The Puffer Forum

I've just done one of the scariest things I've ever done to a fish: I've trimmed a puffer's teeth. My lorteti male had become very long in teeth, and he also has become pretty thin lately, so I found there was no way around it: I had to something about his teeth. And, don't be angry with me for this, because there was no other solution; It's impossible to get Finquel or clove oil here, so I had to do it with him awake. OMG, it was so hard! Those tiny teeth, and I was so afraid to hurt him. And to makes things worse, my hands were shaking pretty much. He puffed a few times at the end, and I don't blame him. I was surprised he waited so long before puffing (FW puffers really don't puff very often). I have no idea how well I managed to do it, so I really hope he is OK. Now, he is very, very angry with me, and is hiding behind the filter, not moving at all. I guess he will stay there for a while. I dropped a few snails into his tank, so he has something to hunt if he wants to when I go to bed. I really, really, really hope he will be OK. But if I had not done it, I would have lost him in the end. Oh, my dear little puff.

hope he gets better! I need to trim my lorteti female's teeth Aand I think I'm going to be doing it without a sedative.

lol, congrats for getting through it! i dont think i would have been able to do it. hope he isnt mad at you by the morning!

can filquel not be shipped to you or something? cause i need to get some and then i could try to mail you some...

I think it's much better to trim the teeth without sedation.
Clove oil should never be used since so many puffers don't wake up, or worse wake up brain damaged.

hadla wrote:can filquel not be shipped to you or something? cause i need to get some and then i could try to mail you some...

It's not allowed to import fish meds (or any other animal meds) to Norway (I guess farmacies and vets can do it though), so it would actually be smuggling. I have done it many times from webshops though, always asking them to not write "fish meds" on the note to the customs. But this is from webshops (if it is caught, it will only be returned to the shop that sent it). I have no idea what will happen if it's sent from a person and not a shop. But send me a PM if you will get some.

My lorteti is still on the exact same spot behind the filter. If he had been resting on something, I would have to check if he were alive. He doesn't move. I guess he got very, very stressed out of the whole thing. I hope he doesn't use too long time getting back to normal. He must be very angry with me! It wasn't done very quickly, so he had to go through a lot of handling. Poor thing!

Sounds like he had a bad day ! Sound like your gonna have to give him time and just keep an eye to make sure theres no lasting effects! Maybe a little bribery wouldnt hurt! LOL

He is out of hiding, and came to the front glass to watch me now. The light is not on in his tank yet (it's still morning), and I was looking all over for him with a torch light, and couldn't find him. I didn't see him right in front of me! I wish I had been able to cut his teeth even further down, because I still think they are long. But it will have to do for this time. I can't let him go through it all again. I don't recommend anyone else to try to do it with the fish all awake. It was definitely not easy, and I felt so sorry for him. I still feel a bit guilty about it.

Troender wrote:He is out of hiding, and came to the front glass to watch me now. The light is not on in his tank yet (it's still morning), and I was looking all over for him with a torch light, and couldn't find him. I didn't see him right in front of me!

lol! that happens to me with figgy. im looking everywhere in the back of the tank for her and shes busy swimming up and down trying to get my attention in the front

Hi I'm new here but have a Figure 8 Puffer Tweetie whose teeth have grown so long that he can only eat (I hope) plankton & bloodworms...sort of...they get stuck in his teeth.I have phoned all over & looked on the Internet which I'm not that great at.I live in BC after calling my koi guy who sent me to another vet that does koi who sent me to another & so on..My Vet called & gave me the name of a Dr. Martin Hulena @ the Vancouver Aquarium who put me in touch with the fellow he uses for On Calls.He said he would do it but was leaving for Californa in 2 hrs so I called the vet he recommended & they are getting all sorts of equipment & supplies together...which is great! Except I have to wait now for Monday to find out what it's going to cost me...they did say it would be in the hundreds!!! I'm on a disability...I don't have hundreds to spend on my Tweetie....I'm hoping I can get them to give me some sort of a discount! If not I'm going to have to do it myself so you will be hearing from me & any tips would be great.

welcome to the board!

please see:
library/hospital/dentistry/

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=28228&hilit=+trim

these last 2 posts can be moved to the hospital so you can get more personal attention.


BTW can you get Finquel?

Don't use clove oil is my only advice.

Thanks so much for pointing me in the right direction.I have a feeling I can do this as long as I prepare for it.It has to feel right before I will do anything.I'll make sure the counter height is correct & everything in easy reach.I will wait until I hear back from the vet with a price though...cause I'm such a worrywart when it comes to my animals &fish.I would have kept a watch out on his teeth but with personal health issues & now I'm looking after my parents with theirs I didn't notice until recently how long they were...after this I'll be more careful.

and breed lots of snails

That is in the works...I have a few in my 2 other tanks.I was also told that I could try putting bloodworms on a piece of coral then letting the bloodworms dry on it so when he goes to eat then he will have to work at it which should help his teeth.I hope. I bought the clippers..smallest ones I could find & also bought the Oil of Clove but when I got home I found than I will need to find a dropper..so I will have to hunt around the house for one.I'm really nervous about doing the trimming but today is the day.Thanks again for the help.

Se if this vet you're in touch with can give you MS-222 to tranq him with instead.