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Dental Anselmo - Teeth Issues

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I posted a week or two ago about Anselmo's wobbly head and thought we'd worked it out that it was to do with him going blind as his right eye reflects a silver colour when in the sun.

But today I gave him a piece of tomato and he was struggling to eat it. Instead of chewing through he shoved it all into his mouth and them struggled and pawed at his mouth as he obviously had too much in there.

I pulled it out, tore it in half and he managed to eat both pieces.

I looked at his mouth after he finished and his front teeth have started to slant. Also, I had him out for a cuddle for a little while and occasionally his jaw seems to be out of line. Not always, just sometimes.

I have no idea if it's all connected, but I wonder if the wobbly head, wonky teeth and jaw is all caused by some mental issue.

So, I'll be getting him in to see Simon ASAP (@furryfriends (TEAS) do you know if he'll be likely to see him this week?).

I weighed him last night and he's down, so I'll weigh him again tonight.

In the meantime, although he's a bladder sludge pig I've decided to up his pellet amount as he can pick those up and eat them without issue, and have given him some critical care (he helped himself to about 7 heaped teaspoons).

I'm hoping it's a one off issue but if it's relating to his balance then I doubt it is.

He's 7 years old now (estimated) and boyfriend and I have just had "the talk" to discuss his future. He's happy and eating at the moment but we'll start to prepare for the worst. I know Simon will be completely realistic with us too.
 
It does sound like it could all be related especially now the incisors have slanted. We cancelled an appointment for the 10th, it was late afternoon I think. They may have filled it by now but you never know.
 
Poor little man, hopefully its something that can be rectified with a little bit of work!
 
Thanks @Poppy'sMum! I'll definitely ask about it and take whatever I can get.

He's currently having a bit of hay, so he's still interested in eating. I've snipped it a bit shorter so hopefully it won't be too hard for him to eat.

Thanks everyone xx
 
We're booked in for 4.10 today. There's a crash on the M1 at the moment so hopefully it'll be clear by then.

Anselmo is doing okay, he's eating a bit of his veg and still eating hay. He's mostly interested in pellets though. I guess because he doesn't normally have many and he doesn't need to use his front teeth to bite them. He's also having a bit of critical care on his own, when it's nice and warm and I can tempt him with a bit more if I put a drop of orange juice in it.

I'm wondering if it's caused by his wibbly head. He's having some water out of his bottle at the moment and he's really chewing on it, and I've noticed that the sounds he makes when he's eating and chattering his teeth at me are louder and more.. err.. crunchy, that's the best word I can think of describing it.

I'll update once we've got back home tonight.
 
That's great you're getting him seen to today, will be thinking about you. Simon is fabulous! x
 
So, we're home with a batch of Zithromax to try and another appointment for two weeks.

Simon was very thorough in his checkup.

He confirmed that Anselmo isn't completely blind as he does react to light, but has a very progressed cataract in one eye and the other has a cloud, so his sight will be quite poor.

In regards to his wobbly head Simon also noticed that although he can stand up okay and doesn't fall over, he does stand with a widened stance as if to compensate for a feeling of off balance. That and the fact that he doesn't hold his head up when you pick him up suggests an inner ear problem.

We couldn't find any obvious lumps so it's we're trying zithromax in case it's an inner ear infection or a brewing tooth abscess.

His back teeth are perfect so he had his front ones filed straight.

At this moment in time we don't have any idea of whether this will fix him completely as when a pig has balance issues on both sides they tend not to recover fully as they have no grounding to rely on. But at this moment in time Anselmo is happy and eating.

I'll keep monitoring his weight and his eating and hopefully his wonky front teeth was a one off.
 
Glad Anselmo got the treatment he needed for his teeth, and hoping very much that his balance improves :hug:

Big hugs to all of Simon's other patients & their owners as well :hug:
 
Thanks all for the well wishes.

Simon mentioned that we needed to watch his eating as Zithromax can affect appetite.

And I think Anselmo is one of those pigs. He was eating fine after his appointment but today he's not interested. He was looking for his food, and was sniffing at the front of the cage but he wouldn't take anything. I couldn't even tempt him with pellets.

I've not been able to take the day off work so I've got the PigCam set up. He's moved around the cage a bit so I'm hoping that means he's not bloated, but the food is all still there.

I've booked tomorrow off, but if he's not eating at least a little by Thursday morning I'm not sure what to do.

@furryfriends (TEAS) I've never used Zithromax before so don't know what signs to watch out for. Do you have any recommendations on getting him to eat again on his own?
 
