Dental Guinea pig not eating after dental work

[teddytightsocks]

Hi all cavvy lovers!

We took our beloved 5 year old boar to the vets last Wednesaday as he had stopped eating, the vet kept him in overnight and performed an investigation the following morning. She ended up filing his back teeth at they had curled right over trapping his tongue, and she cut his incisors.

Since, he hasn't been able to eat - he can't seem to grip with his front teeth. When I push small bits of apple etc to his back teeth he seems to be able to get these down him. He's constantly doing a grinding/chewing motion, and really really wants to eat. He's happy in himself and still squeaking.
As he can't eat, we've been syringe feeding him mushed up pellets and he's on Loxicom. We were hoping he'd be eating solids by now, but he still can't seem to

Any advice?! We don't know what to do.

 

[5StarPigs]

Hello! Welcome to the forum!
Is it possible you could ask the vet for some painkillers to give him in addition to the Loxicom?Also make sure you keep feeding him mushed up pellets and veggies. Maybe if the vet perscribes him some painkillers for his teeth, he will perk up and start eating hay, pellets and veggies on his own. If the vet does perscribe you painkillers and they aren’t helping much after a few days, I would suggest taking him back to the vet, tell them what is going on and possibly get him checked over again? Please keep us updated if you do decide to ask for painkillers or take him to the vet again.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi all cavvy lovers!

We took our beloved 5 year old boar to the vets last Wednesaday as he had stopped eating, the vet kept him in overnight and performed an investigation the following morning. She ended up filing his back teeth at they had curled right over trapping his tongue, and she cut his incisors.

Since, he hasn't been able to eat - he can't seem to grip with his front teeth. When I push small bits of apple etc to his back teeth he seems to be able to get these down him. He's constantly doing a grinding/chewing motion, and really really wants to eat. He's happy in himself and still squeaking.
As he can't eat, we've been syringe feeding him mushed up pellets and he's on Loxicom. We were hoping he'd be eating solids by now, but he still can't seem to

Any advice?! We don't know what to do.

Hi!

Has your boy got painkillers as his mouth must be very sore?

Please syringe feed and cut/grate veg vry finely so he can pass it to the back of his mouth an grate it until the have regrown and are self-sharpening again. Your vet has obviously clipped them back too hard.

Our syringe feeding guide includes a chapter on caring for dental guinea pigs: Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
How to monitor the food intake since hay should make over 80% of what a piggy eats in a day. It is the highly abrasive silica in the hay/grass that is what is grinding down the crucial back teeth.
Weight - Monitoring and Management

In a balanced dental system, the front teeth should have even edges (not jagged, slanted or inward pointing) that work against each other and are self-sharpening. If front teeth are not even, then it is generally an indication that there is a problem with the back teeth.
A gradual loss of weight is also an indication that the back teeth may need more treatment until they work normally again and the chewing is even. It can take several rounds of corrective burring, especially if severe overgrowth has pushed the jaw out of alingment.

I am linking in our most experienced member in this field for you. Please accept that she is very busy running her special sanctuary.
@furryfriends (TEAS)

It would also help if you added your country or UK county to your account details so we can tailor any advice accordingly. Please click on our username on the top bar, then account details and go to location. We have members and enquiries from all over the world and from very different backgrounds. climates and vet/rescue or brand names access. Thank you!

 

[Bill & Ted]

This is what happened to my Ted last year, his incisors were cut far too short they didn’t meet. Your boy will need syringe and hand feeding for at least a few weeks until his incisors grow down and meet so he can pick up food. incisors rarely need cutting. I now take Ted to the Cat and Rabbit Clinic in Northampton every 2.5 months for a conscious dental with no GA. it takes 10 minutes and he has had no further problems since seeing Simon. The vet Simon Maddock sees and treats many dental piggies from around the UK. Many have had poor dentals from in-experienced piggie vets. Can you take him to Northampton for a check up and a possible conscious dental? You will not be disappointed and he will sort out any problem spurs on his molars which may not have been resolved properly?
many of the members on here go to this vet, he is probably the most experience dental piggie vet in the country x

 

[teddytightsocks]

Hello! Welcome to the forum!
Is it possible you could ask the vet for some painkillers to give him in addition to the Loxicom?Also make sure you keep feeding him mushed up pellets and veggies. Maybe if the vet perscribes him some painkillers for his teeth, he will perk up and start eating hay, pellets and veggies on his own. If the vet does perscribe you painkillers and they aren’t helping much after a few days, I would suggest taking him back to the vet, tell them what is going on and possibly get him checked over again? Please keep us updated if you do decide to ask for painkillers or take him to the vet again.

Hi Isabella! Sorry if I'm being stupid - but is the loxicom not a painkiller? He is booked in to see the vet again tomorrow, but when we rang them up last week they just suggested PTS, which obviously is our very very last resort! Especially while he's so happy in himself aside from the eating.

Hi!

