasn't necessary, and he was right!

      Delete
  2. Aw poor girl. I don't think the anesthesia was unnecessary - it did allow them to get a really good look in her mouth after all! Hopefully she doesn't have any more issues. The vet is no fun!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Turns out the anaesthesia was less expensive (and probably less stressful for her!) than the two courses which look like they would have been unnecessary too ;) Oh the whole I am glad I went for that option.

      Delete