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chesney's struggling to eat again

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biscandmatt

biscandmatt

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ches had his dental the 4th august. he recovered well afterwards but now his eating has slowed down again today. he seems to be struggling to pick up his veg (mainly the cabbage) and last time i posted he had started to eat pellets but he literally had a few and he hasn't had any since. it's like his taste buds have changed. he doesn't want pellets (he's not interested) he isn't wanting his usual favourites aswell.

all he wants mainly is hay and grass. i know that's good that he is eating so much of that though.

until yesterday he was eating veg fine. he finished his meds course on saturday (engemycin and metacam)

today is also the first day his weight has dropped. he was keeping stable but his weight has dropped slightly today and is his lowest weight at 1146g.

do some pigs end up needing dental work done really regularly?
 
AW sorry to hear hes a bit under the weather again :(

After seeing furryfriends yesterday there are some piggies that need regular dentals to keep them happy. Some piggies need fortnightly dentals :(

What did they do at his dental on the 4th?
 
first_time_piggie_mum said:
AW sorry to hear hes a bit under the weather again :(

After seeing furryfriends yesterday there are some piggies that need regular dentals to keep them happy. Some piggies need fortnightly dentals :(

What did they do at his dental on the 4th?
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i was hoping ches wouldn't be one of them that needed regular dentals :( maybe he is adjusting again after stopping his metacam. :{

on the 4th - xrays showed changes at tooth root level which had pushed the teeth and bent them slightly. there were gaps between the teeth, in two places the gaps were 'significant' and these two gaps were infected. the gaps were cleaned and the back teeth filed as they were 1-2mm too long.

it seems he was only managing because of the pain relief now doesn't it. :( he can eat hay though and he seems to beable to eat everything ok except cabbage. he needs that in tiny pieces and he was struggling to pick up some of the foods just now - the cabbage and coriander. but he could eat the pepper very quickly (i've started feeding pepper again) and he has tiny bits of apple at night now aswell as he seems to want different foods than usual.
 
I know that Debbies dental vet Simon is really good by all accounts, I wonder if you would be able to speak to him on the phone about it?

He would probably want to see Chesney though, I see youre in Manchester and Simons in Northampton?/

Does he appear to be in pain? He sounds like hes managing to eat most things though?
 
first_time_piggie_mum said:
I know that Debbies dental vet Simon is really good by all accounts, I wonder if you would be able to speak to him on the phone about it?

He would probably want to see Chesney though, I see youre in Manchester and Simons in Northampton?/

Does he appear to be in pain? He sounds like hes managing to eat most things though?
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our vet said if he doesn't seem right when he stops the meds then to come back for the follow up appointment. so we will be going there when i make the appointment.

he doesn't seem in pain but seems a bit frustrated maybe at times.

he is managing to eat most things but he was still eating this way right up until the dental anyway so it probably doesn't mean much unfortunately. :(

i'll take him back to my vets as soon as i can get an appointment and see where we go from here. i'm not sure if my vets do conscious dentals, i'll have to ask. if not, and ches needs them regularly then i will have to consider getting to northampton but i have no idea how i'd get there really. but we can figure that out if we need to.

poor ches. i had a feeling this might happen though. :(
 
aw bless him :(

I know when Rod had problems eating after a dental (courtesy of a clip happy vet that trimmed his teeth too short), he was getting quite frustrated it was so upsetting to watch :(

I'm pretty sure there are trains that run from Manchester to Northampton, if it comes to that. Fingers crossed your vet will be able to sort him out though x
 
first_time_piggie_mum said:
aw bless him :(

I know when Rod had problems eating after a dental (courtesy of a clip happy vet that trimmed his teeth too short), he was getting quite frustrated it was so upsetting to watch :(

I'm pretty sure there are trains that run from Manchester to Northampton, if it comes to that. Fingers crossed your vet will be able to sort him out though x
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because ches went back to eating again really quickly and seemed ok, it makes sense that his teeth are not right again doesn't it? or i suppose it could be that he was only managing because of the pain relief.

after the dental i bought them loads of new hays and dried herbs and he seems to want those more than veg. he does eat most of the veg but will leave a little bit and go and eat hay and orchard grass instead. they've been eating much more hay since i gave a massive variety (i went overboard!) so maybe he is filling up on those. :{

hopefully our vet can come up with a plan of action. i'm scared that because of the tooth root changes that his teeth will never be right again now. :(

x
 
doglovinpiggylover said:
awww I'm so sorry, poor ches, hope he is ok xx
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thanks. he was doing really well. then the last few days of his meds he was a nightmare with it! rolleyes

i knew there was a chance we would end up back at the vets but i was hoping so much we wouldn't and he would be ok. :(
 
first_time_piggie_mum said:
aw bless him :(

I know when Rod had problems eating after a dental (courtesy of a clip happy vet that trimmed his teeth too short), he was getting quite frustrated it was so upsetting to watch :(

