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Dental Dental issues!

Pigoles

Junior Guinea Pig
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Location
South Wales, UK
Am looking after SIL guinea's pigs and noticed one boar had really reduced appetite for a few days ... refusing usual foods! Also losing weight - down to 800g this morning. Took to vet who found rough edges to molars, so went under anaesthetic earlier today. Melvin was very hungry on arrival home, but couldn't eat even soft food (even tried grape!), but did eat some mashed pellets off a spoon. Have fed this every three hours (plus water), but last feed he refused to eat off the spoon, so did my best to syringe feed him some of his pellets blended with water. I'm wondering if it is his pain increasing as anaesthetic wears off? Should he have been given some further pain relief? The vet said to bring him back if not eating - should I take him back tomorrow? How long would you expect him to go after the op before he begins to eat again? Just worried about him!
 
Am looking after SIL guinea's pigs and noticed one boar had really reduced appetite for a few days ... refusing usual foods! Also losing weight - down to 800g this morning. Took to vet who found rough edges to molars, so went under anaesthetic earlier today. Melvin was very hungry on arrival home, but couldn't eat even soft food (even tried grape!), but did eat some mashed pellets off a spoon. Have fed this every three hours (plus water), but last feed he refused to eat off the spoon, so did my best to syringe feed him some of his pellets blended with water. I'm wondering if it is his pain increasing as anaesthetic wears off? Should he have been given some further pain relief? The vet said to bring him back if not eating - should I take him back tomorrow? How long would you expect him to go after the op before he begins to eat again? Just worried about him!

Hi!

Please have him seen again tomorrow but you absolutely need to syringe feed for as long as it takes - ideally at least 60-90 ml in 24 hours. Keep in mind that around 80% of the food intake is normally hay fibre, which is rich in abrasive silica and necessary to keep the crucial back teeth ground down. If you can, try to get hold of some dog pee free grass (again rich in silica) or fresh herbs, he may be able to eat those. Grated or finely cut veg may also go in but grass and herbs are often the first fresh stuff that goes in.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

Unfortunately guinea pig dentals are not something that feature in vet training. With the best (very few) piggy savvy dental vets across the world,guinea pigs should be able to eat immediately afterwards (especially those that could be done without a GA) but between GA and a not perfectly balanced dental system/pain from the procedure, many piggies sadly struggle to eat in our forum experience; sometimes for so long that the teeth overgrow again.

Ideally they are rebalanced in a series of treatments without GA, just a few weeks (or in extreme cases days) apart with gradually lengthening intervals to rebalance the dental system permanently, but this concept has sadly not yet penetrated far.

Could you please add your country, state/province or UK county to location in your account details (accessed via clicking on your username on the top bar) to make it appear with every post you make. This allows us to tailor any advice to what is relevant and available where you are straight away with just a quick glance to the left. We have quite literally members an enquiries from all over the world and very different conditions. Without this we have to keep any recommendations as general as possible. Thank you!
 
I'm in the UK ... south Wales. Overnight, I managed to get about 11mls of mashed pellets/water mix into him (tho some went down his front as he wasn't very co-operative - head-butting syringe out the way and then hiding his face in the towel!). He refused to eat the mashed pellets off the spoon again ... but was initially when he got home form the vet? He has just had a few nibbles of freshly cut grass, but only a few strands ... then left the plate. I am growing them some herbs, so will try a bit of dill/basil/coriander, plus some grated veg today.
I have also noticed that he is no longer sleeping lying down, just crouching hunched up in his hay? Is this pain? If I take him to the vet, what should I ask for? Should he be having any medication (e.g. pain relief)?
Also should I put his friend Bella back in with him? I took her out last night (as she was eating all the softened pellets instead of him!), but this morning I have noticed that she will not eat her food either! I think she's pining for him (we think she's blind from cataracts - they were both rescue piggies)?
 
