my puffer needs help!!!

[abbaskyle]

my porcupine puffer recently developed what i think is lockjaw i had no idea that feeding them krill and silversides could and would do this to him. is there anyone that can help me nurse him back to health?!? he tries to eat but simply cannot open his mouth to get the food, he tries so desparately to eat but he simply cant i read somewhere that i can try to force-feed him, but I'm worried i will only stress him out and kill him..... any help is appreciated thnk you in advance

 

[HowManyClowns]

As far as I'm aware the best way to treat it is to force feed, it sucks but a dead puffer sucks more. Too much fish can also cause liver problems for these guys too. Try your best to feed him with a tube and syringe, if it's impossible you can anesthetize him and do it but that doesn't always work and can be dangerous. I would order something now though just incase you struggle to feed him when he is awake

 

[saintsnsinners]

Vitamin deficiency. You'll have to force feed. it's really not as bad as it sounds. you can try squid, clam, ghost shrimp even pellets. also check the beak and make sure it's not overgrown. sometimes that will make it difficult to eat.

 

[abbaskyle]

i am setting up a hospital tank for him now and am gonna force feed him. what should i use that can get through tube easily?

 

[abbaskyle]

and what vitamins should i use? thnk you

 

[saintsnsinners]

A syringe isn't always necessary. you might be able to chop up meaty foods and stick it directly in its mouth. I've heard of recoveries in as little as a week. for some reason I thought you were feeding your tank half shell clams sometimes.

 

[ademster]

I always fed my pork squid, if you need some I have a BOX of squid.

 

[tcamos]

It sounds like you likely need to trim the teeth.

What kind of puffer is this? If it's a smaller puffer I can trim his teeth. A larger puffer would need to have it done professionally.

I've done it with a green spotted puffer and a valentini. Below is a video (from a long time ago) from my GSP.

If you need to get it done professionally last I heard AquaTouch did it. Go to this page and scroll down a bit for info.

http://www.aquatouch.com/livestock.html

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/2yKF70593pE?list=UUBwbwsUomH5MTALOFenrRtg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[abbaskyle]

i cant get him to open his mouth (despite him trying to eat the falling food) so idk if its his teeth or not.. ive been feeding him silversides/krill/the occasional baby squid/ and clams on the half shell (not near as often as krill)

 

[abbaskyle]

tcamos hes about 3-4 inches long, think you could take a look at him? i live in gilbert.

 

[abbaskyle]

ademster that would b awesome where are you located?

 

[tcamos]

tcamos hes about 3-4 inches long, think you could take a look at him? i live in gilbert.

What species is it? That's going to make a difference in the thickness of the teeth. Can you post a photo of him, especially one that shows the mouth?

 

[abbaskyle]

He's a porcupine puffer, 3-4 inches in length. And have had him for about a year and a half. I'll pm u my # and u can txt me or call at ur convenience. Just wanna get him eating again. I feel so bad for him.

What species is it? That's going to make a difference in the thickness of the teeth. Can you post a photo of him, especially one that shows the mouth?

 

[Maaka]

Most likely the teeth are not the problem. Porcupine puffers have two dental plates for crushing food. Not the normal ever growing teeth that other puffers have.

https://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Porcupinefish.html

My puffer didn't have lock jaw but it had a bad infection that made it blind and lose it's appetite so i feed him selcon soaked mysis through a syringe with airline tubing on the end.
I had to gently hold him in place with one hand and feed with the other. He got used to it after a few tries. I didn't like stressing him out but it was that or he was a goner.

Also for some good research on puffers this site is great. There is plenty of information on there about lockjaw.

http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/portal.php

Here is one I found very helpful.

http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=29156

Hope everything goes well for you.

 

[HowManyClowns]

As for vitamin supplements use selcon, soak the food in it. I have a big bottle of it, if you need some quickly let me know

 

[abbaskyle]

i know that hes hungry bc he tries so hard to open his mouth,yet cant. so from all the research ive done, it has to be lockjaw im gonna head to the pet store today and see if they have selcon. proly gonna buy spirulina shrimp cubes and squirt some of that down his throat (gently) just worried if he has lockjaw that i will hurt him opening his mouth like that. thnx for all the info all, im gonna b doing everything i can to save him. hes been a great companion to me, so sad to see him like this.

As for vitamin supplements use selcon, soak the food in it. I have a big bottle of it, if you need some quickly let me know

 

[abbaskyle]

thank you for the info maaka, gonna do the airline tubing on syringe today and see if i can get him to eat without having to try and put it in his mouth, but most likely he wont b able to bc ive seen him try to lunge at the food but cant do anything about it. i will keep everyone updated, thank you so much. was really hoping they would have some kind of medicine for it. but the only thing ive found (which isnt for sure) is iodine deficiency, and to dose with iodine in his hospital tank. (which I'm setting up today) just not gonna do the iodine, would rather use the vitamins and force feed. wish me luck.

 

[Maaka]

I think the vitamins are your best choice.

Also make sure you keep an eye on the ammonia and nitrite levels in the hospital tank. When I had my puffer in one I was doing at least a 50% water change per day to keep the levels down.

 

[tcamos]

Porcupine puffers have two dental plates for crushing food.

That's right, they aren't tetradons they are diodons, more like a parrot fish than other puffers. That's why I asked. If it is the teeth growth (they do overgrow) then it has to be done with a Dremel and is something I recommend to be done by a pro or someone experienced with that method. I've never done it that way before and I don't feel comfortable experimenting on someone else's fish.

If it really is what people call "lockjaw" you will need to tube feed it. This isn't has hard as you think. If you can get a hold of a small (child sized) urinary catheter and a syringe with a nib the size of the tube it's perfect for this. The tube is designed to be rounded and gentle. I also would gently massage the mandibular joint on each side with your thumb and forefinger.

From what I've read this lockjaw doesn't have a single cause so success seems to come from keeping the fish alive long enough under proper conditions and nutrition long enough for the fish's own healing system to take care of it.

I may not be able to do anything but I would like to at least look at the fish and see. I will text you. Puffers are a thing with me, my favorite fish of all so I don't like to see them sickly.

 

[abbaskyle]

Yea I went today and bought some vitamins, amino acids, spirulina shrimp, a syringe (cut some tubing) and a bottle to concoct it all together. Also bought a 20g hospital tank, and a sticky sensor to keep an eye on the ammonia levels. (Little tab from seachem I think) pretty cool lasts up to a year and was only 10 bucks. Gonna try to feed him in the next half hr.

I think the vitamins are your best choice.

Also make sure you keep an eye on the ammonia and nitrite levels in the hospital tank. When I had my puffer in one I was doing at least a 50% water change per day to keep the levels down.