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Post by Gg on Jan 21, 2018 0:16:09 GMT -5
Here is a picture of his tooth if it helps. It looks like it's only darkened on the inside. I literally just noticed this so I'm wondering how long it's been there and if that's the reason he's a chewer.  |
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Post by FireAngel on Jan 21, 2018 10:06:36 GMT -5
Grey tooth could indicate damage, please have it checked with your vet. Do you clean their teeth weekly? If not they could more than likely use a good cleaning from the vet. The tooth bothering him could absolutely be a barrier to eating bones and yes it could be why he chews.
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Post by Gg on Jan 21, 2018 17:46:22 GMT -5
I do brush their teeth! Twice a week if I can but definitely once at least every week. I’ll start doing more for him. My vet is closed today but I’ll set up an appointment for that in the morning. I’m just using eggshell and salmon oil for now, should I be using something different for Appa?
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Post by FireAngel on Jan 22, 2018 9:28:29 GMT -5
That should be a good mix, I didn't mean to make it sound as if I was accusing you of not brushing teeth, it is just something we had not talked about yet  I do not think there is an emergency to get it checked but it is def worth getting it checked especially as we are moving into bones. What have they eaten this week? What size slivers are they getting now? |
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Post by Gg on Jan 22, 2018 12:47:58 GMT -5
I didn't think you were! I just like using exclamation marks!!!!   They're on small cubes of chicken now but most of the time they just spit it out! Small slivers get dismissed. The bigger chunks are received a bit better but for the most part, they'd rather not eat the chunks if the soup is another option. I'm wondering if we should skip adding sliver/chunk gradually getting bigger stage for the most part and I can start introducing them to bigger pieces on bone like quail and frog legs? I'll keep trying of course but I feel like we're going nowhere with these chunks. I'm still on a grind-like consistency for their soup. I had them on chicken/grass fed beef for the last 4 days and today their soup is chicken/beef/lamb and leeeeet me tell ya, they both hate it! lol They're used to mostly chicken and a ball of ground beef...now it's half beef/lamb and the other half chicken. I have to get them positioned in my lap and finger fed for a bit before they'll toy with idea of eating off the spoon. I'm thawing some bone in quail to see how they respond to that tonight! I also picked up some brain. Do I replace the liver with the brain in the recipe? also, Appa has an appointment for a teeth cleaning this wednesday morning and another appointment on friday morning for his superlorin implant  He's been bullying Momo the last few days/nights to the point where I'll hear Momo screaming and hissing at him to leave him alone. He never used to be this aggressive and he wont let up sometimes. This is how Momo was acting before his implant so I'm crossing my fingers that it'll help. Have a beautiful afternoon! |
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Post by FireAngel on Jan 22, 2018 16:30:07 GMT -5
Phew, i was scared i insulted you lol. Yes you can try just a chunk meal, if they eat them there is no harm in not having the soup as a back up. I mean keep it on hand in case you need to use it in am emergency but taking it away should be fine if they are eating the chunks. You can just add the brain to the recipe so it will be the same amount as the liver. Eventually they will be getting a meal of half liver and half other organ so adding the other organ now will be good.  Hopefully Appa's tooth is nothing but I am glad he has the appt. |
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Post by Gg on Jan 25, 2018 18:38:02 GMT -5
Hiyah! Now that everything has settled down with Appa, an update on their meals:
The brain is a hit! The texture is soft like liver and they seem to like slurping that up.
It also makes the soup smell nice! Unfortunately with Momo stressed out with his little brother gone, he didn't have much of an appetite all night and morning but as soon as I brought Appa in my room, Out came momo to greet him in the kennel. They both ate a fair amount of food and now passed out. It's been a couple of days for them without bones so hopefully they can pick that back up. Should I wait to give Appa bones since he just had his teeth cleaned? And I also found tartar on Momo's back teeth as well but I'm definitely not going to take him in for that!! Uh, uh no way.