I'm in the UK ... south Wales. Overnight, I managed to get about 11mls of mashed pellets/water mix into him (tho some went down his front as he wasn't very co-operative - head-butting syringe out the way and then hiding his face in the towel!). He refused to eat the mashed pellets off the spoon again ... but was initially when he got home form the vet? He has just had a few nibbles of freshly cut grass, but only a few strands ... then left the plate. I am growing them some herbs, so will try a bit of dill/basil/coriander, plus some grated veg today.
I have also noticed that he is no longer sleeping lying down, just crouching hunched up in his hay? Is this pain? If I take him to the vet, what should I ask for? Should he be having any medication (e.g. pain relief)?
Also should I put his friend Bella back in with him? I took her out last night (as she was eating all the softened pellets instead of him!), but this morning I have noticed that she will not eat her food either! I think she's pining for him (we think she's blind from cataracts - they were both rescue piggies)?

It could be pain, I’d certainly ask the vet for pain relief.
Yes, reunite him with his friend, being separated will be stressful for them both
 
Thank you! I will put her back into their indoor C&C run with him (she was in their hutch overnight but kept Melvin inside). What sort of pain relief will the vet give - should I ask for something that I can also give at home?
 
Thank you! I will put her back into their indoor C&C run with him (she was in their hutch overnight but kept Melvin inside). What sort of pain relief will the vet give - should I ask for something that I can also give at home?

If the vet think he is in pain you will likely be prescribed metacam which you can give at home
 
Thank you - this forum is great! I searched for other threads and asked vet for Metacam.
Vet gave pain-killing injection and anti-inflammatory injection, and I have Metacam to give him from tomorrow.
Vet has prescribed 0.16ml once daily dose of Metacam (0.5mg/ml). Melvin weighed in at 798g this morning.
I am continuing to syringe feed ... have got 40mls of pureed pellets into him so far today, and he's nibbled a bit of freshly cut grass, but refused grated apple/carrot ... always is a fussy piggie tho! I am also syringe feeding water, but he is drinking a bit from his water bottle with encouragement.
Still looking 'hunched up', but now out keeping Bella company as she won't eat unless he is near her!
 
YOu are doing well with the syringe feeding, keep it up until he is able to eat properly. Can you weigh him daily on kitchen scale and keep a note of his weight, you will be able to see if he is maintaining his weight x
 
Thank you! I am monitoring his weight ... a drop of 2 grams from yesterday. I'm worried about getting the consistency of the mashed pellets right ... I want to try to get as much into him as possible, but worried that the puree is sometimes too watery ... but if it's too thick, it will not go up the syringe?!
Tonight he has taken some pepper, grape and strawberry cut into tiny, tiny pieces of a spoon. He is interested in his food and tries to take groundsel, soft thistle, Readigrass (getting all his favourites right now!) into his mouth, but doesn't seem able to bite chunks off? He couldn't even bite chunks off the strawberry? Is this likely to be because his mouth is still very sore (it's 36 hours post the grinding of his molars and GA) ... or because of another reason?
Bella (companion) is happily eating all his leftovers!
 
A bigger drop in weight this morning :( ... now down to 781g from 800g on Thursday (day of dental op).
I managed to get 65ml of mushed pellets into him yesterday (plus a tiny bit of chopped pepper, strawberry and grape - and he nibbled a few strands of grass).
Really worried as no interest shown in grass last night.
I will try hard to get more syringe feed into him ... but struggle as it's my first time feeding like this! I am feeding his own pellets (Burgress), as didn't have any CC feed and as he's normally quite fussy, so thought he may refuse it ... but wondering whether some CC may help maintain his weight?
 
I've just been looking for Critical Care online ... is there any way to get it on Amazon Prime? The earliest I can see that it will arrive is Tuesday ... but I'm so worried piggie may not last that long! His own food (Burgress pellets) seems to clog the syringe and so I have to use more water, and I'm wondering whether that's why he not gaining as too much water in the pellet mush?
 
