Guinea pig dental issues?

[Sophie]

Hi
I have a guinea pig called Roxy who came from a big rescue where a breeder was keeping them in wooden shoe boxes with just air holes poked in. I took in Roxy and Velma and they were VERY nervous and scared and would scream if you lifted their house up anyway, almost 6 months on they are doing very well and will run up to the side for nose rubs and food. Roxy then got mites a couple of months ago and her hair is nearly fully back but i've noticed she has been losing weight, I wondered if it was stress of the rescue so just made sure she had loads of food, hay and veggies all the time. But today i went to see them both and she was making a really weird noise where it sounded like she was grinding/chattering her teeth? But she wasnt angry with anyone or doing the things they normally do when they chatter. I got her out and looked at her teeth. One is slightly crossed over the other one. They dont seem too long but they dont seem to be inline with the bottom ones? I know that she is very likely inbred as all the pigggies looked the same and that she has been bred from at a young age as it has stunted her growth. If it is a dental problem do i need to syring feed her? Does she need a vet and will she need to go under anaesthetic? sorry for the long post but needed to be sure you knew her background first.
These are the gorgeous girls, Roxy is the ginger and white one.

 

[sport_billy]

They are beautiful little Pigs

Is she eating ok, Does she spit out any food? When she is chewing does she seem like she has somehting stuck in her mouth and pawing at her face?

When you say one tooth is crossed over the other can you elaborate a little more, is it a bottom incisor crossing over another or are the top not alignined with the bottom?

Are you weighing her regularly? It is worth weighing her everyday if you suspect dental issues.
If she isn't eating, she will lose a lot of weight and you will need to get her to the vet ASAP. A cavy savy vet will be able to perform dental work with no anesthetic. Someone may be able to recomend a vet local to you. If she is not eating in the meantime, you need to syringe feed to make sure her guts are still moving.

 

[Sophie]

They are beautiful little Pigs

Is she eating ok, Does she spit out any food? When she is chewing does she seem like she has somehting stuck in her mouth and pawing at her face?

When you say one tooth is crossed over the other can you elaborate a little more, is it a bottom incisor crossing over another or are the top not alignined with the bottom?

Are you weighing her regularly? It is worth weighing her everyday if you suspect dental issues.
If she isn't eating, she will lose a lot of weight and you will need to get her to the vet ASAP. A cavy savy vet will be able to perform dental work with no anesthetic. Someone may be able to recomend a vet local to you. If she is not eating in the meantime, you need to syringe feed to make sure her guts are still moving.

I will watch her eat and see if she is acting like there is something stuck.
Its the top teeth with one crossed over the other slightly. They dont seem to be in line with the bottom teeth either. I weigh her reularly but will start weighing her every day. Thanks. When my mum gets home i'll ask her to make a vets appointment.

 

[sport_billy]

Weighing everyday for a while will just show you if she's losing everyday. If she is staying the same weight then she's eating enough to maintain her weight.

Try not to worry, if you are concerned a vet visit is the way to go. Just keep a close eye on her.

 

[clairelove]

if its the teeth which it maybe she needs to have them done every 2 wks approx, so its best to find a rodentologist that will do guinea pigs teeth with out GA and normally dont charge for dental treatment, she will need syringe feeding to supplement her, before and maybe for some time after dental treatment.

there is a lady on here who lives in Sheffield called pig in the city she is a rodentologist and she maybe able to do the teeth for you or know someone in your area that does.

also worth contacting vedra a Cambridge cavy trust who will also put you in touch with your localised rodentologist x

 

[Sophie]

if its the teeth which it maybe she needs to have them done every 2 wks approx, so its best to find a rodentologist that will do guinea pigs teeth with out GA and normally dont charge for dental treatment, she will need syringe feeding to supplement her, before and maybe for some time after dental treatment.

there is a lady on here who lives in Sheffield called pig in the city she is a rodentologist and she maybe able to do the teeth for you or know someone in your area that does.

also worth contacting vedra a Cambridge cavy trust who will also put you in touch with your localised rodentologist x

Thanks so much! I will get in touch with pig in the city after ive spoke to my mum. Is there any particular type of hay which would be best to feed her to keep them down. I'm currently feeding her on meadow hay. xx

 

[doglovinpiggylover]

good luck chuck, they are beautiful x

what a sad story they have :0

 

[clairelove]

as long as they have unlimited hay, good guinea food and veg then this is ok, BUT often guineas can have all this and still develope teeth problems, guineas can go yrs with out teeth problems then all of a sud develope them.