Has your boy got painkillers as his mouth must be very sore?

Please syringe feed and cut/grate veg vry finely so he can pass it to the back of his mouth an grate it until the have regrown and are self-sharpening again. Your vet has obviously clipped them back too hard.

Our syringe feeding guide includes a chapter on caring for dental guinea pigs: Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
How to monitor the food intake since hay should make over 80% of what a piggy eats in a day. It is the highly abrasive silica in the hay/grass that is what is grinding down the crucial back teeth.
Weight - Monitoring and Management

In a balanced dental system, the front teeth should have even edges (not jagged, slanted or inward pointing) that work against each other and are self-sharpening. If front teeth are not even, then it is generally an indication that there is a problem with the back teeth.
A gradual loss of weight is also an indication that the back teeth may need more treatment until they work normally again and the chewing is even. It can take several rounds of corrective burring, especially if severe overgrowth has pushed the jaw out of alingment.

I am linking in our most experienced member in this field for you. Please accept that she is very busy running her special sanctuary.
@furryfriends (TEAS)

It would also help if you added your country or UK county to your account details so we can tailor any advice accordingly. Please click on our username on the top bar, then account details and go to location. We have members and enquiries from all over the world and from very different backgrounds. climates and vet/rescue or brand names access. Thank you!

Many thanks for all that. Will add that info to my profile - I am based in Letchworth, Hertfordshire, uK

 

[teddytightsocks]

This is what happened to my Ted last year, his incisors were cut far too short they didn’t meet. Your boy will need syringe and hand feeding for at least a few weeks until his incisors grow down and meet so he can pick up food. incisors rarely need cutting. I now take Ted to the Cat and Rabbit Clinic in Northampton every 2.5 months for a conscious dental with no GA. it takes 10 minutes and he has had no further problems since seeing Simon. The vet Simon Maddock sees and treats many dental piggies from around the UK. Many have had poor dentals from in-experienced piggie vets. Can you take him to Northampton for a check up and a possible conscious dental? You will not be disappointed and he will sort out any problem spurs on his molars which may not have been resolved properly?
many of the members on here go to this vet, he is probably the most experience dental piggie vet in the country x

Our boy is called Ted too! How coincidental haha.

Thank you for that information, did your boy recover ok after experiencing this? What did you syringe him and when did he start to pick up? I will look into seeing Simon, he sounds like a guinea pig angel!

 

[teddytightsocks]

This is what happened to my Ted last year, his incisors were cut far too short they didn’t meet. Your boy will need syringe and hand feeding for at least a few weeks until his incisors grow down and meet so he can pick up food. incisors rarely need cutting. I now take Ted to the Cat and Rabbit Clinic in Northampton every 2.5 months for a conscious dental with no GA. it takes 10 minutes and he has had no further problems since seeing Simon. The vet Simon Maddock sees and treats many dental piggies from around the UK. Many have had poor dentals from in-experienced piggie vets. Can you take him to Northampton for a check up and a possible conscious dental? You will not be disappointed and he will sort out any problem spurs on his molars which may not have been resolved properly?
many of the members on here go to this vet, he is probably the most experience dental piggie vet in the country x

Me again, how much would a conscious dental check up be with Simon?

 

[5StarPigs]

I was actually not sure if Loxicom was a painkiller or not, i thought it was some type of med to help with his condition.

Hi Isabella! Sorry if I'm being stupid - but is the loxicom not a painkiller? He is booked in to see the vet again tomorrow, but when we rang them up last week they just suggested PTS, which obviously is our very very last resort! Especially while he's so happy in himself aside from the eating.



Many thanks for all that. Will add that info to my profile - I am based in Letchworth, Hertfordshire, uK

 

[Wiebke]

Hi Isabella! Sorry if I'm being stupid - but is the loxicom not a painkiller? He is booked in to see the vet again tomorrow, but when we rang them up last week they just suggested PTS, which obviously is our very very last resort! Especially while he's so happy in himself aside from the eating.



Many thanks for all that. Will add that info to my profile - I am based in Letchworth, Hertfordshire, uK

Sorry, I didn't see the loxicom when skimmed over your first post. It is a brand name for metacam, so he is on painkiller.

If you are not happy with the result of the dental treatment, then you best have your boy seen by Simon Maddock in Northampton. He is the most experienced guinea pig dentals vet in the country, doing about 15 on average per week - that is more than more vets do in their whole career. He sees piggies from all over the country and has saved many lives that had been given up by their vets, including a number of forum piggies. He is a general vet, just one that specialises in cats, rabbits and guinea pigs, each species making about a third of his clients.
The Cat and Rabbit Care Clinic

 

[furryfriends (TEAS)]

You aren't too far away, so would highly recommend a trip to see Simon Maddock at the Cat and Rabbit Care Clinic. People travel from all over the UK to see him with their dental piggies. He can carry out the dental work without the need for GA and a conscious dental costs £52.80. The first appointment is a little more expensive, as it includes a full examination of the guinea pig, as a lot of dental issues are caused by other problems, such as abscesses, etc. Therefore, you will pay a consultation fee, in addition to the dental charge at the first appointment. However, subsequent dentals are charged at just the £52.80.