I've just been looking for Critical Care online ... is there any way to get it on Amazon Prime? The earliest I can see that it will arrive is Tuesday ... but I'm so worried piggie may not last that long! His own food (Burgress pellets) seems to clog the syringe and so I have to use more water, and I'm wondering whether that's why he not gaining as too much water in the pellet mush?
I think your mushed pellets have to be quite watery or they do get a bit stuck, Bear in mind a weight difference of around 30 gms a day is quite normal, it can be the difference of a full bladder/tummy or an empty one. With weight you are looking for a trend, upward or downward over a few days/week. You are doing well. Can he eat beetroot sticks out of a Bistro Salad bag? This was my Ted’s favourite after he had his first dental which he could hardly eat after too, that and grass as well as syringe food kept him going for over a month till we could get him to see Simon Maddock in Northampton who does conscious dentals and sorted Ted‘s teeth out properly and got him eating hay within 10 minutes of the dental. My local vet had not done it right, he had also cut his incisors so short he could not pick up food either.
 
I've just been looking for Critical Care online ... is there any way to get it on Amazon Prime? The earliest I can see that it will arrive is Tuesday ... but I'm so worried piggie may not last that long! His own food (Burgress pellets) seems to clog the syringe and so I have to use more water, and I'm wondering whether that's why he not gaining as too much water in the pellet mush?
Mushed pellets are just as good and a lot cheaper too
 
I would say pain also. Only a vet can tell you what dose of metacam to give, but a 0.16ml of cat metacam once a day is not very much at all
 
Thank you! I am monitoring his weight ... a drop of 2 grams from yesterday. I'm worried about getting the consistency of the mashed pellets right ... I want to try to get as much into him as possible, but worried that the puree is sometimes too watery ... but if it's too thick, it will not go up the syringe?!
Tonight he has taken some pepper, grape and strawberry cut into tiny, tiny pieces of a spoon. He is interested in his food and tries to take groundsel, soft thistle, Readigrass (getting all his favourites right now!) into his mouth, but doesn't seem able to bite chunks off? He couldn't even bite chunks off the strawberry? Is this likely to be because his mouth is still very sore (it's 36 hours post the grinding of his molars and GA) ... or because of another reason?
Bella (companion) is happily eating all his leftovers!
I think your mushed pellets have to be quite watery or they do get a bit stuck, Bear in mind a weight difference of around 30 gms a day is quite normal, it can be the difference of a full bladder/tummy or an empty one. With weight you are looking for a trend, upward or downward over a few days/week. You are doing well. Can he eat beetroot sticks out of a Bistro Salad bag? This was my Ted’s favourite after he had his first dental which he could hardly eat after too, that and grass as well as syringe food kept him going for over a month till we could get him to see Simon Maddock in Northampton who does conscious dentals and sorted Ted‘s teeth out properly and got him eating hay within 10 minutes of the dental. My local vet had not done it right, he had also cut his incisors so short he could not pick up food either.
I make them quite thick and have no problem getting them into the syringe. I don't know if the type of syringe I use helps.
 
0.16 ml of cat metacam is going to give very little, if any, pain relief. We would give around 0.4 ml - 0.5 ml of dog metacam, which equates to 1.2 ml - 1.5 ml of cat metacam, to give you an idea of how small the dose, you've been prescribed, is. We also give twice daily, as guinea pigs have such a fast metabolism and after 12 hours the medication would be completely out of their system.
 
Don't really know what to do. SIL rang the guinea pigs usual vet (I have been looking after them since February). Their usual vet was also insistent that 0.16ml daily was sufficient of the (cats) Metacam and that I shouldn't give any more. So I haven't - but hate seeing him hunched up :(
He did get out of his bed once earlier and walked about a bit ... and then sat with Bella and ate a little freshly picked grass (Bella ate all the leftovers!). He also ate a little strawberry - I cut it up into tiny pieces and he ate it off the spoon.
I'm still syringe-feeding and giving water by syringe as not drinking much today when I offer his water bottle. I really hope he picks up soon!
 
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