 

[HairlessWillow7]

Sometimes their molars will overgrow. My Smores had this. He also was drooling and trying to eat, but he couldn't The vet had to trim his teeth.

 

[Furries]

Does she seem to suddenly 'yawn' when eating - kind of like gaping her mouth and then spitting her food out?

My boar did this when we first 'rescued'* him from the petshop (skinny and scabby with mites), and I read that it can be a sign of overgrown back molars. We fed him exclusively on the weedy lawn and hay for a few weeks to wear his teeth down. Which definitely did work but we made sure to keep an eye on him. We avoided pellets because of the way they chew them; it doesn't wear their teeth properly. We then slowly introduced veg.

He's fine now and you wouldn't know the terrible start he had from looking at him; but he did take a long time to put weight on.

One suggestion is to do what we did and to feed her exclusively on hay and grass (if you put her out in a run), that she eats herself to see if this wears her teeth down, and to supplement her diet by syringe-feeding her so that she's not missing out on any nutrients.

[*I would never do this now as I realise that you're just encouraging petshop owners to keep selling sick pigs because people feel sorry for them.]

 

[Sophie]

Does she seem to suddenly 'yawn' when eating - kind of like gaping her mouth and then spitting her food out?

My boar did this when we first 'rescued'* him from the petshop (skinny and scabby with mites), and I read that it can be a sign of overgrown back molars. We fed him exclusively on the weedy lawn and hay for a few weeks to wear his teeth down. Which definitely did work but we made sure to keep an eye on him. We avoided pellets because of the way they chew them; it doesn't wear their teeth properly. We then slowly introduced veg.

He's fine now and you wouldn't know the terrible start he had from looking at him; but he did take a long time to put weight on.

One suggestion is to do what we did and to feed her exclusively on hay and grass (if you put her out in a run), that she eats herself to see if this wears her teeth down, and to supplement her diet by syringe-feeding her so that she's not missing out on any nutrients.

[*I would never do this now as I realise that you're just encouraging petshop owners to keep selling sick pigs because people feel sorry for them.]

thanks, she eats normally *i think* as she wont eat in the open and drags all the food into her house so i cant see her and poor velma cant get it!

 

[Pebble]

Certainly the first pointer would be dental...however grinding teeth also indicates pain.
Pain could be from the overgrown teeth...but there could be another cause if the teeth are fine/sorted and the grinding continues so keep an open mind/be prepared......urinary problems often manifest with grinding teeth first...plus reduced intake of food, increased water intake....way before you notice anything in their wee.

Sound like a visit to the rodentologist is in order....sort the teeth first then you will also know if there is any other underlying porblem.

Good luck

x

 

[Sophie]

Certainly the first pointer would be dental...however grinding teeth also indicates pain.
Pain could be from the overgrown teeth...but there could be another cause if the teeth are fine/sorted and the grinding continues so keep an open mind/be prepared......urinary problems often manifest with grinding teeth first...plus reduced intake of food, increased water intake....way before you notice anything in their wee.

Sound like a visit to the rodentologist is in order....sort the teeth first then you will also know if there is any other underlying porblem.

Good luck

x

Thanks i never knew grinding could indicate pain!
Hmmm maybe it could be because her skin is still sore from the mites? I will definately organise a trip to a rodentologist.

 

[Pebble]

Thanks i never knew grinding could indicate pain!
Hmmm maybe it could be because her skin is still sore from the mites? I will definately organise a trip to a rodentologist.

Hi Sophie

Tbh - I didn;t either until I had all the differing probs with my piggies over the last 18 months and could then (retrospectively) correlate symptoms vs diagnosed illness..(none of them had teeth probs as checked by both Vedra and my vet) .

.......isn;t hindsight a wonderful thing? ...at least i can post my experiences to add to the knowledge base and help others....

Hope all works out OK

x

 

[Pebble]

Hmmm maybe it could be because her skin is still sore from the mites? I will definately organise a trip to a rodentologist.

Does she grind or chatter (or between the two?)

xx