Post by yasmin on Jan 13, 2014 23:36:40 GMT
Starting this thread to keep track of Sean's teeth issues.
Noticed Sean (age 4 years) behaving lethargic so took him to the vet on Jan. 8th/14. No sign of drooling, no blood. Just, he wasn't coming up to me for treats and didn't use his sand bath. Afraid it was teeth issues because another goo of mine, Azure, started having spurs at 4-years of age. Second goo, Lilac, started having spurs at 5.5 years of age. Noticed Sean grinding his teeth as well.
Vet found that Sean's weight was good, that his lungs sounded good, had clear ears and eyes, no injuries, nice straight orange front teeth. Had to sedate Sean to check his molars and found that, indeed, two spurs were growing towards his tongue – not yet pinning it down. Azure passed away at age 4.5 years from issues that began with her tongue being pinned down by spurs; despite several more vet visits to grind down spurs, within half a year, her teeth grew up into her eye sockets (as evidenced by a bump under her eye and confirmed by radiograph) and downward past her jaw line. (I wonder if Azure was actually Sean's mom.)
Vet ground down Sean's spurs. Now I am going to watch and see what happens. Things to consider:
• Spurs growing toward the tongue seem to be difficult for a degu to grind down themselves. (Degus with spurs can be heard grinding their teeth.)
• Another of my goos, Lilac, who was the same age as Azure, started having teeth issues last summer (at age 5.5 yrs). Though she was eating reasonably well (a bit selective) and her front teeth were nice and straight and orange, and she wasn't drooling or losing weight, I found her one evening with blood coming from her mouth. She had a spur growing into her cheek that had cut her cheek. The vet ground that down. I took her in to the vet again after 6 weeks because with Azure that was how quickly her spurs returned. Fortunately, the vet found only one very small spur then, ground that down, and said that the spurs looked like they weren't growing quickly – to give it at least a couple of months before bringing Lilac back in. She has not had to be taken in yet – it's been 4 months.
• After Azure passed away, with the help of this forum, I have been doing my best to provide a better diet for my degus. I am aware of the recommended Ca:P ratio and am feeding them Ca:P balanced greens and seeds. Theory: that these will promote better tooth growth. Also, the leafy greens require teeth-action more like they would have in the wild perhaps preventing the spurs naturally. Maybe this has helped Lilac? Maybe this will help Sean?
• Sean's sister?/cousin? Peridot is the same age as him but so far shows no sign of teeth issues.
• Sean is the father of my 12 other goos. (This was not a planned breeding. When I adopted the four goos, the animal shelter thought they were all females – they were wrong – three females, one male and all three females pregnant). The offspring are all two years old now. Genetic issues include cataracts (Makoto diagnosed at age 2) and possible vasculitis (Rei and Gi diagnosed at less than one-year of age).
Will try and keep this thread updated with how Sean is doing teeth-wise. Perhaps it will provide some insight for other degu-owners facing this challenge and discourage breeding.
Noticed Sean (age 4 years) behaving lethargic so took him to the vet on Jan. 8th/14. No sign of drooling, no blood. Just, he wasn't coming up to me for treats and didn't use his sand bath. Afraid it was teeth issues because another goo of mine, Azure, started having spurs at 4-years of age. Second goo, Lilac, started having spurs at 5.5 years of age. Noticed Sean grinding his teeth as well.
Vet found that Sean's weight was good, that his lungs sounded good, had clear ears and eyes, no injuries, nice straight orange front teeth. Had to sedate Sean to check his molars and found that, indeed, two spurs were growing towards his tongue – not yet pinning it down. Azure passed away at age 4.5 years from issues that began with her tongue being pinned down by spurs; despite several more vet visits to grind down spurs, within half a year, her teeth grew up into her eye sockets (as evidenced by a bump under her eye and confirmed by radiograph) and downward past her jaw line. (I wonder if Azure was actually Sean's mom.)
Vet ground down Sean's spurs. Now I am going to watch and see what happens. Things to consider:
• Spurs growing toward the tongue seem to be difficult for a degu to grind down themselves. (Degus with spurs can be heard grinding their teeth.)
• Another of my goos, Lilac, who was the same age as Azure, started having teeth issues last summer (at age 5.5 yrs). Though she was eating reasonably well (a bit selective) and her front teeth were nice and straight and orange, and she wasn't drooling or losing weight, I found her one evening with blood coming from her mouth. She had a spur growing into her cheek that had cut her cheek. The vet ground that down. I took her in to the vet again after 6 weeks because with Azure that was how quickly her spurs returned. Fortunately, the vet found only one very small spur then, ground that down, and said that the spurs looked like they weren't growing quickly – to give it at least a couple of months before bringing Lilac back in. She has not had to be taken in yet – it's been 4 months.
• After Azure passed away, with the help of this forum, I have been doing my best to provide a better diet for my degus. I am aware of the recommended Ca:P ratio and am feeding them Ca:P balanced greens and seeds. Theory: that these will promote better tooth growth. Also, the leafy greens require teeth-action more like they would have in the wild perhaps preventing the spurs naturally. Maybe this has helped Lilac? Maybe this will help Sean?
• Sean's sister?/cousin? Peridot is the same age as him but so far shows no sign of teeth issues.
• Sean is the father of my 12 other goos. (This was not a planned breeding. When I adopted the four goos, the animal shelter thought they were all females – they were wrong – three females, one male and all three females pregnant). The offspring are all two years old now. Genetic issues include cataracts (Makoto diagnosed at age 2) and possible vasculitis (Rei and Gi diagnosed at less than one-year of age).
Will try and keep this thread updated with how Sean is doing teeth-wise. Perhaps it will provide some insight for other degu-owners facing this challenge and discourage breeding.