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Advice Needed- Possible Dental Piggy

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Crunchie has remained bright, appetite is still low. Shes eating hay (definately eating it although not alot) and veg- lettuce, coriander, carrot and celery. Shes eaten a couple of pellets (ones she doesnt get on a day to day basis) but quickly lost interest- she did manage to crunch them though. Keeping up with her pain relief and syringe feeding although shes down another 20g so really need to persevere with that (she hates it n only managing 5 ml at a time). Any hints or tips @furryfriends (TEAS)
 
Shes currently 100g below normal weight (now 980g), but all effects of anaesthetic reaction seem to be gone, shes steady, running and wheeking again.

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I wonder if she was given Buprenorphine? My Petal had a horrible reaction to that pain relief once, it sounds very similar. Glad to hear she is picking up now though :) xx
 
She is so beautiful, sending her a cyber cuddle :hug: Big hugs to you @Adelle to, you have had so much to cope with recently, you really are a fantastic piggy slave.
 
Wonderful to hear, purring is always a good sign!
@Poppy'sMum do you mind me asking what the reaction was as that was what I was giving my piggy before she passed and I felt it made her far more out of than it should have.
 
Poppy'sMum said:
I wonder if she was given Buprenorphine? My Petal had a horrible reaction to that pain relief once, it sounds very similar. Glad to hear she is picking up now though :) xx
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She wasnt given any NSAIDSs or Opiates as she had her loxicom dose before i dropped her off.. It was purely the anaesthetic and it was very distressing!
 
Adelle said:
Crunchie has remained bright, appetite is still low. Shes eating hay (definately eating it although not alot) and veg- lettuce, coriander, carrot and celery. Shes eaten a couple of pellets (ones she doesnt get on a day to day basis) but quickly lost interest- she did manage to crunch them though. Keeping up with her pain relief and syringe feeding although shes down another 20g so really need to persevere with that (she hates it n only managing 5 ml at a time). Any hints or tips @furryfriends (TEAS)
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It will take a while for her to regain any lost weight, as a lot of the weigh of a piggy is tummy fill, and her tummy will have got fairly empty over the past 24 hours. If she is bright and nibbling at hay and her veg then I wouldn't worry too much about her not eating many pellets. Grass and hay is the best for keeping teeth worn well.
 
furryfriends (TEAS) said:
It will take a while for her to regain any lost weight, as a lot of the weigh of a piggy is tummy fill, and her tummy will have got fairly empty over the past 24 hours. If she is bright and nibbling at hay and her veg then I wouldn't worry too much about her not eating many pellets. Grass and hay is the best for keeping teeth worn well.
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I apologise if I'm jumping the gun but is the fact she has managed to crunch a few pellets and ate celery/ hard carrot a sign her teeth have been done correctly? Obviously i know theres no way to tell if this will recurr again but I'm just hoping for the here and now, she will improve mouth wise. This is my first ever dental issue of any kind and I'm a bit out of my depth!
 
piggieminder said:
She is so beautiful, sending her a cyber cuddle :hug: Big hugs to you @Adelle to, you have had so much to cope with recently, you really are a fantastic piggy slave.
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Thank you, trying my best but its certainly difficult! Especially with an autimunne disease made worse by stress.. Trying to syringe a piggy wearing wrist splints isnt easy!
 
Yesterday evening Crunchie decided rather than fighting me with her syringe feed, she was going to take it well, roll it with her tongue and spit it out in one big ball! As shes still losing weight, i needed to persevere.. So i took @furryfriends (TEAS) advice about grass wearing down her teeth and devised a plan.. Syringe some cc then quickly give her a blade of grass- cc and grass both went down completely! Once she started refusing the grass, i thought she was full.. So i put the syringe down and cleaned her chin, then offered her the plate for one last try.. All of a sudden she was starving! :nod::own:

 
Poor thing, it sounds like she has had a difficult time! One of my pigs (Sundae) has had dental work under GA before, but always was at least back on her feet by the time I picked her up (then again, the vet did keep her for most of the day whenever she was put under.) On one occasion after and abscess lancing/draining and dental she was very spaced out when she came home, but she had been given Demerol and was probably still high as a kite at that point! I hope she continues to recover well for you. Sundae had two or three dental filings over the course of about 6 months before suddenly puffing out in a huge jaw abscess- she probably had been feeling the abscess and chewing abnormally due to pain, which was leading to the overgrowth of the teeth. I would keep on feeling along the jawline for any lumps/bumps in case there is an abscess ripening somewhere that just hasn't presented visibly yet. The 'good' thing was that following the abscess op, she stopped requiring dentals as her chewing went back to normal.
 
Freela said:
Poor thing, it sounds like she has had a difficult time! One of my pigs (Sundae) has had dental work under GA before, but always was at least back on her feet by the time I picked her up (then again, the vet did keep her for most of the day whenever she was put under.) On one occasion after and abscess lancing/draining and dental she was very spaced out when she came home, but she had been given Demerol and was probably still high as a kite at that point! I hope she continues to recover well for you. Sundae had two or three dental filings over the course of about 6 months before suddenly puffing out in a huge jaw abscess- she probably had been feeling the abscess and chewing abnormally due to pain, which was leading to the overgrowth of the teeth. I would keep on feeling along the jawline for any lumps/bumps in case there is an abscess ripening somewhere that just hasn't presented visibly yet. The 'good' thing was that following the abscess op, she stopped requiring dentals as her chewing went back to normal.
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I'm glad sundae recovered fully! I pray crunchie doesnt end up with an abcess or need any further dentals for that matter- dont think either of us could go through that again! She turned on her side, breathing hardly visible and doing a "wide mouth gag".. If i hadnt gotten her back to the vet in the short space of time i did and got her on oxygen, i would hate to think what would have happened!
 
