The Tooth Fairy visited my Dogface Puffer

[philakapd]

My happy and very healthy, Black Dogface decided to shed one of his four fused teeth yesterday; upper row, left side. I can see where the break occurred within his mouth if I get a good viewing angle. It is very difficult to see, he lost a lot of tooth! The remaining three teeth (or bones), appear to be in good condition and length. Fortunately, I don't believe he can pierce his own skin by biting it...I hope!

My puffer, "Blackjack", has been with me for almost five years now. He has never had physical problems except for a rare case of ich last year. His appetite is what you would expect for a Dogface with a diet consisting of Frozen Formula I and II, krill, plankton, silversides, shellfish.

I never had to consider filing his (or her!) teeth down because of excessive length, he has always done a fabulous job maintaining them by nibbling on the substrate and the rocks throughout the years.

So, in a nutshell, what do you think? Do I need to do anything? Do I need to remove him from the show tank or add a broad-spectrum antibiotic?

His behavior appears to be normal and so are his eating habits. I do not see any signs of infection.

Ironically, he looks perfect for the Halloween season only having 75% of his teeth!

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. I think he will be okay, but I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this.

Thanks!!!!

-PD

 

[Anonymous]

No, I haven't. But I would like to send you to one Jeni Tyrell (sp?), also known as PufferPunk on some puffer specific websites. I believe she still answers queries for the WetWebMedia crew's Daily FAQs. If she hasn't already seen this (and I would not be surprised if she has), then she knows someone. She is amazingly knowledgeable and helpful about all things puffer.

http://wetwebmedia.com/daily_faqs3.htm

 

[philakapd]

Thanks SeaMaiden, I'll give the link a try!

 

[Anonymous]

Also seek out Kelly Jedlicki AKA The Puffer Queen

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_2/ ... uffer2.htm

 

[Anonymous]

Hey, Kelly's not with WWM anymore? Hm. Yeah, she's very good, too. As a matter of fact... I think she's spoken on puffer dental care. My memory banks are too dusty, I can't read the little tabs.

It's worse than I thought, apparently I can't read the little url's, either. :lol:

 

[philakapd]

Made contact as suggested. I have not received anymore suggestions.


UPDATE: Puffers mouth has swollen within the last 24 hours. His appetite is still great.

Thanks for the help!

-PD

 

[Anonymous]

Give them some time, unless you think it's a real emergency.

 

[Anonymous]

Did any reply yet? If so, what did they say?

 

[philakapd]

Response from Wet Web Media:

No action is required at this time. It is very likely the tooth will regenerate. Expect to see growth within the next 2-12 months. (Yes, over a year!)


Kelly Jedlicki is with Marine Depot and the Louisville Marine Aquarium Society (LMAS.org). I tried to contact her through the website, but the weblink was not working. I decided not to send her a private E-mail as this situation does not warrant interrupting her directly.


The Puffer: the swelling around his mouth has steadily declined and his behavior appears to be normal. Thankfully, his appetite and habits are unchanged. He did learn a new trick…instead of opening his mouth for the smaller pieces of food, he just “sucks” the food through the opening in his mouth.

I did not add antibiotics or chemicals.

I did not find the broken tooth; the substrate and his tooth look identical It would have been nice to stick in my pumpkin!

Thanks for the replies and the help! Happy Halloween! :twisted:

-PD

 

[Anonymous]

:lol: You're kidding! That totally reminds me of when I was little and started losing those front teeth. Was spaghetti NOT an entirely new experience with those holes in the grin? That is too smart for a fish.

 

[philakapd]

Sometimes I think he is smarter than my dogs...he eats just as much.

Prince spaghetti day is Tuesday!

-PD

 

[Anonymous]

You've gotta find some kind of worm thing to feed him, then get a video of him slurping it up.