A cheerful pufferfish had the smile put back on her face after emergency dental work meant she could eat again.
Goldie’s great big gnashers had to be sawed in half because they were leaving her unable to feed and losing weight.
Now she is thriving again and charming visitors with her dazzling smile.
The five-year-old porcupine pufferfish’s worried Mark Byatt rushed her to vets in Kent where medics quickly confirmed that Goldie’s grin needed scaling down.
They duly filled her water bowl with a mild anaesthetic solution to sedate her at Linnaeus-owned Sandhole Veterinary Cente in Snodland.
Goldie then had her one inch teeth trimmed in half using a special saw.
Vet Daniel Calvo Carrasco explained that Goldie’s fussy eating might have contributed to her plight.
He explained: ‘Porcupine pufferfish teeth are known as beaks and grow continuously throughout their lives.
‘They’re usually kept short naturally, as they’re worn down on their regular diet of hard-shelled foods but, while these foods are provided in her home environment, she is not as forthcoming in eating them as her other tank mates.
‘As a result, her upper beak grew to the point where it was hindering her ability to eat effectively.’
Daniel continued: ‘Goldie was brought into the practice in a large watertight container containing water from her home tank and a licensed fish anaesthetic was placed into the water until she achieved a light plane of anaesthesia.
‘To support her further, the water was oxygenated throughout.
‘This meant she was still breathing nicely throughout but was able to be held for brief periods out of the water without becoming too stressed.’
Veterinary nurse Debbie Addison held Goldie in a damp towel to prevent her from drying out or triggering a defence mechanism which can see pufferfish inflate to twice their size.
Daniel added: ‘Debbie was able to hold Goldie in a damp towel to prevent her becoming too dry, while also ensuring she was protected if she did trigger her defence mechanism to inflate her body and activate her spines.
‘It was during those brief periods out of the anaesthetic water that I was able to use a dental burr to cut through her upper beak and reduce its length by half.’
Goldie was put into a second large container with water from her home tank to recover from the anaesthetic, Daniel explained.
‘She responded well. Within five minutes, she was able to stay up right in the water and within ten minutes she was back to happily swimming around.
‘The whole procedure went swimmingly and was conducted in under an hour without any stress at all and Goldie was back home and eating well within two hours.’
Goldie is now back in her tank at home in Leybourne.
Relieved owner Mark, 64, said: ‘About three months ago, we noticed her front beak was growing very quickly even though she was eating cockle in shell every day.
‘We aren’t sure why Goldie’s teeth never really managed to grind themselves naturally but we knew we needed to get them filed, although we were unsure about how to achieve this.
‘I was also very concerned about the process of getting Goldie to the surgery, as transporting large tropical fish is not without risk.’
He added: ‘We’re just thrilled to have Goldie back home.
‘She is thriving back in her tank and none the worse for her visit to the dentist.’
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