Comprehensive Management of Dental Calculus in a Meerkat (Suricata suricatta): A Case Report

Abstract

Meerkats (Suricata suricatta), small burrowing carnivores of  the family Herpestidae, are endemic to the arid regions  of the Kalahari and Namib Deserts across Botswana, Namibia,  Angola, and South Africa. Although primarily insectivorous,  wild meerkats supplement their diet with lizards, snakes,  scorpions, spiders, plants, eggs, small mammals, millipedes,  centipedes, and occasionally small birds. In captivity, they are  typically fed high-quality feline kibble combined with insect  prey (e.g. mealworms, crickets, waxworms, locusts) and fresh  produce such as apple, carrot, sweet potato, banana, and pear  (AZA Small Carnivore TAG, 2020). Adult meerkats possess 36 permanent teeth with a dental  formula of 2(I3/3, C1/1, P3/3, M2/2), characterized by sharp  interlocking cusps adapted for carnivorous mastication  (Hillson, 2005). Despite their hard, abrasive natural diet,  captive meerkats are predisposed to periodontal disease due  to the consistency of captive diets and lack of opportunities  for abrasive chewing. Periodontal disease is a plaque induced inflammatory condition affecting the supporting  periodontal tissues (Perry and Tutt, 2015; Niemiec, 2013).  Clinical signs include halitosis, dental plaque and calculus  accumulation, gingival inflammation and bleeding, gingival  recession, furcation exposure, and tooth mobility (Klein,  2000). Effective management requires mechanical removal  of supra- and sub-gingival plaque to halt disease progression.  This report presents a successful case of periodontal disease  management in a captive meerkat through ultrasonic scaling  under general anaesthesia and targeted postoperative care.