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Could it be his teeth?

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Marschick

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Sorry I know I'm being annoying starting a new thread. I just thought someone in the know might see this quicker if I did. Hope that's ok.

But I just had a look in the sick piggies mouth. And I have NO idea how long the teeth are meant to be. But they look long to me.

I was thinking about how he stopped eating his vegetables at his proper home, but has been eating them since I started chopping them up small. I'm kicking myself for not checking sooner.

What do you think?

OTEETH.jpg


ottehtw.jpg
 
I agree - they look too long to me.

One of my piggys had overgrown teeth like that too and the vet needed to trim/file them back. There might be a reason for them overgrowing - like a problem with back teeth (as in my piggys case). My pig also had a constant wet chin - does yours ?

Sorry I cant offer much advice except to say I think the best thing would be to find a rodentologist or guinea pig vet to get this sorted asap.

xx
 
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Thanks for the reply. :)

I just checked the other piggies teeth and theirs are hugely different to that. So I'm thinking even if this isn't the whole problem, it's at least how it started.
 
He is just a few months old I think.

Yeah they looked shorter than the other piggies bottom teeth. But I wasn't sure if it was just because the top teeth were so long or not.
 
yes it's his teeth. The top ones are far too long and curved. This probably indicates problems with his back teeth. Where are you located? You need to see a rodentologist asap or a very pig savvy vet. His teeth could have grown like this in a number of days and so he needs urgent treatment or the teeth will just keep growing x
 
He scoffs down the vegies I cut up small for him. And he seems to manage to eat grass ok. He also picks his pellets out of his guinea pig mix (does not touch the chaff). He spends a lot of time at his water bottle. I am wondering now if his teeth make it hard to drink?

His weight loss has been happening gradually over the last few months. I had him here in October for ten days, and while he seemed in good health, now that I think about it he was a bit fussier about his food back then too.

I will talk to his owner when she comes to get them. And will ring our local vet monday morning. Maybe if I offer to take him she won't put off getting it done.

If this is where his problems have stemmed from then I'm sure she will be relieved to know.
 
Where about are you? I wouldn't personally take him to a normal vets (unless they know a lot about guinea pig teeth) as they can usually make it worse!

I would probably get a metal file and try and file some of his upper incisors down to make it easier for him to eat - but don't if you don't feel comfortable doing so
 
Yeah I'm in Aus.

The local vet was happy enough to treat my guinea pig before. And I know he desexes them without any hassles. Beyond that I do not know. I will ask.

I do not drive at all so I'm limited to the local vet. But my friend does so really if he is not able to do it, we might be able to find another clinic elsewhere who will.

I really don't think I would be confident enough doing it.
 
Thought I'd give a quick update.

No news on getting teeth sorted yet as friend not home yet and vets not open. I will ring the vet tomorrow if I've not heard from her and get a quote. And possibly take him there tomorrow afternoon. Though obviously I should check with her first. I'll see how much it costs first.

However now that I've realised the teeth are a problem things seem to be going a lot better. I am making sure he has finely chopped vegetables constantly. And his food mix is pretty high on chaff (which he doesn't eat) and low on pellets (which he does eat). So I'm trying to give him more of the stuff he does eat, and less of the chaff. Which is just going to waste.

It must be working because, even though I could not see anything wrong with him moving about before. He suddenly has heaps of energy. And he is going up and down his ramp a lot. Where as before he was more of an upstairs piggie. He wasn't touching his hay, but now he is nibbling the leaves off of it.

Because of this surge in energy I am putting him on the lawn for most of the day. With his water and dish of vegetables. It's a bit hot here at the moment so I also have to give them shade and hose down the grass for them. They seem to like to lay in it while it is damp. Cools them down I guess. While they are on the lawn I hose out the hutches then let them dry in the sun. So much easier that way.

I'm still going to suggest my friend leaves him here after she gets back. As he gets more energy he is scratching a bit more too. So I expect he'll need some kind of further treatment for whatever is going on with his skin. I have a bit more time than she does to sort that. But we'll see how it goes.

The pregnant piggie is getting bigger and bigger. She'd better have those babies soon or she'll burst. Poor thing. She is currently laying in the shade looking like a beached whale (albeit a very small furry one).

