front teeth worn down - issues

[longtimelurker51]

hi all, me and pipi went in for his third tooth trim - his molars and premolars were a bit overgrown again, but luckily no ulcers. i want to preface this by saying the vet did NOT trim the front teeth at all, and never has.

we have also switched hay two weeks ago, and it was the first time in months that i have seen him happily munching on hay - not as much as he ate before his first dental, but an improvement nonetheless.

anyways, a day or two prior to getting him to the vet i already noticed his upper front teeth were a bit worn down - not broken, not wobbly, but the upper teeth weren’t as visible as they were before.

the procedure went smoothly yesterday, only thing that bothered me was that he was not given any pain meds (because it was so minor), but i think it could be the vet was worried for his liver/kidneys considering how frequent these trims are. he has also lost 40 grams.

anyhow, the vet did not mention any issues with the front teeth, and just said i should encourage him to eat hay.

the issue is he is NOT eating at all. he makes his bubbly sounds, popcorns, jumps around, calls out for me, but he just won’t eat besides taking his pellet mash and even biting the syringe (he also ate it on his own from a bowl).

i have absolutely no idea what has happened, the only thing he started to do recently was teeth grinding but it was only once or twice per day and seemed to be only when he was stressed or in pain from his teeth overgrowing.

what can i do? when can i expect them to grow again? is pellet mash enough to maintain his weight? should i buy RodiCare (critical care)?

 

[piggl]

Bump x

 

[Piggies&buns]

I can only think for you to discuss this with the vet.

Their front teeth are kept in check by the wearing of the molars while chewing hay. They grow back in relatively quickly (some weeks) but it’s going to depend what happened for them to become so worn down so quickly in the first place if it seemed out of the ordinary.

Pellet mash is enough to maintain his weight, the only thing is that the fibre content tends to be less in pellets than in a proper recovery feed. Thus a proper recovery feed would be recommended for longer term syringe feeding.

 

[longtimelurker51]

I can only think for you to discuss this with the vet.

Their front teeth are kept in check by the wearing of the molars while chewing hay. They grow back in relatively quickly (some weeks) but it’s going to depend what happened for them to become so worn down so quickly in the first place if it seemed out of the ordinary.

Pellet mash is enough to maintain his weight, the only thing is that the fibre content tends to be less in pellets than in a proper recovery feed. Thus a proper recovery feed would be recommended for longer term syringe feeding.

thank you for your answer!

i am honestly absolutely lost and heartbroken, nothing has happened, but it’s been a week and he still hasn’t picked up his old eating habits. i bought him new hay, i offer him veggies and he doesn’t seem in pain, but he has these upset tummy episodes.

his incisors visibly grew, but i think it’s his tummy acting up. he was gassy for a bit, i gave him SabSimplex and that resolved and he eats relatively normally (even some hay), but then suddenly stops again.

i was on the phone with the vet and they said some piggies take up to a week to recover. but i feel like we have been in this endless cycle of overgrown teeth - won’t eat hay/grass/anything that wears teeth down - tooth trim - won’t eat anything after the tooth trim.

he was also usually 830g, but then was down to 805g the day before the trim, then 799g on the day of the trim and yesterday he was 772g i am syringe feeding him now more but i am so, so lost because i know if we keep going like this, it will lead to overgrown molars again.

 

[longtimelurker51]

actually, it seems like i have found my answer hopefully i am not getting excited too soon lol. but after alpine meadow hay, timothy 1st cut grass hay, 2nd cut grass hay, oxbow hay, timothy hay with wildflowers, timothy hay with dry pumpkin, basically EVERY single KIND OF HAY. i don’t know what i haven’t tried, even though i never have and never will hesitate to buy something my boy might eat.

anyways, we got home grown and dried meadow hay. relatively soft for the first cut of the year, but i swear i haven’t seen him this excited over hay in the last three months. dived nose first into it and he couldn’t wait for me to step out of the room to start nibbling (he is so shy, he never eats if someone is watching him up close).

i’ve tried this kind of hay before with the bunnies i had and even with my piggies when they were babies, and they never once liked it. but i know it’s good because my hay allergies are acting up

 

[Posyrose]

I'm so pleased that you've found a hay that he's excited to eat. I hope he improves with the new hay