handmeafish
Well-Known Member
He's eatin just fine. I was freaking out about the idea of his teeth growing into his head!! I do have some baytril and doxy too
Swollen face--- NEW VIDEO
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Nah, baytril/doxy won't help much.handmeafish said:
As long as he's eating hard foods, they are getting rubbed off a bit. ut it might be painful for him. If they were growing into his jaw/tounge, they would go in slowly. So you would be seeing blood/puss, and he surely wouldn't be able to eat. It would take a little bit- but ratty teeth grow fast, so get his to a vet as soon as you can, anyways.
handmeafish
Well-Known Member
I have an apt at 8am Monday. It smells infected tho.
handmeafish
Well-Known Member
Thursday is when I noticed the swelling
jorats
Loving rats since 2002.
If your vet won't mind, I'd start the Baytril since you do smell the infection. The sooner you nip it in the bud the better.
Joanne
Well-Known Member
Yes, I am not worried about the overgrown tooth causing an immediate emergency. I was thinking about an infection in the face, which is serious irregardless of the cause.
handmeafish
Well-Known Member
I was also worried about the infection. I can smell it, and I can tell its bugging him. I've been giving him some metacam too, to help with the swelling, and pain. He's lost quite a bit of weight, and I went and got some ensure and baby cereal so he can have something more soft.
Yeah, he probably dosen't want to eat anything hard. It much hurt real bad!handmeafish said:
Keep giving him soft stuff, and syringe feed if you have to(just be careful not to poke anything...)
Is he drinking? His sipper bottle might be kinda hard, too. Maybe you should replace it with a dish...
handmeafish
Well-Known Member
he's drinking right now actually.
SQ
Senior Member - Vegan for the animals
You may want to ask about clorpalm when you see the vet
handmeafish
Well-Known Member
I got nutri-cal because i'm worried about his weight. How much should I give him?
jorats
Loving rats since 2002.
I wouldn't give him too much, maybe to stimulate his appetite.
handmeafish
Well-Known Member
We went to the vet today, and the news isn't great.
The vet thinks that the abscess is from an infected molar, and not from the curly tooth. The infected molar knocked his jaw out of line and so he couldn't properly grind his teeth. The tooth curled all the way up into the roof of his mouth
We have 3 options, today I decided to go with option 1- try abs and see if it clears up. He's old, I don't really know how old, but my guess is he's between 2.5 and 3, which makes options 2&3 kind of scary. He's also has had chronic respiratory issues, so putting him under to try to remove the tooth is scary. We could also try to lance the abscess from the out side and pull out the infected tooth that way, but because he's so squirmy, we'd probably need to sedate for that too.
Dr. Combs put him on Metro, because "it works best on anaerobic bacteria, which is usually what's in the mouth abscesses" but said we could also try clavamox if we dont' see any results from the Metro.
Does anyone have any experience with this? Is it worth it to try the surgery?
The vet thinks that the abscess is from an infected molar, and not from the curly tooth. The infected molar knocked his jaw out of line and so he couldn't properly grind his teeth. The tooth curled all the way up into the roof of his mouth
We have 3 options, today I decided to go with option 1- try abs and see if it clears up. He's old, I don't really know how old, but my guess is he's between 2.5 and 3, which makes options 2&3 kind of scary. He's also has had chronic respiratory issues, so putting him under to try to remove the tooth is scary. We could also try to lance the abscess from the out side and pull out the infected tooth that way, but because he's so squirmy, we'd probably need to sedate for that too.
Dr. Combs put him on Metro, because "it works best on anaerobic bacteria, which is usually what's in the mouth abscesses" but said we could also try clavamox if we dont' see any results from the Metro.
Does anyone have any experience with this? Is it worth it to try the surgery?
jorats
Loving rats since 2002.
I'll be honest. At his age, a tooth abscess is the worst. My sister put her old girl through surgery which was a big mistake. All that pain, only to have it return.
Id give the meds a shot but I wouldn't go any further. If you don't see any kind of improvements in 4 days or becomes worse, go back for clavamox.
Id give the meds a shot but I wouldn't go any further. If you don't see any kind of improvements in 4 days or becomes worse, go back for clavamox.
Joanne
Well-Known Member
I know with human teeth, antibiotics only beat down the infection temporarily. You have to remove the dead nerve or the whole tooth to clear the infection completely. Now I know the incisors of rats are different and are continously growing. I would hazard a guess and say the molars are not the same as the incisors, and are more like our teeth.
If this is the case, putting him on antibiotics is only a temporary measure, and the infection will eventually return unless the tooth is removed.
Your vet would know more than I.....
If this is the case, putting him on antibiotics is only a temporary measure, and the infection will eventually return unless the tooth is removed.
Your vet would know more than I.....
handmeafish
Well-Known Member
Thanks Jo, that really makes me feel better about my decision. My gut was telling me that it wouldn't be worth the pain of surgery. I will focus on making his last time with me as comfortable as possible.
mamarat
Well-Known Member
:hugs: to you and your sweetie.
