Dental Guinea pig not chewing after teeth filing?

[chloejnes]

Hi all! I just wanted to come on here looking for advice. Basically, I took my guinea pig to the vet earlier today to get her teeth cut down (they were too long and she couldn’t eat any food/hay). The procedure itself went fine, but now that I’m home, I’ve noticed that when I give her something to eat, she can’t chew it. I’ve never had my guinea pigs teeth filed so I’m not sure if this is normal. Like I’m not sure if the procedure has just made her teeth a little bit sensitive, or if she’s ‘forgotten’ how to chew since she hasn’t been able to chew properly for a day or so. If anyone has an answer for this, please let me know! Or if you’ve gone through a similar situation, I’d really appreciate some advice because it’s kind of worrying at the moment. Thank you!

 

[Piggies&buns]

Unfortunately piggy dentistry is not something most vets know how to do properly and sadly a bad dental can make problems worse. She may be sore but should be able to eat if the vet knew what they were doing.
Is she eating at all now? If she isn’t able to pick up and chew hay properly for herself then you will need to step in and syringe feed her to keep her going. Is she able to eat grass?
The best vet for piggy dentals is Simon at cat and rabbit care clinic in Northampton. Members travel from all over the country to have their piggies teeth dealt with by him.
@furryfriends (TEAS) has the most experience of dental piggies so can hopefully offer you further advice

 

[chloejnes]

Unfortunately piggy dentistry is not something most vets know how to do properly and sadly a bad dental can make problems worse. She may be sore but should be able to eat if the vet knew what they were doing.
Is she eating at all now? If she isn’t able to pick up and chew hay properly for herself then you will need to step in and syringe feed her to keep her going. Is she able to eat grass?
The best vet for piggy dentals is Simon at cat and rabbit care clinic in Northampton. Members travel from all over the country to have their piggies teeth dealt with by him.
@furryfriends (TEAS) has the most experience of dental piggies so can hopefully offer you further advice

Oh no I’m currently sitting with her now with a little bit of banana (since it’s quite soft) and she’s sort of gnawing it. She can pick up hay, but she’s not really eating it unfortunately. Hopefully it’s just a case where her mouth is a little bit sore and just needs time to ‘heal’? But thank you so much for your input, I’ll definitely reach out to the person you tagged if nothing improves

 

[Wiebke]

Oh no I’m currently sitting with her now with a little bit of banana (since it’s quite soft) and she’s sort of gnawing it. She can pick up hay, but she’s not really eating it unfortunately. Hopefully it’s just a case where her mouth is a little bit sore and just needs time to ‘heal’? But thank you so much for your input, I’ll definitely reach out to the person you tagged if nothing improves

Hi!

You need to step in feeding support asap. Please be aware that unlimited hay is making around 80% (the abrasive silica in it is also what is keeping the crucial back teeth ground down and the tough fibre is what the gut is wired to break down) while a limited amount of preferably leafy and green veg and 1 tablespoon of pellets max (please no more) are more in the way of a snack. So nibbling on a banana is more like nibbling on a small square of chocolate.
It is vital that your piggy gets plenty of hay based fibre. If she is not eating after treatment, then you need to step in with syringe feeding to make sure that she is getting the equivalent of ideally 90 ml in 24 hours into her in order to keep the weight up.

Please take the time to read these guides here; they tell you how you go about this and how you can improvise until you get any necessary support care in a pinch:
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment (including tips on how you can improvise with what you have handy or easily accessible)

Rather than banana, try and see whether your girl will accept dog pee free grass (high in silica, fibre and vitamin C), fresh herbs or very finely sliced lettuce. Grated carrot and or porridge oats may also help towards keeping the weight up but hay/grass based fibre is still the most crucial to keep the digestion balanced and it cannot cover for any necessary feeding support.

Unfortunately guinea pig dentals (or guinea pigs generally) are not really part of a general vet's curriculum so if they are inexpertly done, then you are sadly rather likely to end up with your piggy unable to eat after the procedure.

 

[chloejnes]

Hi!

You need to step in feeding support asap. Please be aware that unlimited hay is making around 80% (the abrasive silica in it is also what is keeping the crucial back teeth ground down and the tough fibre is what the gut is wired to break down) while a limited amount of preferably leafy and green veg and 1 tablespoon of pellets max (please no more) are more in the way of a snack. So nibbling on a banana is more like nibbling on a small square of chocolate.
It is vital that your piggy gets plenty of hay based fibre. If she is not eating after treatment, then you need to step in with syringe feeding to make sure that she is getting the equivalent of ideally 90 ml in 24 hours into her in order to keep the weight up.

Please take the time to read these guides here; they tell you how you go about this and how you can improvise until you get any necessary support care in a pinch:
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment (including tips on how you can improvise with what you have handy or easily accessible)

Rather than banana, try and see whether your girl will accept dog pee free grass (high in silica, fibre and vitamin C), fresh herbs or very finely sliced lettuce. Grated carrot and or porridge oats may also help towards keeping the weight up but hay/grass based fibre is still the most crucial to keep the digestion balanced and it cannot cover for any necessary feeding support.

Unfortunately guinea pig dentals (or guinea pigs generally) are not really part of a general vet's curriculum so if they are inexpertly done, then you are sadly rather likely to end up with your piggy unable to eat after the procedure.

Thank you so much for your response, this is really helpful. I’m going to syringe feed her now so hopefully that helps her! I’m just praying that she eventually recovers from this, it’s so upsetting to see. I just wish she’d eat some hay at least (Also update on the banana thing: she probably nibbled on it for 10 seconds and stopped. So don’t worry she hasn’t had too much, I’m always very cautious about how much fruit she eats ) But again, thank you <3