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lis84

Over two weeks ago i noticed my guinea pig had started to loose weight. So i checked him in to see the local Vet 2 weeks ago. She looked in his mouth and noticed his back teeth had gotten very long and nearly touching (creating a bridge over his tougue, if it had got worse). Then the next day i took him back to the vets for them to opperate on his teeth. They did this and the op was a success. But unfortunatly he is still chewing very slowly and taking small amounts of food not a mouthful, like his brother. I took him back to the vets last week and he is not gaining weight. So the vet has given me a painkiller for him to take - as he might be in pain. This hasn't helped. Today i took him to the vet again, she looked in his month and the molars are growing over again and she has given me some medicine to help improve his appetite.

I have started to syringe feed him mashed up apple.......and i have soaked his normal food in water.

I just hope the appetite medicine works :(
 
aah poor little guy hope he feels better soon and makes a speedy recovery
xoxoxoxoxoxofrom me and my piggie family x
 
Welcome to the forum. Is the vet going to trim his teeth again, since they are growing they will just keep on doing so.

Bio-Lapis is a pro biotic that is good for boosting appetite. If he isn't eating then he should be syringe feed critical care every couple of hours which is available from your vet.

Good luck with him!

Louise
:)
 
she suggested trimming them again, but he has lost alot of weight.......is now 86g. He was 100ishg about 4 weeks ago. So he might not pull through as he is weak.
The appetite medicine the vet has given me is for cats......called 'periactin'. To be given to him twice a day.

What is 'critical care'?
 
I've no real knowledge of teeth so I'm hoping someone in the know can help. Critical care contains all the vitamins and fibre a pig needs when unwell. Its in dried form and you add water to it. He does need to be fed every couple of hours to keep him going.

Sadly I feel that if the teeth aren't trimmed he is not going to be able to eat. I've just read up on the medication. Apparantly it is a antihystimie that for some reason boosts appitite in cats but no mention of it working for pigs.
 
You need to find another vet quickly or you will lose your piggy.Their is no need to use any kind of sedation to do dental work on gp`s.

Often the teeth will keep overgrowing for a few weeks or even months,then suddenly settle down.As long as they are kept trimmed back the gp should be o.k.

Daktarin oral gel is good for sore mouths.Just put a pea size blob straight in to the mouth 2 or 3 times a day.

The drug your vet gave you to increase the appetite is not suitable for gps`.
A pro biotic such as bio-lapis would be better.

Cut the veggies into match stick size slithers and put them in the side of the gp`s mouth onto the back teeth.He should be able to eat them.
If he is not eating at all you need to get approx 30 mls of syringe food into him per day.
What area are you in?,someone may know of a vet who is experienced with gps.
 
lis84 said:
she suggested trimming them again, but he has lost alot of weight.......is now 86g. He was 100ishg about 4 weeks ago. So he might not pull through as he is weak.
The appetite medicine the vet has given me is for cats......called 'periactin'. To be given to him twice a day.

What is 'critical care'?
Click to expand...

How old is he? Are you sure he only weighs 86g thats so tiny my girls were 385g at 6 weeks old.

I do hope he pulls through bless him. Definately get him some Critical Care or Science Recovery feed to syringe feed him.
 
Thanks everyone......i will go into another vet tomorrow and mention the bio lapis and critical care.

Cookie is around 4 and a half now. he has always been fairly small, conparied to his bro who is triple his size. Scoffs too much, so cookie doesn't get a see in sometimes.
The vet did say he was 86 on the scales.

Shall i try the appetite stuff, just to see? or just check him into another vet tomorrow.

Will try the cutting vegs/fruit into small pieces and putting them between the front and back teeth.
 
86g, he must be absolutely tiny. My 10 week old weighs in at almost 700g.

Good luck with the poor little guy.
 
i can feel his bones, but the vet doesn't say much about his weight :(. Its worrying me and i have given up......but since writing on here i have lots to try :). Abit more hope
 
ah glad you got some help from the guys here. All my pigs are young and I am yet to face these problems.

I can imagine he weighs 860g and not 86g. New born pups weigh about 100g each. :)

I do agree getting a new vet would help, ring around and see if they do guinea pig care or rodent care a rodentologist would be excellent what area are you in? Someone may be able to recommend a good vet.

(((hugs))) to you.
 