Thanks again for the advice. I will update after he has been to the vet hopefully.
 
really Hope your friend leaves him with you. Those teeth are so long! Glad he's eating better now. Do you have nizoral shampoo in oz cos it's quite good for an all round medicated shampoo. X
 
Ok well not really got any news. Told my friend, who is home but isn't collecting piggies yet. She is going to ring her sister to see if her vet (the one she works for) will sort the teeth out.

I rang our local vet and he insists it can only be done with the piggie put under. So that's not going to happen. Ringing another vet back later to find out if they'll do it with the piggie awake.

Piggie is still thriving though. I can get that shampoo so I will get some tomorrow and give him a bath on our next warm morning.
 
how are his teeth lookin now? I know it's onlo been a few days but teeth grow very quickly x
 
Hi again. :)

Sorry not been back in to give an update.

Piggie is doing great. I'm checking the teeth daily and, while they are still long obviously, they are no worse and do not appear to be hurting his mouth. And now that I know what it is he is gaining weight quickly and really perky.

I got some piggie shampoo and he had a bath yesterday. Then I put some spray on him just in case it is mites. I really don't think it is though. Anyway he washed up lovely, and though he wasn't terribly impressed at having to have a bath, he has definitely been happier for it. And his skin looks better. His hair looks as if it growing back too.

I will try the other shampoo in a week or so. Hopefully I can find some in town.

At this stage I have no idea how long the piggies are here for. I love having them obviously so I'm in no rush to see them go. My friend had a rather serious and very sad family incident happen earlier in the week, and she has had to rush off to deal with that. So as far as arranging vets visits etc that will be put on hold indefinitely as it's way off her radar at the moment. Obviously if our local vet would agree to do it without anesthetic then I could pop him up there and have it dealt with asap.

I'll take a photo in a few days and see if his improvements are noticeable.
 
Hanwombat said:
I would probably get a metal file and try and file some of his upper incisors down to make it easier for him to eat - but don't if you don't feel comfortable doing so
Click to expand...

Please don't do this! Teeth are very complex and unless you know what you are doing you could make matters far worse. It isn't just about what is happening with the incisors. You need to get a guinea pig savvy vet, who has the right equipment to look properly at teeth, to take a look as there could be issues with the back teeth too.
 
glad he's seeming more perky and the bath went well. If he starts showing signs of not eating again i think you may have to take the decision yourself to get him to the vet if your friend is not able to give the go ahead. It's in the pigs best interests and I'm sure she'd see that. Well done on taking care of them. Any sign of babies yet? X
 
furryfriends said:
Please don't do this! Teeth are very complex and unless you know what you are doing you could make matters far worse. It isn't just about what is happening with the incisors. You need to get a guinea pig savvy vet, who has the right equipment to look properly at teeth, to take a look as there could be issues with the back teeth too.
Click to expand...

Apologises but I was told to do this by the people who dealt with Hectors teeth back in december and they were both trained by Vedra.

They gave me some cardboard with the measurements of how long their upper and lower incisors should be to use as reference.
 
Hanwombat said:
Apologises but I was told to do this by the people who dealt with Hectors teeth back in december and they were both trained by Vedra.

They gave me some cardboard with the measurements of how long their upper and lower incisors should be to use as reference.
Click to expand...

Although that still worries me, at least you were given some instruction. I just wouldn't want anyone just having a go themselves without any knowledge of what is considered normal. The problem is, that when the incisors go wrong it is usually because there is something else more complex going on further back in the mouth and this can be missed if someone just has a go at filing the incisors themselves. When Wilfie arrived with me, a rodentologist had told his previous owners to just keep filing the incisors on a daily basis. Wilfie's problem was nothing to do with the incisors, his very back teeth were growing so long that his jaw was being forced open at an angle and this has resulted in Wilf's jaw becoming damanged and he is going to need regular (no more than 12 days apart) treatment for the rest of his life. As long as this is done, Wilf eats really well and doesn't look like a dental pig as he's quite a stocky little guy, but this could possibly have been avoided if the real problem had been detected earlier.
 
Oh yes I realise that it isn't just his lower incisors that are long and that there is more than likely a problem with the molars again
 
Thanks for all the tips. I will keep an eye on him.

Babies were born yesterday. The female was hiding in the tube when it was time to move her into the hutch. Like she always does. I lifted the tube and gently shook like I always do. And out rolled two babies. I got such a fright. Though I'm sure they weren't too impressed either.

Mother and babies seem to be doing good but popping in here to find out if infected umbilical stumps are a problem and if they need treating. As I'm sure one of the babies has something going on there.

So off to do some more reading. :)
 
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