Fellow FML'rs -- I've just taken Rowena (nickname 'Weena,' or just 'Wee'), my new little adopted sprite-girl to the vet who'll be seeing her from now on (she'd been to a couple others during the rescue/adoption process), and it seems that we will have to do something about her little fangs (upper canines). You see, when she was found at rescue time, she had one fang that was broken off and the other was all discolored. So, of course, after all the 'phase one' veterinary stuff had been done, I scheduled her to have a look at those 'toofes' ... Apparently, the advice is that both fangs should be extracted. The doctor described to me the fact that once the teeth have been compromised this way, that there's a chance for infection, etc., that could eventually involve her little sinuses, etc., and could get very bad, so it's best to just remove the little fangs. I figure that since she doesn't have to defend herself against any heffalumps, and she only eats dry ferret 'kibble,' raisins, etc., and doesn't have to be a 'great carnivore hunter in the wild,' that probably she can get by without her little fangs. She lives also with our two other fuzzies, William (a.k.a. 'Wiyum,' 'Draco,' 'The FurBoy') and Winona (a.k.a. 'Nahnee'). They won't take advantage of her 'disarmed' condition at play time, will they? I don't expect them to. I'd like any advice from anyone who's had to put their little fuzzie-one through this kind of procedure, and how / what kind of care should I expect her to need when it's done (with stitches in her tiny mouth, should I gear up for Duck Soup, etc., and for how long?, etc., etc.). They'll be removing both fangs and stitching patches of her gums back over the spots where they'd been to close up after, and so when it heals there'll be no chance of 'stuff' getting up into the places where her little fangs once were... What about her 'bite' after that? What about the remaining lower fang-teeth? Will everything mesh properly? Should I consider NOT having this done? We're scheduled for Wednesday, the 14th. I love the little tweekie-girl very much, and I want to be sure this entire experience is as gentle and comfortable for her as possible. Hubby said we should probably change her name to 'Ralph' after the Saber-tooth-tiger-with-just-one-Saber from the old Cosby routine, but then when I pointed out that Ralph at least had ONE Saber, he got all quiet and just petted her... Any advice? Respond via FML, or directly to [log in to unmask] THANKS, ALL! [Posted in FML issue 1655]