Puffer Dentistry
Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2005 3:29 pm
I am new to this forum so I apologize if I posted this in the wrong section. 
I have an aquarium with four figure-eight puffers and two of my smallest puffers (1-2 inches) had very overgrown teeth. I felt so bad that I let them get that way because I couldn't buy any snails at the time. I P.M.d Pufferpunk which I new had the most experience with puffers then anyone else I have ever talked to and she told me I could trim my puffers teeth. I was so happy that I told my family and they almost fell over thinking I was crazy, they assured me I would be wasting my time and money and that I shouldn't do it. I thought to myself:
A) I can leave the puffers alone and they will eventually starve to death or
B) I can take a chance and try to save my puffers I love so much.
I decided to cut there teeth using cuticle nippers and it worked. I used three drops of clove oil and 3 cups of water, I put my smallest puffer in the bowl. I timed how long it took to put under my puffer. It took 6 minutes, I thought this busy bee was never going to stop moving, then when it did I thought I had killed it but after I finished cutting its teeth and put it in another bowl of plane aquarium water within a minute it was swimming around. My other puffer was out within a minute after placing it in the solution. It was fine and happy after the procedure also. Another interesting fact is neither one of my puffers went belly up when they were put under, they just stopped moving. It just shows how different puffers take differently to the clove oil.
Thank you so much Pufferpunk, You saved my puffers lives.
I have an aquarium with four figure-eight puffers and two of my smallest puffers (1-2 inches) had very overgrown teeth. I felt so bad that I let them get that way because I couldn't buy any snails at the time. I P.M.d Pufferpunk which I new had the most experience with puffers then anyone else I have ever talked to and she told me I could trim my puffers teeth. I was so happy that I told my family and they almost fell over thinking I was crazy, they assured me I would be wasting my time and money and that I shouldn't do it. I thought to myself:
A) I can leave the puffers alone and they will eventually starve to death or
B) I can take a chance and try to save my puffers I love so much.
I decided to cut there teeth using cuticle nippers and it worked. I used three drops of clove oil and 3 cups of water, I put my smallest puffer in the bowl. I timed how long it took to put under my puffer. It took 6 minutes, I thought this busy bee was never going to stop moving, then when it did I thought I had killed it but after I finished cutting its teeth and put it in another bowl of plane aquarium water within a minute it was swimming around. My other puffer was out within a minute after placing it in the solution. It was fine and happy after the procedure also. Another interesting fact is neither one of my puffers went belly up when they were put under, they just stopped moving. It just shows how different puffers take differently to the clove oil.
Thank you so much Pufferpunk, You saved my puffers lives.