I'm pretty sure there are trains that run from Manchester to Northampton, if it comes to that. Fingers crossed your vet will be able to sort him out though x
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If ever you wanted to come and see Simon I would be more than happy to pick you up from the railway station or to meet with you anywhere and take you to the practice.
 
furryfriends said:
If ever you wanted to come and see Simon I would be more than happy to pick you up from the railway station or to meet with you anywhere and take you to the practice.
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that is so kind of you, thank you so much. we'll see how things plan out and if we need to see simon then we can sort something out. x
 
chesney is being a nightmare at night (not his fault though). he is following maisie everywhere trying to eat from her bum it looks like. is he looking for caecotrophs because he's obviously missing some nutrients from his diet?

i know it's not his fault but maisie is starting to get annoyed.

he only does it at night so i assume for caecotrophs? i offered him some of her normal poops and he didn't want those.

we're at the vets in the morning so i'll mention it but just wondered if anyone had any ideas why? :)
 
since stopping meds ches went down from 1171g to 1146g, then 1126g... i started feeding him extra and he went up to 1136g yesterday.

i decided today to give them what they would have normally (plate of veg morning and evening, unlimited hay all day, the odd handfull of grass and some dried herbs) to see what would happen with his weight.... he has gone up to 1158g today (he's been having grass all day because he can't manage hay)... so he is able to gain weight by himself without extra food.

after weighing them i've given him some more veg as we can't get grass at night and he isn't eating much hay.

he's just started to sniff around maisies's bottom again now and probably will all night again.

i give him more veg pieces from now until bed time and also offer pellet mash even though he doesn't want it anymore but i offer it just incase.
 
good luck at the vets tomorrow.

You sound like you are having a time with ches, poor thing.

thinking of you all x
 
doglovinpiggylover said:
good luck at the vets tomorrow.

You sound like you are having a time with ches, poor thing.

thinking of you all x
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thank you. x

i don't want to get my hopes up but so far he has only sniffed maisie's bottom once! and last night i was up all night nearly because he was chasing her and she was warning him off.. but he's had pretty much unlimited grass all day so maybe that has given him the fibre he needs.

fingers crossed he won't start harrassing her again.

i'll update after the vets tomorrow. x
 
we went to the vets and the good news is that chesneys teeth haven't got worse or anything and he has no ulcers or anything like that..

... but when the vet did his dental ches had alot of swelling and inflammation which is why he had 0.3ml metacam twice a day for ten days. that should have been enough to get rid of all that but it hasn't and chesneys mouth is swollen and inflammed and all round his jaw is aswell, round the tooth roots. so it's a surprise he was eating as much as he was.

he's now on metacam for three weeks. 0.7ml twice a day for seven days, then 0.4ml twice a day for seven days and then 0.2ml twice a day for seven days. i know some people will think these doses high but the vet says it's fine and ches needs that amount as an anti-inflammatory and also for the pain/discomfort he is experiencing when trying to eat hay.

so he's had 0.7ml when we got back and we had lots of cuddles.

he was so good aswell. they always comment how well behaved and laid back he is. x)

they had to clean food out of his mouth first and i've never seen that before, it looks horrible! :o

so hopefully when the metacam kicks in ches should start to feel loads better and be eating normally again. :)
 
It is a very huge dose. 1.4 mls of metacam per day is more than you would give to a much larger animal. I am rather concerned about the swelling you mention. Could it be a tooth root abscess rather than just inflammation? I have cared for a number of dental piggies and have never experienced this type of swelling, unless it's been an abscess.
 
furryfriends said:
It is a very huge dose. 1.4 mls of metacam per day is more than you would give to a much larger animal. I am rather concerned about the swelling you mention. Could it be a tooth root abscess rather than just inflammation? I have cared for a number of dental piggies and have never experienced this type of swelling, unless it's been an abscess.
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they tend to go with the higher doses at this vets. i notice all the debates on metacam mention our vets!

my rabbits were on 0.8ml twice a day and now have 0.6ml and 0.7ml twice a day and have for two years to keep them stable (they have life long respiratory problems) so when he said 0.7ml twice a day i did have to get him to repeat it and i said 'is that not high' and he smiled and said no (i've worried about metacam in the past!)

i don't know about this whole metacam thing. there seems to be a big difference in opinions. :{ but he's an exotics vet, very experienced. the best around here. i notice a few other people recommend them on here. so i don't know what to do... trust the net or trust the exotics vet who has experience. i always thought if the net wasn't available who would you trust... and it would be a specialist vet.. but then you read all these debates and i don't know.. there's just too many opinions. :{

he doesn't have abscesses. the vet said usually the extended course of 0.3ml twice a day for ten days is enough but in chesneys case it hasn't been.

i double checked the dose he said and it was definitely the dog metacam and he said yes. i have to admit i'm a bit :... about the 0.7ml twice a day for a week but he obviously thinks he needs that amount to get it under control. :{

eta: it's ashleigh vets in manchester. we see aidan raftery.
 
