Vet clipped Degu's teeth, now she cant eat!

[Mark28]

One of my degu's has over grown front bottom teeth, so I took her to a vet. The vet clipped the teeth but she took out way too much, now my degu cant eat!! She tries to bite down on things but the lower teeth are too short so she cant bit down.

I dont know what to do, she might starve before her lower teeth grow long enough, any suggestions? I am trying to hand feed her but its not working.

Please help!!! I feel terrible!! I took her to the vet to help her and it made things 10 times worse

[luvnature]

I dont have a ferret and so I dont know how to handfeed one.
Did you call or take it back to the vet to show them what is happening?

I hope you can get her to eat.

[rockman0]

That's the vet's fault. You shouldn't beat yourself up. You only did what you could. I'm not sure, but are there any soft foods a degu can eat. YOu know, without having to bite down on anything? I've never had one.

I hope everything is well.

[Mark28]

I finally managed to figure out a way to get her to eat. I tried crushing her food then adding some water and forming a paste but she didnt seem to like it and wouldnt eat it.

So I had to take some cornflakes and crush them up then crush some of her regular food and mix them, then i drop it in her mouth and she licks it up.

Its very hard to do and time consuming but its the only way I can get her to eat. I have to keep this up till her teeth grow back

[luvnature]

Did you let the vet know that he clipped the teeth too much?
You should let him know if you havent already.
I would be upset.
Poor little ferret.
How fast do ferrets teeth grow?

[christine]

It's not a ferret luv it's a Degu

[luvnature]

Since you pointed it out

Your right! Oh well, I dont have one of those either.
Must have had ferret on the brain or something....but I dont know why I would since I dont have one!!


I just feel sorry for the little thing


How fast do Degus teeth grow?

[Angelnstuff]

Poor little thing! i do hope you told the vet! Can Degus have baby food? or applesauce maybe? i dont know much about degus, i hope your little one is better soon tho

[lilchris_28]

This happened with my guinea pig's teeth once. We fed her baby food. Call the vet and let them know. They should give you some antibiotics for free to make sure it doesn't abcess like my baby's teeth did.

[trufflemonster]

Same here, except my Guinea Pig's top teeth fell out and he couldn't eat his hard food. I did what you had done and made a food paste and hand-fed it to him with a syringe. You could try that, but I'm not familiar with Degus, so I don't really know if they make syringes for them. But definitely call the vet. I would be rather angry if my vet did something like that.

[Mark28]

Thank you everyone for all the suggestions. I have managed to feed her for the past few days and she is getting a bit better at eating now. Her bottom teeth have grown a little bit and made eating a little easier.

However this is going to be a big problem down the road, her top teeth are now starting to grow longer because she is not using them, and I also noticed one of the bottom teeth is shorter than the other because the way the vet clipped them (the 2nd tooth broke off in 3 pieces)

SO I basicly spend money to have a vet hurt my degu and make her have teeth problems for the rest of her life!!!

This is the last time I ever take her to a vet who doesnt have lots of experience in degus.

[lilchris_28]

You need to tell the vet and make him/her give you an antibiotic. Trust me! It could get abcessed like my little girl's did. It was horrible. She lost a whole pound before it got better.

[jessicakfifield]

wet dog food works. my friend had the same problem and she had alot of people recommend wet dog food.i didnt know they could eat that but apparently they can:S