I have had problems with piggies teeth several times but you definately need to find a different vet. Like MaryH says this can be done without anesthetic and it needs to be done asap. If piggies stop eating for too long it can be fatal. MaryH is very knowledgable with piggie's treatment so if she says not to use that drug, then don't use it. To encourage your piggie to eat cut veg/fruit into smaller pieces or put pieces into the side of the mouth in front of the back teeth. If your piggie is not drinking then you will either need to syringe water hourly so he doesn't dehydrate or if he is weak bring the water bottle to him so he can drink from that. If you need to syringe food to him then use critical care which can be bought from a vet or veg baby food as this contains adequate vitamins and minerals. After the dental work the vet usually gives a painkiller by injection. Sorry I've gone on a bit but I thought I'd cover as as I knew. I hope this helps and let us know how you get on.
 
i tried what MaryH said about cutting the food into small pieces and putting them into the side of his mouth......he wasn't impressed and push the food away......i think he is now associating siting on my lap with having things (food and syringes) put into his mouth, so he is refusing to eat, but once back in his hutch he is more interested in food.
He did drink from the water bottle when i offered it to him when on my lap.

I will be going down to another vets in town tomorrow, to ask about the bio lapis and critical care and see if they opperate without anesthetic.

Will let you all know what they say.
 
I echo everything that has been said above about finding a new vet who is more experienced with piggies. Whereabouts do you live? someone might be able to recommend a good vet near you.
 
Update:
I went to another vets this morning, they don't have a vet that specialises in small animals (they could'nt recommend anyone).....but they have heard of bio lapis and critical care, but would have to order some in and get my records transfered from the other vet.
I left that, then rang 'my vet' and they have got critical care, but don't know what bio lapis is.

Anyho, i went and brought some baby food: apple and pear (lots of Vitimin C) and a veg mix.
He has had some apple and pear baby food, eat that well. I have weighed him and he is 800g.

He will be seeing a vet on Monday (who, i am told, specialises in small animals).

He just needs to start eating hay and hard foods to grind down his molar teeth (i have told him this :) )
 
Good luck with your piggie. Can't be sure but I think I saw bio lapis, or pro biotic in P@H yesterday. Others will know a lot more than me. Good luck again. Watching for your updates. xx
 
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This is Cookie ^^^^ -before he had his left eye removed in Feb..........poor little guy had a really bad eye, he is a little fighter, lets hope he gets through this poorly stage in his life. :)

The white fur at the front is the back of Weet Weet, Cookie's Brother
 
He is so cute! If he is stressed about you trying to feed him solids then it is probably best for him to eat himself when he goes back in his cage if you think he is happier that way. You'll have to syringe feed him every couple of hours. Really it would be better to try and get him to a vet before Monday.
 
Your piggy is beautiful.

I'm so sorry you are having such an awful time.

I see where you live. Could you get to Bath? I used to live there for a while and there is an excellent guinea vet - Roger Harrison, Bath Veterinary Centre 01225 313995 I think the number is. He has open surgery six days a week. He is in the recommended vet section on here.

Good luck with your little one.
 
lis84 said:
Over two weeks ago i noticed my guinea pig had started to loose weight. So i checked him in to see the local Vet 2 weeks ago. She looked in his mouth and noticed his back teeth had gotten very long and nearly touching (creating a bridge over his tougue, if it had got worse). Then the next day i took him back to the vets for them to opperate on his teeth. They did this and the op was a success. But unfortunatly he is still chewing very slowly and taking small amounts of food not a mouthful, like his brother. I took him back to the vets last week and he is not gaining weight. So the vet has given me a painkiller for him to take - as he might be in pain. This hasn't helped. Today i took him to the vet again, she looked in his month and the molars are growing over again and she has given me some medicine to help improve his appetite.

I have started to syringe feed him mashed up apple.......and i have soaked his normal food in water.

I just hope the appetite medicine works :(
Click to expand...


Aww the poor little guy I hope he gets better soon
 
Thanks to Summerleaze, who i am truely grateful for, as she sent me critical care and bio lapis.......he loves both, very yummy. I have given him 5g of critical care........should give him 10g, but will do that from tomorrow as I'm in all day. Also the bio lapis just mixes with 50ml of water and he is racing through that.

Will still go to the vets monday morning to see what she says (it does say on their website, she speciallises in all aspects of small animals).

Do you think i need to chat to another vet tomorrow (Roger, from Bath Vets), or will everything be ok for monday?
 
I would see how you get on. If you have found a small animal specialist vet you should be fine. Roger was lovely with my gang when I was living up there, and he (and his partner Anna) are very kind and will do everything they can.
 
Ok :) thank you.........today so far he has had more critical Care and Bio Lapis in his water......Also i have brought one of his fav treats (biscuit with jam stuff inside) from the petshop, they are crunchy so i gave him one and he slowly munched his way through it. So thats a good sign, to get him back to chewing again slowly. :)

Also he is more alert and eager to have more Critical Care and water :). Also i don't have to wrap him up in a towel anymore when feeding him. He just looks around for the syringe. SWEET :D
 
Great news, I'm so pleased he has improved a little. Good luck for Monday! x
 
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