Dislodging Food In Mouth, Teeth Problems Or Other?

[bex's gpigs]

My piggy Rolo has been loosing some weight over time not much but something that has concerned me. I have organised to weigh her and LUna (for comparison) at certain times in the day. This however is not what is worrying me, she keeps getting food stuck in her mouth and moving her mouth around it dislodge it. She also seems to get hiccups more than any off the others infact, the others don't seem to hiccup at all. At first I thought it was just biscuits but its carrot as well and possibly over veg too. I understand this could be teeth problems (molars) or a fluke? Any advice or other causes. I will be ringing the vet when their open but no pig savy vets near by. I live in Suffolk

Thank you

Bex

*this morning she struggled on carrot and biscuits but watching her now she has not done it anymore.

 

[bex's gpigs]

Looks like this

Breathing is fine and she can successfully move the piece of food

 

[lawz]

I would say it tends to be teeth and i would get her to a savvy vet

 

[bex's gpigs]

I would say it tends to be teeth and i would get her to a savvy vet

That is what I was thinking I started hearing the noise of her dislodging when I put the apple branches in a few days ago. I have never heard her do it before. Its no constant but happens atleast 3 times in the night when I go to bed. Surely it would be all the time if it was her teeth and she wouldn't be able to keep anything down?

 

[lawz]

not necessarily…with her teeth she would be able to keep food down.
My old piggie had bad teeth, and she would get food stuck, and thats when they try to paw at mouth.
Check her front incisors are they at an angle at all?

 

[bex's gpigs]

Getting an appointment today with a small animal specialist. Front teeth are fine, breath is fine, I worked out she has lost 20g in 10days.

 

[lawz]

20g i wouldn't flag as immediate as such as could be fluctuations between an empty and fully bladder. make sure you weigh her at roughly same time every day.
Usually if there is a problem with back teeth the front could be at an angle but not always, I'm pretty sure is her back teeth though.
let me know how you get on
Ive also got to take one of mine to vets tonight for her eye…piggies are all about the drama

 

[helen105281]

It does look like there is some kind of irritant in her mouth, whether it is teeth or something like oral thrush am not sure. With oral thrush her breath may smell of damp dishcloths. Good look at your appointment. If you don't get any answers it may be worth a trip to Northampton to see Simon or Kim Maddock as they are bale to do dentals without the need for GA most of the time.

 

[bex's gpigs]

Thanks guys, sadly if it is teeth it as genetic as she is not even one year yet (21st December), off course it could be poor diet but very unlikely as I supply full time timothy hay which is very course, the best biscuits in UK and braches/stick/wooden toys and huts (none of them chew so annoying). I do not think her breath smells but will see what vet says.

When I rang the vets the receptionist said that 20g was a lot for a piggy. Which worried me but I have read on here that up to 30g can be ok. Not even 100% sure if scales are very good. I just don't want my girls to suffer, that is my biggest fear

 

[helen105281]

It doesn't have to be genetic. Could even be a brewing abscess.

 

[bex's gpigs]

What are the symptoms of an abscess? Although its quite early if it was..

 

[lawz]

ide say the symptoms could be what she is displaying….like helen says it could be the start of one.
does she have a wet chin after eating?

 

[helen105281]

It doesn't have to be genetic. Could even be a brewing abscess.

Not 100% sure as I think it varies and depends where the abscess is. My Tim had one behind his eye and his symptoms were slower eating and weight loss. With Barney, who had a suspected abscess too (but we don't know where abouts as he died before a full diagnosis could be made) he didn't want to eat at all. He was however, grieving at the time too. I will tag our dental experts @MintyAndGarry (TEAS) and @furryfriends (TEAS)

 

[Freela]

That motion does look like teeth to me, and I've had a couple of dental pigs so it's something I've seen. Teeth issues doesn't mean they can't get anything in (unless it's very advanced.) Both of my pigs who had dental issues had some really mild weight loss and that 'stretching the mouth' gesture as their only symptoms. Young pigs can have dental issues for reasons other than genetics... abscesses come to mind. Both of my pigs were youngish (one was only a year and the other was about 2.5 years) when they started having dental issues, and both were due to abscesses. The first one unfortunately passed away because the abscess care was really mismanaged by a vet who didn't know what he was doing (and I was too naive an owner to realize he was not treating it appropriately.) The second pig had repeat dentals every three months or so with no real signs except that her teeth were continually overgrowing on one side and we had no idea why. Eventually, she puffed up with a huge abscess which had probably been brewing all along but had no outward signs. She had the abscess lanced and drained and fortunately that was the end of the dental issues for her (it's now 3 or so years later and she never needed any further dental work once the abscess cleared.) So keep this in mind as a possible cause even if there is no outward sign of abscess right now.

