Tooth removal?

[brittanyb]

Hi, all. I just got back from the vet with Scarlett, the latest addition to my business. I'm happy to report that she is healthy and everything looks great. Her only issue is a dead upper canine tooth that is chipped off at the tip (I noticed it when I picked her up from her previous owners, but they claimed not to know what happened). The vet said it likely isn't causing her any discomfort, but said that she could very likely develop an infection there in the future, so she recommended that we have it pulled while she's still young and can handle the procedure. I'm going to schedule the procedure after giving her time to adjust to her new home, yet I'm nervous because of everything I've read about ferrets and anesthesia. Do any of you have experience with having your ferrets put under for a procedure? How old was your ferret at the time, and how did it go?

[unclejoe]

I've had good and bad. Eddie was older, around 6, when we discovered he had some badly rotted teeth. We took him in to have them removed, but he never recovered. Looking back, we realized that he was probably weak from not eating much for a few days to a week. We should have got him on antibiotics so he could feed himself and get stronger.
Goober was about a year and a half and accidentally ripped out a front claw. He was knocked out to have it stitched up and was fine.
That said, a canine extraction should be simple. Eddie had bad molars. Our Poppy chipped a canine and was fine for almost a year with me inspecting the tooth when she had nails trimmed. She suddenly became sick and I found that the tooth had worn into the pulp and she had a serious infection. Emergency vet visit and 2 days on heavy antibiotics wasn't enough to save my baby.

[brittanyb]

Thank you for your reply, unclejoe, and I'm sorry about the bad experiences you've had. I had massive anxiety when my (much bigger) cat had to be under anesthesia, so I know I'll be a nervous wreck on the day of Scarlett's procedure!