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guinea pig still not eating 2 weeks after dental work

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moviefan1

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Hi there,

My guinea pig is 3 and a half years old and recently stopped eating. I took her to the vet and was told she had a kidney problem and was given antibiotics. she had them for 7 days and then seemed to perk up and attempted to eat some fresh food, however i could see something still wasnt right. I took her back to the vet and asked them to check her teeth.

The vet couldnt properly see her back teeth and said she would need to be put under anaesthetic for them to do a proper examination. I agreed and she went in for the op, afterwards I was told all her back teeth were overgrown and were trapping her tongue as the teeth had arched over it. she also had 2 teeth extracted. I was given pain killers and another weeks antibiotics. Ive now been syringe feeding her for 2 weeks since the operation plus 1 week before the op. She still is not eating by herself, she is attempting to eat but just throws the food around like she is still struggling. (its like her teeth are still overgrown). Its like she cant get used to her teeth being short now. The only thing she will eat is guinea pig choc drops but even then she throws them around her mouth for a while before swallowing.

Its been 2 weeks since the op, surely she should be eating by herself now?I was thinking maybe cos she had extractions that it may still be slightly sore?I'm taking her back to the vets back end of this week if she still isnt eating. Has anyone had any simular problems with their guinea pigs? If so how long did it take for them to recover after surgery? The only reason I havent been back to vet is so that they cant say I havent given her mouth proper chance to heal, but i will be going back this week :( .

I think the reason she perked up after the first lot of antibiotics is maybe because she had a mouth ulcer which the biotics cured , not kidney problems like the vet diagnosed. xx
 
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I have a lot of experience with dental piggies, as I take in guinea pigs with dental issues. I am very lucky in that I have a fantastic vet who can do dental work without GA

After two weeks of not eating, your piggies teeth will be starting to overgrow again and although it's not unusual for it to take a while before they can eat for themselves, it does mean that your piggie is going to need regular dental work. This is going to be difficult if your vet will only do this under GA.

At present I have two piggies who need dental work every fortnight and another piggie who has needed weekly filing of his teeth, but we are now moving on to 10 days between treatments. In many cases dental issues can be managed but unfortunately can't be cured.

I think you are going to need to find a vet who can do dental work without the need for GA, and I can highly recommend my vet, but unfortunately he's quite a long way away from you.

If you're fully syringe feeding a guinea pig, you need to aim towards getting 120 mls of syringe food into them every 24 hours.
 
Thank you for the quick reply its much appreciated. I will take her back to the vets this week and see if he can do the work without GA. If they do not use GA how do they do the work? Is it under slight sedation? as i will explain to my vet what you have told me.
I was worried about her being put under GA again as she was very wobbly and in a terrible state for the first few hours after she came home.

I was wondering , do you know why this has just happened after she became over 3 years old? I have always give her a good diet with constant supply of hay , fresh food and dry food daily with treat sticks of dried sweetcorn which is nice and hard for her to crunch her teeth on.
I'm worried about her quality of life now this has happened as she doesnt seem happy at all at the moment. I nursed her back to full health when she was 6 months old as she caught a respiratory infection, I would be lost without her she's such a character. She lives in the house with us so is nice and warm with plenty of attention. Soon as I have syringe fed her she comes straight to the bars of her cage for a choc treat, I have diced her food up to make it easier for her to eat but she just pushes her nose into it and goes back into her bed, but she will eat the choc drops, she's a little haha xx
 
Unfortunately there are few vets willing to undertake dental work without GA. Also, unless they have the correct equipment (buccal pad separators) it's not going to be something they can do with the guinea pig conscious.

I'm not sure how you would feel about bringing your guinea pig to Northampton to see my vet, Simon Maddock, He's worked wonders with so many piggies with dental issues. Just recently someone took their piggie to him, who hadn't been able to eat for themselves since before Christmas, and after just one treatment from Simon, the piggie was able to eat veggies. He has since improved in leaps and bounds and the frequency of treatments is decreasing, and it is hoped that he could pretty much make a full recovery, with only very occasional checks being needed. Obviously it's a long way for you to travel, but I am thinking it could be worth getting Simon to have a look and hopefully get your piggie eating again, and this would give you time to find a vet more locally who could undertake the work without GA.

Why dental issues occur in the first place is hard to know. It could be that something temporarily stops the guinea pig eating that they then recover from but the teeth have already started to overgrow, a jaw abscess that's not necessarily obvious, but already brewing can also start dental issues. In many cases though, the actual reason remains unknown. Akk the dental pigs that I have had in my care, have developed the problem later in life, despite having a very good diet.
 
you could contact the Cambridge Cavy Trust and ask Vedra for the localest Rodentoligist to yourself.

its very easy to do dentals with out GA only takes a few mins to do and doesnt cause the guinea any pain at all and most rodentoligists dont charge either. sadly many vets are not confident or trainned to do guinea pig teeth with out GA i have had many dental guineas in one needed treatment every 3 days his teeth were that bad he wouldt have survived if he needed a GA every time, he now goes mths between dentals and is eating well and his weight is fine.
x
 
Hi and welcome to the forum :)
So sorry to hear about your little one with dental issues :(
furryfriends has given you fabulous advice, her vet as she's mentioned is brilliant......... getting a piggie savvy vet is essential :)
Whee wish her all the best, i've also dealt with a piggie with dental issues, it's frustrating.......... but you have to be patient and willing to do the hard yards in extra feeds and care......wishing you both all the best XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
 
Thank you for your replys , I would like to try simon maddock and was wondering could you put a post code on so I can work out a route for myself and my husband to drive down and also a phone number for him would be much appreciated.