 

[Bill & Ted]

Our boy is called Ted too! How coincidental haha.

Thank you for that information, did your boy recover ok after experiencing this? What did you syringe him and when did he start to pick up? I will look into seeing Simon, he sounds like a guinea pig angel!

My Ted made a full recovery and was eating hay 10 minutes after the conscious dental. It was amazing to see. He had not eaten any hay (or hardly anything) at all after that first dental by local vet. I was syringe feeding him Critical Care but you can mush up pellets (I didn’t know this) far cheaper) He goes for a maintenance dental every 10 weeks which keeps his doggy molar in check. He is happy and healthy, Simon he definitely worth seeing now if you can. DON’t have Ted put to sleep x

 

[Bill & Ted]

Try and get as much food down Ted as you can. I used to hand feed my boy dandelion leaves rolled up like a cigar and beetroot sticks from Bistro Salad, he found these the easiest to eat. Porridge oats soaked with vegetable baby food is quite palatable too on a spoon. It’s trial and error finding out what he can manage to eat, a little apple cut up into really small strips, carrots, coriander, dill, grass are good too. Weight him if you can everyday to find out if he is eating enough. Good luck with Ted x

 

[Clive&Nelson]

Hi, I'm new here but am having the same problems with my pig

She's 4 now and I adopted her 2 years ago, noticed out of the ye that she was struggling to eat, picking up the nuggets but then spitting them out and also panicking and tossing her head around then rubbing her face as though she got locked jaw or food stuck in a painfuk place..... After a couple of days of no improvement I took her to the vet where they checked her teeth. Her back ones were the worst they had seen, completely bridged over her tongue and the bend in the tooth was almost from the base of the tooth. Her tongue was completely trapped under her molars and her front incisors were long too. She had her front ones done then and there just burred down while she was awake. Got given some critical care to feed u til her appt to go under GA to have her back ones burred down. Before the op she was super keen for the CC feeding her by syringe she loved it, she cudnt get enough of it and she even still had nuggets and salad between feeds but obviously still struggled. Day of her op and all went well, she had come round but was obvs a bit dopey. Vet said they were the worst case she had seen but she's done her best. The front ones got filed down a bit more too while they were there. The vet said for some reason her jaw isn'tined up correctly and she sits with her bottom lip hanging but said there's not much that can be done about it, she might have arthritis pain or damage from the long back teeth that can't be repaired. More CC given to me and she's on 0.1ml of metacam in a morning and zabtac and beytril also to help her gut move and an antibiotic. From the day after her op she was lively and happy.... But down right refused the syringe feed. Tossed her head about, squealed and ran away. Found it really hard to feed her. Tried a smaller syringe so her mouth wasn't as wide open for feeding and still no good. Iv been blending her veg, soaking her nuggets into a mush and bought a bowl for the water as the bottle nozzle is wide I didn't think she would manage to drink. Day 3 still struggling to feed. Had her 1st post op check up, she had lost more weight since the op and had a bit of gut discomfort.... Got told to carry on as best I could but I was told the procedure is risky and even tho the op went well the after math can be tough to come through. Managed to feed her a little more with the syringe the followong day but still putting up a fight... Never seen her drink and although she shows interest in hay and veggies she can't seem to pick them up. Iv tried putting tiny pieces into her mouth but she just spits them back out. One morning when I was giving her metacam a soggy nugget dropped out of her mouth. Proof she had tried to eat... But she obvs cudnt chew it up and finish it. I'm running out of ideas. I don't wanna give up hope because she's so lively and cheeky and happy she just can't eat. I feel like iv expired all methods and nothings helping. I'm managing to give her the reccomended ammount of CC a day through syringe over 3 feeds in a day or two although she still hates the process. Still doesn't eat veggies or nuggets and struggles to drink out of the bottle although she does try... But she won't even give the bowl of water a look. She has another check up tomorrow as I go on holiday on Thursday and they wanna see her before I go. The last vet who saw her said she was in a better state than she expected but were far from out of the woods. She's staying with a friend who's an expert at hand feeding cavies with full instructions on what she needs so I'm not worried about anything for while I'm away I'm just worried if she doesn't try to eat on her own soon the vet will tell me it's too late. I don't want to her to be PTS but at this rate 8 days post op and she's still not eating its not looking good. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you xx

 

[furryfriends (TEAS)]

Where about do you live? Could you get her to Northampton to see Simon Maddock at the Cat and Rabbit Care Clinic. Simon sees guinea pigs from all over the UK and achieves amazing results. He carries out the dental work without the need for GA and most piggies are eating, for themselves, within hours of seeing him, with some eating immediately.

www.catandrabbit.co.uk