Posts tagged food

George’s problematic teeth

Over the last few months, George has started to have difficulties with his teeth. One morning, I discovered that his bottom two teeth had completely disappeared. After searching through his hutch, I presumed he had swallowed them.

The vets told me that his teeth weren’t growing as they were supposed to, and the front teeth were, in fact, pushing on his bottom ones, so much so that they were loosened and fell out. The bottom teeth will grow back, but because of the way his teeth fell out ,his gums are now very weak. This means that they will probably just fall out when they get in contact with the front two, or even before that.

For now, he is managing with two teeth. This means I have to cut the veg and fruit up in to tiny pieces, so he can scoop them up with his front teeth – bless. He’s managing well but I tend to handfeed him quite a lot, so I can be assured he is ingesting some food. He’s coping and can somehow manage to pick the grass and eat it.

I now have to get his front teeth clipped every six to eight weeks, which he hates – but he seems to be happy and certainly doesn’t complain.

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George’s teeth

As George is at the good, old age of six now, I have expected more problems with his health. The most recent concern was his teeth. He keeps chattering them a lot more than he used to and, for once, it’s not because he’s near his arch enemy that is Arch. On top of the chattering, I realised Mr George couldn’t bite into his carrot, merely scrapping it as it rested against a solid something.

So, as is always the way, I took him down to the vets – I really should set up a standing order with them. I asked for them to cut his teeth down a bit. They had done this only five months ago and I, and most likely he, noticed the difference immediately.

The vet also explained that Mr George’s teeth could be overgrown at the back, causing his teeth to dig into his tongue and consequently he wouldn’t be able to grip or bite into solids properly. I understood this to mean that the four teeth might not necessarily grow directly above or below each other. This could mean that some sides do not get worn down as much as others and can result in a sharp edge, which can cut into the tongue, and cause difficulties with eating.

The vet told me that in order to file down the edges, Georgey would need to go under anaesthetic. But the vet also informed me that we didn’t even know if that was causing the problem. As I am fully aware of the risks of anaesthetic, I decided to just opt to have his teeth clipped.

A week on and he’s got a healthy appetite, but he just takes his time eating – unlucky when he lives with Fred! He’s still underweight, but I think he always will be. I’ll just have to make sure I keep cutting up his carrots, other fruit and veg into tiny pieces, and check that Fredster doesn’t get it all first.

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