Is there any treats that might help break up the plaque?
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Post by FireAngel on Jan 25, 2018 20:15:41 GMT -5
Bone is the best to break up the tarter. Unless there was something wrong with Appa's teeth he should be fine to eat what he was eating before. I am so glad he is doing well now!! If my vet wanted to gas mine for teeth cleanings I would never do it either, thankfully that is not issue here. |
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Post by Gg on Jan 26, 2018 13:57:53 GMT -5
Yeah something like a teeth cleaning was definitely not worth it  I was worried his tooth had to be pulled so when I asked them how intense the cleaning would be, they said they would let me know once they started. I imagined his tooth was going to be extracted but I think thats their way of having the situation seem more dire and charge extra for the add-ons. I want to be mad and yell at them but I signed the consent form :/ Lesson learned. So I'm running into the same problem as before. They both wont approach the bowl on their own. I've tried setting them near the bowl and having them lick the soup off my finger until I slowly get it inside the bowl and as soon as their face in is the bowl, they stop eating. :/ I know this is my fault because I've spoiled them by hand feeding them off a spoon in my lap when adding in the red meants since they wouldn't go near it in thebeginning and now they're entitled to that lol I do feed them both every 4 hours because of each individuals issues but idk if I'm giving them too much food throughout the day so they're not interested in the food or really hungry? Like they just eat it because I'm hand feeding them so it's like a treat? I'm not sure. Any advice on that? |
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Post by FireAngel on Jan 29, 2018 12:34:01 GMT -5
Sorry for the delay in response, my laptop decided to die on me!
It could be they are just too used to waiting for you to start them eating before they eat. You could try to leave it out for them 6 hours is the max I would let them go without eating though.
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Post by Gg on Feb 1, 2018 20:24:20 GMT -5
Oh no! Did you get another one or revive the one you have? Yeah I tried leaving it out for 6/7 hours and they’ll approach the bowl, smell it and run away :/ but once I put food on their lips, they eat like they’ve been starved! I guess I’ll see what happens once they’re on solids! They stop in the middle of eating soup or to wipe off the soup from their mouths on their chest so maybe they don’t like getting wet? I changed up their food bowls, that seemed to help! I use to use a big flat one and the food would be chased around all over the plate so I got soap dish plates for each of them and that seemed to help. I also started using the tip of chicken wings to spoon feed them in between them licking out of the bowl yesterday they didn’t want it ( I approached them with the wing during play time and they liked the tugging and crunching parts but grew sick of it fast) then for dinner, they kind of accepted it a little more. Today they actually chewed it so bones were spilling out but the skin is too hard to tug off so they gave up So now we have oatmeal chunky soup mixed with some fresh meat cuts and chicken wing spoons |
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Post by FireAngel on Feb 3, 2018 15:05:47 GMT -5
Lol that sounds like a ferret delicacy!
No I’m stuck on my phone for now.
You should try to chop the wings up into small pieces to make it easier for them, also you can take some of the skin off to help them get started!
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Post by Gg on Feb 8, 2018 13:20:36 GMT -5
it sure is! They love it! I tried your advice and started cutting the tip of the skin off so now they’re able to get to the yummy bones and marrow! I notice they both focus on the crunching for their back teeth, the plaque filled discolored ones! So I think they caught onto their own hygiene hahaha |
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Post by Gg on Feb 8, 2018 13:21:35 GMT -5
Oh I noticed that Momo has really dry feet pads.. could this be a side effect to the prednisolone? And would you happen to know of anything for that?
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Post by FireAngel on Feb 9, 2018 23:52:23 GMT -5
Their back teeth are made for grinding and. Bone breaking the front for tearing and ripping to yup bones will take care of teeth hygiene lol!
Anything you put on the pads of their feet will likely get licked at or off at some point so if you just want to add some moisture to them you can try whatever oil you are using as a treat for them and rub it in a bit. If they are actually dried and cracking you should ask the vet what they recommend
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