Dental issues

What are the first signs of dental issues? Danger mouse sat in one place in their run all day which is unlike her. I had kicked them out of the hutch while I was cleaning it but was worried about her as she's normally so active when I do that. She sat at the bottom of their ramp to the run and lay down to the point that Penfold had to jump over her every time she wanted to get on the ramp.

It was shady/warm at the same time in that spot so I wasn't sure if maybe she was just trying out a new place to lie down but when I tried to feed her, it was almost as if she just couldn't be bothered. I fed her dandelion leaves and she would move to get them and eat them but didn't seem to want to go far.

Since returning to the hutch, I've locked them in to keep an eye on them and she's eating soft food, drinking and pooping normally but just disinterested if she has to move far. Tummy etc feels ok but when I gave her the 5pm crunchy treat, she couldn't seem to put it in her mouth properly and had to chew tiny bits from it whilst then dropping it on the floor as if it was too much effort (she is normally an eating machine and will eat crunchy treats in two mouthfuls within seconds). She can eat soft things so I have picked lots of grass to tide her over as I don't trust my OOH vets so am waiting until the morning.

She has never been a dental bun, nor has her sister and this is quite sudden as apparently she was fine this morning (OH did breakfast). I tried to look at her teeth and she half let me (she would normally nip me If went too near to anywhere she didn't like) and it seems like she can't nip me

So basically I guess, does this sound like a dental issue? I'm sure it is and I'm sure vet will confirm the same.

The picking the food up then dropping it sounds a bit like dental trouble, but to be honest the rest of the symptoms could be a sign of any number of problems as they are quite general. I'd definitely get her to the vet. There's not much point trying to look in her mouth yourself as you won't see much that's useful. The vet can have a look with an otoscope (I think, might not be called that but the little magnifying tool thingy). Even with one of those they can't see the whole mouth but can normally take a good guess as to whether the teeth might be a problem and whether Iit's worth having a general anaesthetic.

It can appear to come in suddenly as they're so good as hiding pain. That said, every time Marbles has a dental I get better at noticing the tiny signs really early on. There's things I notice now that I never noticed previously because they are such subtle changes.

Good luck in any case.

Thanks for the reply Katie :wave:

She's normally an eating machine and was fine when I put them to bed last night so it's just very strange. There are lots of flowery weeds near their run so I'm not sure if it's dental or if she she's been stung by something??

Can't wait to get her to the vet!

It's possible but I'd think unlikely that she's been stung. Dental is more likely. I always find Marbles recovers better if I get her teeth done asap at the very first signs.

Good luck at the vet, please come back and let us know how you get on. For now make sure you offer her all her favourites to keep her eating something. The last thing you want is stasis on top.