# Problem with incisors-what to do?



## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

One of my meeces is looking raggedy and is losing weight. He had been treated for ear crud, and has recovered from that pretty nicely. However he still looked very rough. I found a half eaten lump of kibble and a piece of dried bread, both foods which normally wold have been gobbled up immediately. On examination, it appears that one of his lower incisors is about 1/8 of an inch longer than the other. He started taking soft food when offered, and is looking better.

Is there any way I can clip that lower incisor? Or does that have to be done by a vet?


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

You can clip them, but it's difficult. Try giving him a cuttle bone or something and see if he can wear it down himself.

If not, you can take him into the vet, and they can grind it down, but it's pricey.


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

I'll give that a try. Thanks. I'm worried that it'll start cutting into the upper jaw, and that would be awful.


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

Really you just need to clip the very tips of them. Good luck getting your mouse to hold still though.


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

I'm, pretty good as mousie wrastling. Nursed quite a few in my time. I use the same technique as I used on my kittes. Wrap 'em up firmly but gently all except the the muzzle and then do whatever it is that needs to be done.


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## WNTMousery (Jun 2, 2010)

Yes, clip it. I have a rat with malocclusion and I trim her teeth with toenail clippers. I use a cotton swab with the cotton removed to hold the tongue out of the way so as not to clip it in the process. Scruffing is pretty much required but you can definitely do it on your own! You'd probably have better luck than a vet, anyway, because you have experience with mice.


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

Thanks for the vote of confidence. WNT. I had already thought of using something to chock the little mousies wug open. Thanks again. I may try the cuttlebone first, though. He's looking a lot better since I figured out he wasn't able to eat enough and started giving him food like crumbled kibble, yogurt, and bread crumbs broken down real crumby.


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

If they don't chew on the cuttle bone on their own, put a little bit of something on it that they like. A little smear of peanut butter seems to do the trick.


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

Did I forget to say that it's Sweetheart who is having this problem?

Ooh, he'd probably for for that. They never get peanut butter normally.

He's looking so much better since I figured out that he wasn't get enough to eat. Bread crumbs, yogurt and crushed kibble mixed together go down very well. He looks so much better today, and I didn't want to traumatize him by wrapping him up for the clipping until he improved. Meeces are such tiny creatures, they can die from shock from things we normally wouldn't consider traumatic, and doubly likely if they are already ill. Any procedure done on the head is somewhat risky, as teh bones are so fine and thin. At least the jaw is the strongest of any of the facial bones, so that's a positive. I have some Numzit for gums that I'll use to lessen the physical sensation if I have to clip the incisor. I've nursed him through ear and muzzle crud, and he's in the middle of treatment for mites, after all that I really, really want to see a good outcome for him. He's only eight months old, and he's such a sweet boy. He made one of the nicest tri babies I've ever had, and I want to breed him again.

I'll see if I can get him to use the cuttlebone, though. Since I don't know whether he broke off part of that incisor or whether they are growing unevenly, I'm gonna have to keep and eye on him. This is only the second time in my twelve years of keeping meeces that I've seen something like this.


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

Last night his fur looked almost back to normal, though not quite as smooth as I'd like. He has been eating very well, which lets me know he isn't sick. I'm so relieved! I'll give cuttlebone and smear it a couple of times a day wit peanut butter. He went to right away last night as soon as I placed it in his tank. He's going to be so-o-o-o spoiled by all the crunched up kibble and bread crumbs and yogurt, but it is helping him regain the weight he lost, that's for darn tootin' I just hope going without proper feeding hasn't affetecd his fertility.
!


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

I'm am so relieved and happy to report that Sweetheart's right lower incisors are now the both the same length. Thank all of you for your kind advice and support. The cuttlebone with the peanut butter did the trick. Gladly, I will not have to clip the thing, I was worried about that, as I've never tried it; not that that would have stopped me if it was necessary. He got one last batch of yummies, but I saw him eating a safflower seed and starting in on a lump of kibble.

I think I'm going bust up the cuttlebones (I ended up getting a pack of six, as it was only one dollar more than getting just one) and distribute them generally. I've got those wood chew sticks in the past, but the meeces never seemed at all interested in those. these cheerfully chew through almost anything else they can get their teeth onto.


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## The Village Mousery (Aug 1, 2010)

glad his better  you two need some good luck


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

Thanks!


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

He's back to his normal self; I guess he was just cranky because he was hungry. He crawled right into my hand, and was very interested in crawling right out of it to go exploring after running up and down my arm a few times. His sore patches on his muzzle are healing up nicely. I'll know he's fully recovered when I see new whiskers growing there.


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

Great! I'm glad he liked the cuttle bone! Some mice are very picky about what they chew.

I know most of mine won't touch the wooden chew toys, but they love to chew up popsicle houses when they're making nests. My Spiny mice SHRED popsicle sticks!


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

The part of the cuttlebone that was smeared with peanut butter is still attacting him; I think it kinda soaked in. I'm gong to treat the pieces I put in other cages by smearing a little PB on them. I wouldn't feed it to them in any quantity, but I think chewing is probably a form of relaxation for meeces. If nothing else it may divert them from destructive chewing. I get the solid wheels made of nice hard plastic and they manage to put scallops in the edging, and some of them come with holes in the back of them and they work at those, trying to enlarge the holes. I have wooden thingies in a lot of the cages that have all the corners rounded of from chewing, which is fine, that's kind of what I got them for.

Some of my meeces like to taste my rings; that's how Nibbles got his name. He likes buttons too; he's chewed holes in my three old flannel shirts that I sometimes wear in winter when I'm up there. (I really don't need it in the mousery, it's the stairs and the rooom out side the mousery that is so cold.) That's OK, it's cute to see a mouse peeking out of your shirt. Besides, I did put bread crumbs in there.


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## zany_toon (Apr 3, 2010)

I'm so glad to hear that he is finally back to rights moustress!!


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