Dentist Work :(

[Macklery]

Hi all I am a new member came across this forum when looking for lice treatment, I have a very important question. My lovely male piggy has snapped his front tooth off in the last two weeks he has dropped loads of weight and since going to the vet to have his teeth trimmed (after tooth snapped) I am having to hand feed him, he seems fine in himself but I am concerned I'm being cruel by keeping him alive his teeth have had to be cut that short that he can't use his front ones to grab food!

 

[madguinealady]

His teeth should grow back in and as long as he is taking food from you I would keep going.

 

[furryfriends (TEAS)]

Welcome to the forum. I run a sanctuary for guinea pigs with dental issues, and even with severe dental disease guinea pigs can lead a good life, as long as they receive suitable treatment.

If your guinea pig only has issues with the incisors they should grow back very quickly and your piggy should have no further problems. If he is still unable to eat once his teeth grow back then there is likely to be a problem with the cheek teeth. Most piggies soon adapt to eating, even with short incisors. I have a number of piggies here who don't have any bottom incisors and they are still able to eat well. Monitor for a few days, and hand feed him to ensure he is getting food into his mouth, and if no better by end of week then I think you need to consider there may be an issue with his other teeth.

Please keep us updated with how he is doing. What is your location, as very few vets really know how to deal with guinea pig teeth, so we may be able to point you in the direction of a more experienced vet if the problem persists?

 

[Katherine]

Please don't give up on him! One of my piggies has on two occasions snapped off her front teeth by cage bar biting, and things were a bit tricky while we were waiting to for them to grow back, but it doesn't take too long to get back to normal. What I did was to cut up her veg very, very finely, and grate her some carrot, and if these were put on a saucer for her, she could sort of lick them up and chew with her back teeth. I also soaked and mushed up her normal dried food pellets and put those on a saucer too. I watched her while she was eating to make sure she was getting enough to eat, and that her cage mate didn't pinch it! She didn't have any problems getting hold of hay.

When this happened to our piggie, she didn't actually lose much, if any weight. As Furryfriends has just suggested, you may possibly need to consider whether there's another problem with the teeth if you don't see some improvement soon.

I do hope your piggie gets better soon!

 

[Stewybus]

His teeth will soon grow back so please keep syringe feeding him till he can manage by himself. What are you feeding him on, is it something like critical care or is it mushed up pellets. Whichever it is, it is best to use a 1ml syringe with the end cut off so that the food can pass through into his mouth easily. Also try to hand feed him hay & veggies. He should be right in no time.

 

[Macklery]

Wow thankyou for all your positive, supportive response! I only feed my piggys on fresh fruit & veg although I'm going to get some guinea pig food for the fibre so I will soak that, he has eaten apple chopped up this morning fine I just had to pass it between his front teeth then he grab it with his tongue he also had Brussel peelings last night which were all gone this morning!
Furry friends I am in Mansfield, north Nottinghamshire. Thankyou all again.