He's so precious I'm glad you've gotten some food in. They can be so picky we have to constantly find new ways to trick them into doing what's best for them :nod: Crunchie is so lucky to have you!
 
Crunchie had another check at the vet yesterday (her original post op check appointment). The vet is pleased she picked up from the anaesthetic complications and that she hasnt lost a massive amount of weight since. Shes checked her teeth and she was quite tender on the side the spurs where filed down so advised to stick to maximum metacalm dose. She happily munched her hay infront of her so she advised i leave longer between feeds to give her a chance to get hungry and eat more on her own. I didnt feed her overnight last night, so 8 hours between any feeds- she'd lost 35g by the time i weighed her this morning and was a little dehydrated, eyes sunken and quite quiet. She didnt want much of her morning veg at all but picked at the fresh hay i gave her. Shes back on 10ml feeds now and syringing water as it appears she still isnt drinking on her own. The vet advised if she isnt eating more for herself by monday then she wants to see her back. I'm worried and dont have a great feeling about this, I'm wondering if shes ever going to recover fully :-(
 
So frustrating because she seems to be getting better but isn't all the way there yet. Do you think maybe the high dose of pain meds may be contributing to her slowing down ?
 
Is there any way you could get her to Simon? I know it's a long shot though and would also mean separating her from Fudge to get her there.
 
Cookies&Glitter said:
So frustrating because she seems to be getting better but isn't all the way there yet. Do you think maybe the high dose of pain meds may be contributing to her slowing down ?
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Its just anti inflammatory so shouldnt be making her sedate.. Her mouth was still tender on full dose hence why she needed to stay on them. She just seems to be going backwards instead of forwards!
 
helen105281 said:
Is there any way you could get her to Simon? I know it's a long shot though and would also mean separating her from Fudge to get her there.
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I'm going to get her re checked monday, ask for a conscious xray of her face. If we cant see any further issues or if there are complicated ones then I'm going to contact the cat and rabbit clinic and enquire.. I also need more info on the process if it comes to that i.e.. Does she stay with them or is teas? And would she have a friend down there or would i meed to bring her down with one (would be mallow.) fudge is fine on her own just a little quiet, id try her with the baby for floor time interaction etc. just trying to plan ahead so we have a plan if we need it! But will definately contact them (either myself or my vet) if we cant sort this out. X
 
I would speak to Debbie and see what the options would be. I think it varies for each pig. Hope you can get some answers on Monday.
 
Just noticed crunchie doing this when out for a cuddle.. Its almost like a normal chewing/teeth chattering motion but theres alot of crunching sounds i dont like! Does this indicate uneven teeth of somesort as literally sounds like shes crunching her own teeth!


@furryfriends (TEAS)
 
I'm sorry to hear crunchy has not been feeling her self, sending you & crunchy big hugs & we will be thinking of you both tomorrow X
 
She looks like she's grinding her teeth. I don't know if or not it's normal but my Wilma makes a similar sound sometimes. Fred has always bounced back really well after having his teeth done. as I have to travel so far for my vet I normally wait and take him straight home. He hasn't been given a GA my vet just uses a sedative but it can take him some time to come round. He looks so groggy and just sleeps. Once he's up and about he'll normally eat straight away perhaps your vet may use sedative I instead, if you can't get her to Northampton?

Fred's dental issue where cured he had dental problems for two years and then developed an abscess. He had his front incisor removed and we treated the abscess since that he's not needed another dental.
 
This looks like it could be a pain response. She clearly doesn't seem comfortable in the mouth/jaw area. Has the vet checked carefully for signs of a brewing abscess? Generally dental issues are secondary to something else, and often this can be a brewing tooth root abscess.
 
furryfriends (TEAS) said:
This looks like it could be a pain response. She clearly doesn't seem comfortable in the mouth/jaw area. Has the vet checked carefully for signs of a brewing abscess? Generally dental issues are secondary to something else, and often this can be a brewing tooth root abscess.
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It was more the "crunching sound" coming from the teeth whilst she was trying to grind.. Like her teeth where in the way of a smooth grinding pattern if that makes sense? I went to water her overnight and she was eating pellets, she was sniffing at them alot and licking the side of the bowl- so i thought she wanted them but couldnt eat them but then she got stuck right in and ate them no bother (the small burgess blackcurrent ones) then went and ate hay for a good 5 minutes.. Whilst i sat up falling asleep waiting for her to finish lol. Shes still not drinking on her own but seems to be eating better, and didnt lose weight over night without any syringe feed for 8 hours. Would a brewing abcess be picked up with an xray of her face? Going to request that tomorrow as shes still not drinking and definately eating less than she was before her dental, doesnt realy want her veg still so replacing that with grass instead as shes eating that well x
 
furryfriends (TEAS) said:
A brewing abscess won't show on X-Ray unfortunately. Simon is very good at detecting the most subtle changes, but that is because he feels so many guinea pig jaws every day. I think you are going to have to watch and wait for now, and see how things develop. x
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Thanks very much for your help! Sorry to be a pain but if she develops further complications or doesnt recover fully how does the process work of referring her to simon? And where would she stay etc? I'm in glasgow so obviously couldnt go back and forth. Thanks again xx
 
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