>[snip] Ferrets should not be dying just to have their teeth cleaned!
>If nothing else, isn't there a way to physically restrain them and hold
>their mouths open, while they are awake (or preferably drowsy and mellow)
>so such procedures can be performed without killing a perfectly healthy
>ferret? A form fitting "chair", with some wires to hold the mouth open?
>
>For example, it IS possible to firmly scruff a ferret, right? It IS
>possible to also hold open the lower jaw, right? Likewise, it IS
>possible to restrain the rest of the body, right? So, although it might
>not be the most pleasant experience for them, it certainly wouldn't kill
>them, right?!? [snip]
Hi. I agree that animals shouldn't be dying from routine teeth-cleaning,
but unfortunately, there is a risk involved anytime you put any animal
under anesthesia, and it is really not pratical to try and clean an
animal's teeth while they are awake. We use isofluorane for our cats and
ferrets with great success, but even the safest anesthetic carries some
risk.
Ferrets are pretty squirmy animals-scruffing my Marley, who is normally
a very mellow ferret, is not enough to keep him still enough to take a
little bit of blood from a leg or his jugular vein for a BG-it takes one
person scruffing, one holding legs and holding off a vein, and the third
to actually take the blood, and there is still pooping and peeing and
crying and flailing-no matter how still we try to hold him, ferrets can
just be tough to keep still when they don't want what you're trying to
give 'em. I can't imagine trying to strap him down and hold him still
while we jacked open his jaw and scraped his teeth.
Part of why pets go under anesthesia for teeth cleaning is because it
would be VERY stressful for them if they are awake-you run more risk of
hurting them, giving them a heart attack, spraining or breaking a limb
as they struggled, shoving a dental scaler into their brain or eye or
something if they were awake. It would be far harder on your ferret and
far less safe in most cases to be wide awake while someone wired their
jaws open to scrape their teeth than to be under anesthesia. It would be
more painful for them, too, if awake-especially if you have, say, an
extraction or they have severe gingivitis and their gums bleed a lot; we
don't use local Novocain injections to the mouth, though we do give pain
medication. I really believe, with all I've seen, that as stressful as a
hospital trip can be for them, they are far less stressed out than they
would be if awake.
And we have had patients, not as many ferrets as cats, (and the number
of these patients is not high) that do have to be sedated before you
can do almost ANYTHING to them-it's not a matter of my doctors or the
technicians where I work not being competent; there are just some animals
(like the two cats we had recently who ___SCREAMED___ when you walked
within 10 feet of their cages, literally) who are total psychos and are
super-stressed about everything, but may require sedation so we can do
the needed tests to get to the root of their health problems, etc. We
try very hard to use sedation as a LAST resort for procedures such as
x-rays, blood draws, etc. We reserve that for the truly "crazy" animals
as I described above, so we can get a decent x-ray, or not send their
blood pressure through the roof while getting mauled ourselves to get
a CBC.
Dental cleanings are not always just a matter of cleaning the teeth,
either. As I've mentioned in previous posts, dental problems can lead
to more systemic problems, such as kidney disease, as bacterial plaque
leaks into their bloodstream via their gums, so sometimes dental
cleanings are necessary.
As a vet tech who does dental cleanings, I wouldn't want that ferret's
jaw to snap shut on my fingers while I'm in there, either.
I agree that additional studies into safe anesthesia practices for ALL
animals would be great, but I'm afraid it's a necessary evil for
procedures such as dentals.
My two cents!
-Apil AC (vet tech, not a vet)
[Posted in FML issue 4292]
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