Jaycey said:
Thanks all for the well wishes.

Simon mentioned that we needed to watch his eating as Zithromax can affect appetite.

And I think Anselmo is one of those pigs. He was eating fine after his appointment but today he's not interested. He was looking for his food, and was sniffing at the front of the cage but he wouldn't take anything. I couldn't even tempt him with pellets.

I've not been able to take the day off work so I've got the PigCam set up. He's moved around the cage a bit so I'm hoping that means he's not bloated, but the food is all still there.

I've booked tomorrow off, but if he's not eating at least a little by Thursday morning I'm not sure what to do.

@furryfriends (TEAS) I've never used Zithromax before so don't know what signs to watch out for. Do you have any recommendations on getting him to eat again on his own?
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I know a few people have had issues with Zithromax affecting the piggies appetite but I've never experienced this. We've used it a lot too. Right now we have four on it, with no issue. Step in with some syringe feeding and hopefully he'll soon pick up xx
 
I think the not eating is more to do with his balance issues now that I've come home and looked at him again. His balance is alot worse than it has been previously. He's now finding it very difficult to move around. He will eat a little bit when I offer him a bit of veg but he definitely can't get himself in the right place to eat, and whenever I put it near him he moves away from it.

He is pooping still so at least he's had enough moving through him to suffice for now. I'm syringe feeding him now. His eyes look sparky enough but he really doesn't seem happy. I guess he's feeling very wonky.

Fingers crossed the antibiotic kicks in soon, otherwise he'll need to go back to the vet.
 
Is he on any pain relief Jaycey? Sukie is on Zithromax, once a day, Simon did say I could split the dose if it does affect her in any way, not sure what Debbie thinks ? Is that right Debbie? So far we haven't had any issues as yet, although I will say Sukie ate everything when we got her home & she was a bit picky on Sunday 2 days into having it, but she seems better today & eating really well. If he isn't on pain relief it sounds like he needs some x
 
Yeah, he has arthritis so was on 0.2ml twice a day of Metacam which we have upped to 0.25ml as advised by Simon.

At first I thought it best to keep him in his regular cage due to his poor eyesight and me not wanting him to get confused. But, he is struggling so much and is trying to get comfortable in his hay I've moved him to the small recovery cage to limit his movement.

He doesn't want to eat critical care but I've gotten 10 syringes into his very easily. He was propped up in one of their comfy beds and he seemd okay. He's having a look around now and then, and his eyes seem very full of life.

I really hope he improves overnight/tomorrow as I'm not going to be able to stay off to feed him on Thursday/Friday.

Poor little sausage, whatever this is it's really giving him what for.
 
Thanks Debbie. He's completely stressing me out, I can't imagine how you cope everyday. We need to clone you as well as Uncle Simon and Auntie Kim! xx
 
Have you tried syringe feeding softened pellets? Some of mine have hated CC in the past so I use ground up Burgess Blackcurrant ones now as mine prefer them x
 
I hope you see an improvement @Jaycey ,it is emotionally draining ,syringe feeding a dental piggie.I syringed fed Jerry for 7 months continously before he ate for himself.
 
Thanks @eileen. I'm really rubbish at it all, especially when I don't get enough sleep. Last time I had to do it I had to ask one of my friends who has pigs to take over for a few days.

At least Anselmo is willing at the moment. I really think it's just the disorientation that's bothering him.... hopefully.
 
Jaycey said:
Thanks Debbie. He's completely stressing me out, I can't imagine how you cope everyday. We need to clone you as well as Uncle Simon and Auntie Kim! xx
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Oh I have days when I really feel like I am losing it! I wake in the morning and everything is normal for the first couple of seconds and then I physically shake because I worry what I am going to find when I go and check on everyone. My life, for the past 8 years has pretty much revolved around syringe feeding. I have had a few weeks off, but generally as soon as one comes good, another arrives needing help. Tonight I am feeding 5. However, it doesn't matter if you are doing one or five, it is still stressful and worrying. Keeping everything crossed that you can see an improvement by tomorrow xx
 
I've not got him out of his cage yet as I have to take boyfriend to work but he's still in the same position as last night.

I mixed up some CC for him but tried offering him some veg and he's wolfing it down. I've left some hay seeds next to him and he's chomping through them.

His eyes are very bright and alert still which I'm really happy about. He has pooped too which is good.

He seems like he really wants to eat now but he can't coordinate himself to be able to get it himself.

How are your patients today? xx
 
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