Dental Cerelac

[Sophia Watson]

Hi All,

Recently my poor little pig underwent teeth trimming. He's still currently not eating by himself.

He's currently on Critical Care, blended vegetable mix with water and pellets and Lectade to help with energy levels. However he's still loosing weight. I feed him every 2 hours, about 10ml of critical care each feed and the vegetable mix and Lectade until he pulls away / says no. This is the recommended amounts suggested by the vet.

Does anyone know if Cerelac is suitable for weight gain? I can't have him dropping anymore weight, the vets are doing weekly check ups to ensure his teeth are growing.

Suggestions anyone?

Thank you,
One worried mum of 4 pigs

 

[Wiebke]

Hi and welcome

Since we have got members from all over the world, we find it very helpful if you please added your country, state/province or UK county to your details, so we can tailor any advice according to what is available, relevant and doable where you are straight away. Please click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location.

Can you please tell us how dental savvy your vet is? Most vets unfortunately aren't. What was the matter with your piggy's teeth? Has your vet given you painkillers? It can well be that there is either an abscess brewing that has not come out yet or there is another reason. Has your vet checked for mouth sores or oral thrush? It takes time and several rounds to get the dental system re-balanced. Ideally you treat again as soon as things start going wrong again.

Please take the time to read our syringe feeding guide. We have got a chapter on caring for dental guinea pigs. Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

Adult guinea pigs are lactose intolerant. Please rather consider syringe feeding mushed up pellets for a weight boost; you will need to prep the syringe tip for that or see whether he will eat our of the bowl or off a spoon. Pain is generally an appetite killer.

@furryfriends (TEAS)

 

[Sophia Watson]

Hi and welcome

Since we have got members from all over the world, we find it very helpful if you please added your country, state/province or UK county to your details, so we can tailor any advice according to what is available, relevant and doable where you are straight away. Please click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location.

Can you please tell us how dental savvy your vet is? Most vets unfortunately aren't. What was the matter with your piggy's teeth? Has your vet given you painkillers? It can well be that there is either an abscess brewing that has not come out yet or there is another reason. Has your vet checked for mouth sores or oral thrush? It takes time and several rounds to get the dental system re-balanced. Ideally you treat again as soon as things start going wrong again.

Please take the time to read our syringe feeding guide. We have got a chapter on caring for dental guinea pigs. Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

Adult guinea pigs are lactose intolerant. Please rather consider syringe feeding mushed up pellets for a weight boost; you will need to prep the syringe tip for that or see whether he will eat our of the bowl or off a spoon. Pain is generally an appetite killer.

@furryfriends (TEAS)

Hi Wiebke,

Thank you I will update my profile.

Dental savy wise, they claim they are but I have my doubts. I was referred there though by other vets who admitted to not being experienced in the 'exotic pets' range.

At first he drooled a lot which is what prompted me to immediately take him to the vets. The vets told me that his back teeth were overgrown, they trimmed them. After a week I felt something was still not right, he was still drooling quite a lot. Took him back in and they told me they didn't take enough off, so in order to help him they trimmed his teeth again. Personally I think they have trimmed WAY too much. He has now been on syringe feeding for a month. Tonight was the first night I saw him drink from the water bottle and nibble on tomato.

We have been taking him back weekly and they're telling us everything is going ok, we just have to wait for his teeth to grow. No mention of any other issue.

It's awful to see him like this, but after tonight I have hope he's actually starting to get better.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi Wiebke,

Thank you I will update my profile.

Dental savy wise, they claim they are but I have my doubts. I was referred there though by other vets who admitted to not being experienced in the 'exotic pets' range.

At first he drooled a lot which is what prompted me to immediately take him to the vets. The vets told me that his back teeth were overgrown, they trimmed them. After a week I felt something was still not right, he was still drooling quite a lot. Took him back in and they told me they didn't take enough off, so in order to help him they trimmed his teeth again. Personally I think they have trimmed WAY too much. He has now been on syringe feeding for a month. Tonight was the first night I saw him drink from the water bottle and nibble on tomato.

We have been taking him back weekly and they're telling us everything is going ok, we just have to wait for his teeth to grow. No mention of any other issue.

It's awful to see him like this, but after tonight I have hope he's actually starting to get better.

Unfortunately, guinea pig dentals are an area that is not taught or practised much, and most vets are working by guess rather than by practical experience.

Please try to feed veg in strips and see how that goes. Start with the softer ones, likes blades of grass, fresh herbs cucumber inners. Offer mushed up pellets and see how that goes. 80% of the food intake is hay, so you have a lot of fibre to replace.

The most experienced guinea pig dental vet in the UK is Simon Maddock in Northamptom, who sees guinea pigs from all over the country (from as far as Edinburgh to the West Country) and does about 15 dentals a week. Because of his extensive practice and experience, he has saved lots of piggies where other vets have failed and has pulled off some amazing miracles over the years. If you can get there, it is really worth it!
Simon is a general vet who specialises in cats, rabbits and guinea pigs, so he is not asking silly prices, and he does follow-up dental conscious or with just a minimal whiff, which means that he can work on the teeth as frequently as necessary to re-balance them sustainably again.
The Cat and Rabbit Care Clinic

Please be aware that drooling can also be caused by oral thrush and not just overgrown spurs.

 

[eileen]

i hope your piggie gets well,i had a similar problem with Jerry and it turned out to be an abcess on his jaw.

 

[Sophia Watson]

Just an update;

Took him back to the vets last week and they said we just have to wait for his teeth to grow. He's a lot more active these past few days but still dropping in weight. We've already increased his feeding amounts, and the vets can't give me anymore advise apart from 'just keep feeding him' great help..
Does anyone have any recommendations for a weight gainer?

 

[DM030819]

What is the vet planning to do when his teeth are grown?

How much is he eating for himself?

Around 120ml of syringe food is the norm for a pig that isn't eating but it varies dependent on how the pigs weight is doing.

If he is eating for himself offer lots of variety, lots of pellets and you could even try porridge oats

 

[Sophia Watson]

What is the vet planning to do when his teeth are grown?

How much is he eating for himself?

Around 120ml of syringe food is the norm for a pig that isn't eating but it varies dependent on how the pigs weight is doing.

If he is eating for himself offer lots of variety, lots of pellets and you could even try porridge oats

Hi,

He's literally not eating a thing by himself. We've been syringe feeding him this whole time. I'm booking in with another vets today because I think something else is wrong. They haven't mentioned a thing about what is going to happen to his teeth after they've grown.

We're pumping into him around 12-15 ml every 2-3 hours from 4.30am to 9.30 at night when we go to bed. And he's still dropping in weight. He's still pooing but his droppings are all moosh.

 

[Sophia Watson]

I have given him warmed porridge oats and he is absolutely loving them...first time I've seen him attempt to keep eating something in over a month! Thank you!