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dental problem in baby guinea pig

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willow's haven

willow's haven

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hi,
i'm a newby to this site, so please forgive me. i have a baby guinea pig, she is only 3 months old, she was born to me, (sold two rogue males!) she has a slight problem with her teeth. she has a droppy bottom lip, upon investigation, she has no bottom front teeth, and one one top tooth which is curved. the vet has told me that the prognosis is not a good one, and it may be better to have her euthanised? has anyone else had this problem?
 
Are you sure she has no bottom teeth at all or have they broken off from a knock to the mouth or chewing the bars and fracturing them? If they have broken off you have a good chance of her being ok but if they are simply not there then I would agree with your vet that it's doesn't look good for her.

If you give your location perhaps there is a rodentologist in your area that may be able to give you some hope. Many of the forum members are gathering in the North of England for a pignic so you may have to wait for more replies.

Suzy
 
The main questions I have at the moment are - has she always had teeth like this? Did the vet check the back teeth as well as the incisors?

If the teeth are simply broken, could be that they were weak, in which case calcium supplementation could be considered. If they are missing, all hope is not lost but it would be essential that you a) have a good vet/rodentologist who would carry out frequent checks on the back teeth, and b) put some of her solid food into the back of her mouth for her to chew, plus ongoing syringe feeds.
 
If she has always been like this how has she eaten up to now?
Mush some pellets up and put in a shallow dish she may eat enough herself but the back teeth will need attention. Such a shame in such a young piggie.
 
hi,

thank you for your responses. her bottom teeth have not broken off. it does look like they were never there. she does only have one tooth at the top, the vet didnt check the rest of her teeth as she said that they would need to sedate her to look properly as the mouth cavity is very small. she is one of the oldest babies that we have, but she looks the youngest cause she is soo small. she appears to be eating, as she is always first to the food bowl,but we are not sure if she is able to digest her food properly. the vet also said that it may be due to in-breeding, i have checked both the mother and the father and they have absolutely perfect teeth, i have also checked her sister, and even though she has one small eye, her teeth are perfectly formed as well. i may have to do an internet search for a rodentologist, as i live in the south.
 
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Whereabouts in the South are you - there are a couple of good vets/rodentologists who could potentially help depending on where in the South you are.

Given her sister has one small eye, genetic problems are very likely to blame for both the small eye on the sister, and the dental problems on this youngster.

What colour hair does this little pig have?
 
hi Laura,

i'm in kent. both the little piggies are pew;s. they both have the same name, as initially we could not tell them apart, but as time has gone by, the differences have become apparent.
 
Do you have a pic of the parents? There is a genetic combination that can produce offspring like yours.

Suzy
 
hi suzy,

i do, but i don't know how to upload them onto this site (a bit of a technophobe - i was bbc,i'm afraid!)mum is a chocolate brown, and dad is a fudge/sandy colour. unfortuneatly, dad was in the girls pen when we bought them! they are brother and sister. she is the only one he got to, before he was snipped!
 
The lethal thing is what I was wondering about too and agree that looking at the parents might back up these thoughts. 'Lethal' piggies are always white, common problems they encounter include the small/missing eyes, and chronic dental problems, amongst other medical problems. All to do with genetics.

Lethal piggies need not have a death sentence, there is a pretty famous little lethal sow called Fairy and she is over one year old now, but these special piggies do require a lot of care if they do survive beyond the birth (as, obviously, yours have done). A key component of this care is having a good vet/rodentologist. I do know of a rodentologist in Kent but will have to ask her if she would be able to take on another client, I will update you further when I've contacted her.

ETA - Just seen your last post Willows Haven. You can upload your pictures at an image hosting website like www.photobucket.com, and share your pictures here by pasting the IMG or URL code into your post.
 
hi laura,

thank you for that, i will wait for you to make contact with rodentologist. i don't want to give her the death sentence, as she is soo loving, she loves her cuddles and is very happy to sit on your lap for hours, (and she was the first born!)

if i can upload pictures, i will try, but this technology thing completely baffles me!
 
hi,

just an update on little Maisie's dental problem. we have just returned from taking her to another vet. this one seemed quite knowledgable in gp's. he trimmed Maisie's tooth for her, and checked to rest of her teeth. apart from having a very small mouth, her back teeth are really good.

so a long (hopefully) and very happy life for our little Maisie.

thank you to everyone how gave suggestions and advice.
 
One of my males once broke his front teeth when chewing the bars, but managed pretty well without them.. just cut the veg into really small pieces, soften her nuggets, and she should manage quite well ;)
 
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