>From: "Michael F. Janke" <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: snaggletooth >We just rescued a 2 year old boy this past weekend. ... >On to the point of this post... His left lower canine is comes out at a >slight angle. The end result is that a pocket to receive it has formed in >his upper, inner lip. He eats well and appears quite healthy and it >doesn't seem to bother him, but I'm still concerned. Has anyone dealt with >extraction of this tooth? I understand that the possibility exists of >breaking the jawbone during the extraction. We have removed *upper* canines from several ferrets with no problems. Encouraged those ferrets to eat more and put on good weight afterward. But lower canines are new to us too. Just yesterday we rescued a kit from a local pet store, who has a really crooked mouth (my vet called her parrot mouth, hence her name -- Perry). About 5 days ago a woman called me and told me about this kit, which she had purchased from the store but returned her after the vet pointed out the problem with her teeth. She was concerned because the pet store was intending to sell her anyway, *without* informing the new owner about her mouth (guess they were trying to pull a fast one). I put the word out on the local mailing list and several people went into the store and tried to convince the manager to sell her cheap, or surrender her to the rescue to have the problem corrected. The pet store claimed their vet said her teeth were "not a big problem" and took names and numbers and said if she didn't sell at her curent price, they would consider all offers later. Never mind that she already can't close her mouth completely. One of her lower canines is already putting a hole in the roof of her mouth, since that's how crooked her jaw is. She's about 7 weeks old. The pet store was trying to sell her for whatever they could get, and finally we marched in there, offered them a sum and said we weren't leaving without her so they best get on the phone and talk to whoever made the decisions there about selling her to us. We also made a few suggestions about moistening the kibble for the other kits and such, and I was surprised when the employee hurried into the back of the store and came out immediately with fresh, moistened kibble and a freshly cleaned cage, no shavings and some safe toys. It's amazing how fast they'll work when you tell them you operate the local ferret rescue and club :-) Anyway, her one lower canine sticks up into the roof of her mouth, the other is sticking into the area where her upper gums and lip meet. Both will need to be removed or she won't be able to close her mouth, much less eat. Our vet said that extraction was actually fairly easy, but that she would need to go back in a couple of months to ensure that the entire root had been removed, and that there was no infection in the gum. He said he's removed a few, and didn't mention anything about broken jaws or other horrifying things. My question: she's also got a severly prolapsed rectum (probably a result of eating hard kibble too young and being descented so early) and I'd like to make life more comfortable for her. We're giving her moist kibble so things are easier for her to swallow without having to close her mouth all the way, but is there anything else I can do for her poor bottom? I'd also like to thank our local community of ferret fanciers, many of whom stopped in to the store to express their concern over her mouth and her future to the manager, and also who have offered to help pay for the surgery to remove her teeth. Our rescue is pretty tight on funds, and several people who would have bought her from the store if the price was right have decided instead to put that $$$ toward her surgery. You're all a really terrific group of people. Perry thanks you all :-) Sheena - [log in to unmask] | "To Err is Ferret ... To Forgive| VP - Greater Vancouver | "... Well, That's Our Job" | Ferret Association (Wherret Web Pages Coming Soon!) We're on the Web! http://www2.portal.ca/~cmc/ferrets/fagv/ [Posted in FML issue 1850]