I asked Simon about it this evening and he said he wouldn't prescribe such a large dose, but he knows of vets who do for rabbits. He said the problem is, there is no recommended prescribed dose for guinea pigs. He said he would worry about the side effects of such a large dose but that without seeing the piggie and knowing all the facts it would impossible for him to really comment.
 
furryfriends said:
I asked Simon about it this evening and he said he wouldn't prescribe such a large dose, but he knows of vets who do for rabbits. He said the problem is, there is no recommended prescribed dose for guinea pigs. He said he would worry about the side effects of such a large dose but that without seeing the piggie and knowing all the facts it would impossible for him to really comment.
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it's confusing isn't it. :{ i don't know what to do now.. i trust our vet but i really was a bit :o about the 0.7ml twice a day.. i thought maybe he meant to say once but i read another thread on here where he prescribed 0.6ml twice a day to someone else. :{

i've been through this with the rabbits and kept ringing the vet to make sure it was right. i can ask again but i know what he'll say.. then it's just i either go with hsi advice or i don't...

i don't know what to do now. ches had 0.7ml earlier on.

i think the vet mentioned in the past that used as pain relief the dose is lower but used as an anti-inflammatory it can be alot higher.

x
 
furryfriends said:
Why has my previous post got an angry face on it? I didn't put that there!

I should really know all the answers to these questions but I haven't got a clue! :))
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i didn't know if my vet had made you angry then or i had! :( :)):))

i'm panicking again now so he's had 0.7ml and should be due that again at 3am but i'm going to miss that out and ring the vets in the morning, double/triple check again and then go from there.

i panic everytime! :... it would just be so easy for someone to say or type the wrong thing wouldn't it.. :...

i won't tell you what he said first because you'll faint! - he accidently said 7ml twice a day to the nurse and she was like 'er, 7ml!' and he went ... oops, 0.7ml! :o:))
 
biscandmatt said:
i didn't know if my vet had made you angry then or i had! :( :)):))

i'm panicking again now so he's had 0.7ml and should be due that again at 3am but i'm going to miss that out and ring the vets in the morning, double/triple check again and then go from there.

i panic everytime! :... it would just be so easy for someone to say or type the wrong thing wouldn't it.. :...

i won't tell you what he said first because you'll faint! - he accidently said 7ml twice a day to the nurse and she was like 'er, 7ml!' and he went ... oops, 0.7ml! :o:))
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I was really worried that you would think I was angry with either you or your vet! I tried to delete it but couldn't! :))

It is a bit worrying when your vet tries to prescribe 7 mls! And I thought 0.7 was a large dose!
 
well ches had 0.7ml at 3pm and ate all his veg a bit after, including the cabbage and coriander he hasn't been able to. then he was eating hay aswell. by 11.30pm he was struggling again and squinting trying to eat hay and he left some veg as he couldn't chew it. so 0.7ml didn't even last 9 hours for him, never mind 12 hours or a whole day etc.

i think me saying dental is making people think it's just spurs or something when he actually had two bad infections, the gaps cleaned out and the back teeth filed and the changes at the tooth roots.

i can see what they vet is saying - 10 days should have cleared it up but instead during that time it hasn't and has got more tender so he's making up the last ten days with a new course of ten days on top, and 0.3ml twice a day wasn't working for ches on the original swelling, so a slightly higher dose for swelling that has gone double the time is not going to do much more, and in the long run he will end up on metacam longer, it will take him longer to get back to normal eating, and by that time his teeth could have gone bad again and then you're risking needing more dental work etc etc..

so i can see what he's saying by getting a complete hold on the swelling etc when it's at it's worse and then reducing as the inflammation reduces. it does make sense.

and seeing ches struggling now is just obvious that even 0.7ml is not really keeping him able to eat without any discomfort or pain.

i think i'm going to go with the vet on this one. he obviously has worked with so many cases over years and years so must know what he's doing. i know all vets do things differently but i know our vet does really upto date training as soon as it becomes available and he travels the world giving lectures on these things aswell - all exotics but mainly reptiles, rabbits, guinea pigs.

he obviously does things differently to other vets but from looking at ches, i think he is right. and he did say ches had really bad infections in two places in his mouth and is classed as having dental disease. if it was a case of some spurs i would agree it's too high but ches has already slowed down considerably on 0.7ml so it's obviously needed in his case. when we got back from the vets i gave him 0.7ml and a bit after he looked so much brighter, he ate more hay than the last week put together, he ate veg he hasn't been able to manage and he wasn't squinting at all.

i know it's one of those subjects with different views but i can only go with what a good vet is saying and what he has seen of chesney and how chesney is behaving as a guide aswell. :)
 
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