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Dental Question

725 views 3 replies 2 participants last post by  Kalandra 
#1 · (Edited)
So, I have a three year old hedgehog that has had three abscessed teeth so far in the last six months or so.
I'm starting to get a little frustrated because I don't know what I'm doing wrong... And I feel like a bad parent... And I feel bad every time he has to go through it.
So, I was wondering if it's possible for the vet to just remove all of his teeth and for him to just be put on a wet food diet for the remainder of his life?
Hopefully preventing him from going through this a fourth time?
If it's not possible for all of his teeth to be extracted and him to not survive, please tell me what I'm doing wrong and I'll change it.
I just don't know what to do. He's the first hedgehog I've ever owned and I'm feeling stuck.
 
#2 ·
I'd say discuss this with your veterinarian. I'd likely ask doc to thoroughly examine the teeth to determine if they remaining are healthy or not. If his teeth are suspect, then I'd discuss how hard it would be to remove them all. Sometimes their teeth become loose and infection sets in. The cause could simply be genetic or it could be due to bad diet during development, its hard to determine.

I have had a couple of toothless hedgehogs in the past and they lived quite well on a soft food only diet. The biggest problem with soft food only diets sometimes is getting a picky eater to want to switch.
 
#3 ·
I'm definitely going to talk with my vet about it, I just wanted to get a little insight from other hedgehog owners to see if they've had situations like this.
He's the only hedgehog I've had and this is the only health issue I've ever had with him.
The vet told me that his teeth become loose and then don't fall out for whatever reason... And then they become abscessed and infected. I don't know why it keeps happening. This is the third time though and I'm almost thinking it would be better to just have a toothless hedgehog because it would be less painful for him.
We've fed him wet food before and he loved it. So... I mostly just wanted to know if it was even possible to have a toothless hedgehog.
 
#4 ·
Its doable. Not ideal, but if his teeth are bad then it may be the only solution you really have.


They can survive being toothless and can live fine. So two examples for you: I had one girl who had premature tooth wear. While not toothless, she didn't have much teeth left. We switched to soft foods and she did fine on that for 2 years.

Another started out spitting out teeth. He had developed a tumor (removed and recovered), and yet later his teeth started getting loose and infected. Eventually he was just toothless. He was fine for over a year living on moistened kibble.

I shouldn't say the biggest trouble is gettign them to eat, but it can be in the beginning. The biggest hassle sometimes is getting their GI to deal with the extra moisture and finding foods they can eat and planning out their meal plans.

The excess moisture in the beginning typically triggered very loose stools in my little ones. It was messy in the beginning, but their systems seemed to adjust. However, looser than usual stools would happen from time to time.

You also have to be very careful what you give them. Canned foods that have chunks or shredded can become problematic for them. And insects pretty much are no longer an option since they cannot chew them up.

I've had a couple who just had bad tooth wear. Mealworms quickly become a non-option. And eventually even soft bodied insects like waxworms were a no go too. They become choking hazards, or they simply cannot chew them up and the insect passes through their GI whole (its not fun finding a large white blob in a hedgehog stool).
 
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