 

[Freela]

What are the symptoms of an abscess? Although its quite early if it was..

Similar to what I said in my other post

What are the symptoms of an abscess? Although its quite early if it was..

Similar to what I said in my other post, but the symptoms of an abscess can be as simple as what you show in the video. Abscesses can start deep and take time to be apparent. When they do reach the surface they will puff up and then you can definitely tell. Can you run your hands along either side of her face to feel for any lumps/masses?

One of my pigs, Sundae, started having dental issues when she was about 2.5 or 3. She was losing a bit of weight and making the same faces you showed in the video and seemed subdued. When the vet examined her teeth, she had some molar spurs and the teeth were overgrown on one side. After her dental, she resumed eating better and regained weight but still seemed not quite herself. About two or three month later, we were back getting the same molars filed and started the whole process over again. A few months later, she was back to not eating properly and losing weight, but she also finally puffed up dramatically along her jawline with what turned out to be a very, very deep abscess, apparently right down under the muscles of her jaw. It was lanced and drained and took a long time to clear but she never had another dental issue and it has been several years. The vet and I both think that the abscess was brewing the whole time and made it uncomfortable for her to chew, hence she favored one side of her mouth and let her teeth overgrow. She probably had a sore mouth the whole six months way down, poor little thing!

 

[bex's gpigs]

Vet said her teeth are fine, she has spurs (which I knew) but its not causing any problems. She checked inside her mouth well better than any vet in the past. She checked for lumps and swelling, especially in the neck. She said Rolo looked in great condition, eyes, nose, hair, ears ect. My other lass Luna is also loosing some weight. I wonder if it would pay to worm them. 80% off the time they are out on the grass. Marbles doesn't appear to be loosing weight but she is a big pig compared to the others. Anyone know symptoms of worms.

Update: the dislodging movements hasn't happened as far as I am aware. And the are all eating, the can eat grass to carrots which is perfect.

Freela: No wet chins, so she wouldn't be able to see an abscess and how do you treat them?, as a blessing Rolo is brilliant at the vets so she could get a good look. Rolo is slower than the other two but they are exceptionally quick. Rolo also chews her food properly, as the others will rush in and just spit it out, but they are eating, this is only when its the morning because they're so excited.

 

[Poppy'sMum]

Worming is a bit of a bone of contention Vedra at the CCT regularly worms her pigs, however my vet says they are extremely rare in gps, she has vast experience of parasitic problems in animals & worked at Chester Zoo in the Exotics & does not recommend worming unless parasites have been found in a fecal sample. Did this vet use bucal pad separators in your piggies mouth to check her teeth? Unless she did, there is no way she could have seen her teeth properly, or if she has thrush in her mouth. If there are spurs on her back teeth they could be causing the difficulty in eating, but I would really recommend you get her to see Simon at the Cat & Rabbit clinic in Northampton if you can, as he is probably the best vet for dental pig problems in the UK. I'll tag @furryfriends (TEAS) for more advice

 

[helen105281]

I do worm my pigs but I know there are very mixed opinions on it. The logic behind it is that they eat hay and hay is grass. It does seem to come from the rodentology side of things as far as I am aware though the person who has advised me is not a rodentologist.

 

[Freela]

Freela: No wet chins, so she wouldn't be able to see an abscess and how do you treat them?, as a blessing Rolo is brilliant at the vets so she could get a good look. Rolo is slower than the other two but they are exceptionally quick. Rolo also chews her food properly, as the others will rush in and just spit it out, but they are eating, this is only when its the morning because they're so excited.[/QUOTE]

I always thought that the presence of spurs itself was indicative of a problem- if there is even wear of the teeth, there shouldn't be spurs. I always though that spurs would not form unless there was so issue with how the teeth were grinding during eating- either not enough if the food is too soft or off-center if there is malocclusion or if the pig is not chewing in a normal motion. Food trapped under a spur while eating could definitely be cause for the guinea pig to pull their lips or otherwise act like chewing is difficult. As for potential abscesses, they are difficult to diagnose until they puff up when they reach the surface. That's how Sundae's abscess went undiagnosed for so long. It started very deep and likely caused pain with chewing, but there was no visible lump at the surface for a long time. It might be possible to catch them earlier on a dental x-ray. In Sundae's case, on her initial dental exam she had molar spurs that were cutting her cheeks a bit, which were filed down. On the second dental a couple months later, she had the beginnings of spurs on the same side as before, which were filed down. She was booked for a third dental a couple of months later when suddenly her face puffed up and we realized there was an underlying abscess that needed to be treated. I would keep running your fingers along the sides of the jawline to feel for lumps daily to see if any swellings developed. Hope this helps a bit!