# My Poor Toothless Zoey



## PJM (May 7, 2010)

Well, not quite toothless, but getting there.

Several months ago, I noticed Zoey was acting odd. She kept licking, like a dog does with peanut butter. I took her into the vet & she had a infection around a tooth. We got some meds & she healed up nicely. We have had several more bouts, treated each time with clavamox (I believe).
Anyway, I noticed that she was having a hard time eating mealies. I give her the soft white ones (after they shed their skin), because she has always had missing teeth ever since we got her as a rehome a year ago.

Anyway, long story short- I'm in the waiting room @ the vets & she is getting 2 back molars pulled. My poor, sweet baby!!!


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## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

Oh no poor baby Zoey! I hope she recovers quickly. Someone here (not sure but I think it might be Lilysmommy) gives her hedgie a mealie with pet toothpaste once in a while, I think to prevent infection. Maybe you could talk to her and your vet to see if that would help Zoey at all.


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

Well, we're home now. She ended up removing 3 molars. They're bigger than I thought.



susanaproenca said:


> Someone here (not sure but I think it might be Lilysmommy) gives her hedgie a mealie with pet toothpaste once in a while, I think to prevent infection. Maybe you could talk to her and your vet to see if that would help Zoey at all.


That's a good idea. I don't think she'll be getting mealies anymore though. She's going to be strictly soft foods from now on. 

I think that she must have had teeth issues her whole life, because when she came to us, we noticed that she was missing a lot of teeth. I'm glad that I've been making all the different soft foods & purees for her. She had stopped touching her moistened kibble about a week or so ago, and was only eating the soft food.

Anyway, the good thing that came out of this, is that I am learning to trust myself & my judgement. Happy that I noticed it & that it was different than what she was doing before.

Here's a picture of the teeth.


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## shaelikestaquitos (Feb 2, 2010)

Poor poor Zoey 

Could you maybe.. mash up the mealies for her so that she could lick the puree? I know that sounds awful O_O

And wow, those teeth are BIG. Well, the roots are anyway @[email protected]


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

Poor baby. Hope she recovers real soon. Sending Hedgie Hugs to you and her!


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

[/quote]

:shock: 
HOLY CRAP!!!

:shock:

MY teeth are smaller than that!! :shock:

I have to say the thought of you mashing up mealies for Zoey makes my heart sing!!


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

PS I never doubted your intuition for a second!


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

I have quite a few teeth here, incisors, fangs, molars... hedgehog teeth are simply amazing. If you are a member of chins-n-hedgies, I posted a couple of Cooper's lost teeth and some quills laying on a penny a long time ago. If you click on the images, they blow up to a nice size. The teeth were not cleaned, they were pearly white, and the roots were hollow.

http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/s ... hp?t=22043


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

shaelikestaquitos said:


> Could you maybe.. mash up the mealies for her so that she could lick the puree? I know that sounds awful O_O


That is so totally gross! But I would absolutely be willing to do it. :lol:



MissC said:


> I have to say the thought of you mashing up mealies for Zoey makes my heart sing!!


 Anything to make you happy.  :roll: :lol:

Wow Kalandra!! I'm amazed at how big their teeth are - for such little creatures.


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

Also, as a side note, she has a bit of blood on her face & neck. I'm assuming that I should wait at least a few days before cleaning her up.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Cooper was completely toothless. He lost some of his from a jaw tumor that we had removed, the rest fell out over time. We think his teeth suffered from a poor diet.

If she is acting fine, I personally wouldn't wait. So long as there isn't a wound or stitches to pull out (which I don't see being the case here) I will take a warm wet wash cloth and just gently rub the fur to help remove the blood.

Cooper had trouble eating bugs afterwards. I would pop the heads off of any insect I fed him. He could eat waxworms pretty easily. But mealworms had to have freshly shed their skin, or else he would suck the insides out and spit out the tough skin. Kibble soaked in water and canned foods made up the bulk of his diet.


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## Hissy-Fit-Hazel (Jul 15, 2011)

oh my....poor little muffin. Hope she feels better soon!


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## shaelikestaquitos (Feb 2, 2010)

PJM said:


> Also, as a side note, she has a bit of blood on her face & neck. I'm assuming that I should wait at least a few days before cleaning her up.


Off topic, but the blood on her neck makes her look like a hedgie zombie!!!


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

Thank you, Shae! I was going to suggest getting lots of pics before cleaning the blood off - preferably a couple showing fangs. 

I was thinking about the mealie thing - if she really likes them and since you have a farm, can you feed her the disgusting white mealies you can see through?


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## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

Hope Zoey feels better soon and I know that you have great judgement  That is really funny about the hedgie zombie lol


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

MissC said:


> I was thinking about the mealie thing - if she really likes them and since you have a farm, can you feed her the disgusting white mealies you can see through?


Those are the only ones I would give her before - the white ones & aliens. Because she could eat them. I guess I'll still give her a small one & see if she can eat it. If not, I'll cut them up or something.

I was going to do a zombie hedgie picture - but just couldn't bring myself to do it. Maybe because it's real blood. If she ever anoints with strawberries, I may be able to do it.

She cuddled with hedgie Daddy tonight. And ate her normal blended food like there wasn't anything wrong. A little huffier than normal, but we understand. She's had a rough day.

I did take her to the office during lunch, so I could go straight to the vets after work. Finally got to introduce her to my Boss. He's never seen one in real life before. He was a little nervous - it was hilarious.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Aww, poor Zoey.  Glad she ate her food normally tonight, and so glad that she has such good parents! I think it was Snufflepuff who was putting the toothpaste on mealies, but I can't remember for sure either. :lol: Hope her mouth feels better quickly!


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

Thanks everyone. She's doing pretty good this morning. Although, we had our first fight.  

I usually have to scruff her in order for her to take the meds. I wonder if it just really hurt this morning, because she freaked out. Poor baby. We struggled a bit, which made us both upset.

Hopefully she'll forget about it tonight, in time for another round. :roll:


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## Quinn (Apr 24, 2011)

Awww poor Zoey. Give it time and She will feel much better.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Poor baby.  She'll feel a whole lot better once her mouth heals. Give her lots of hugs for me.


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## ThePliny (Jun 3, 2010)

poor, sweet little Zoey. 
Good on you for following your instincts and taking her to the vet, though.
Give her lots of cuddles for Pliny and I.


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## Alastrina (Sep 18, 2009)

:shock: OMG, Little Zoey!

After those pictures you sent me the other day, and all of your topics here I feel like I've been a visitor with your babies, and that picture of her with the blood... I am going to have to go hug a hedgie now.

I am so happy to hear that she ate well despite her feeling poorly. I can understand being upset too if my teeth had to get pulled!

Hugs for the little love from me!


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