I will also ring the cavy cambridge trust to see if there's anywhere more local after i have seen simon.

I have nursed dogs, mice , ferrets and guinea pigs in the past and will do and travel anywhere to get her sorted out and back to normal. I will persevere for months if i have to but I cant help but feel my vet has not done the dental work properly which I feel frustrated at. This has been goin on a month now , when she hears the kitchen door go she will do the 'wheeeek' to let me know she's hungry but when I take food she cant physically eat it , which I know is ditressing her as she (like all guinea pigs) loves her food.

I have made an appointment at the vets tonight to discuss that she still isnt well. I feel like asking him if he filed the back teeth short enough but I dont want to sound like I'm telling him his job. I'm not bothered about the money cos I will pay anything to get her right but it does annoy me out of principal that I have paid £200 out to get her sorted out and she's still no better, like i say its not the money its the stress my guinea pigs under wanting to eat and not being able to and the fact they've charged me the money without doing it right. I feel this cant go on another day as when I got home today she's not even taking the critical care food as good as she was, she's had 4 syringes and then was squeking when I tried to give her more like she was in pain so now I'm worried she may have an abcess or some infection in her mouth. Its so upsetting, but will see what he says today when I go and will post on how I get on with her. Thanks guys , much much appreciated xxxxx:)
 
Simon is on holiday next week, so I suggest you phone the practice either tonight before 7 or first thing tomorrow and ask for an appointment to see Simon either tomorrow or Friday. Make sure you ask for Simon, as although his wife, Kim, is very good with teeth too, Simon is much more experienced and definitely the better one to see. It may be that they will say they are fully booked but if you explain that your piggie is unable to eat at all and that it's an emergency they will fit you in.

Cat and Rabbit Care Clinic
1 Limehurst Square
Duston
Northampton
NN5 6LP

Telephone 01604 478888

If anyone can help your piggie, Simon can.
 
Hi there, I had similar problems with my pig, he wanted to eat but couldnt hold anything in his mouth. He had two GA's, and teeth filed each time, and it was only on the third visit the vet noted an abcess; this seems to have been causing all the trouble because as soon as this was cut open he immediately started eating again and has been fine for the past week since. Maybe this is the same with your pig? Make sure they check the jaw line as they can be hidden there. Wishing you a successful outcome as I know what a worrying and stressful time it was with my wee pig xx
 
hi there, took her to vets last night and told them she is worse since the op. They have taken her in today to have another look, as the vet saw a wound in her mouth when he looked in last night with this special tool with a bright light on the end.

They insisted I bring her in today with her getting worse. The vet said they are going to re check every part of her mouth and will find the problem, I have only agreed to this as myself and my partner are working till next tuesday and so I cant get down to northampton till then (Got staff on sick so have rubbish hours this week).

Thank you mellourich for ** advice, and I'm so glad you managed to get your piggy sorted as I know how stressful it is seeing them like that. I'm praying that today when my husband picks her up from vets that they can tell us they have found the problem and that she is on the way to recovery. If she isnt I will have to go to Northampton on my next day off.

I have a feeling she may have an abcess. Gosh so stressed at the min over this I just want her to be back to her old self , poor little thing xxxxxxxx
 
just re read message and seen simon is on holiday next week so I will have to try get in week after if she is no better after this op today xx
 
yes i will ring anyway and explain situation and everything thats happened.
I'm dreading what state my poor little girl will be in when she comes home today, Hubby is having to pick her up as I'm at work . Got him ringing me at work to tell me what they've found this time (if anything)!xx :^-
 
sorry to hear about your girl, I hope the vet was able to help her in some way. I just wanted to add to furryfriend's post that when piggies get problems with their mouths sometimes they are very sore and dont want to eat because of this. You can use daktarin oral gel which helps any possible fungal problem that she has which may be making her mouth more sore, I can't remember the dose off the top of my head but you could call Laura at the guinea pig helpline who will be able to help you out (do a google search).
Best wishes for your girl, it's horrible to see them in such a bad state x
 
Thanks guys, just got home from work. She's had her teeth filed down some more but now their saying their positive she as a cyst on her kidney. She's been given more antibiotics and ive to let them know by the weekend if there's any improvement.

I cant believe she is that unlucky to have all her back teeth over grow over tongue and her kidneys have a cyst, surely she cant be that unlucky?! She's only just over 3 years old. They've said if she doesnt improve and it is a kidney cyst then there's nothing they can do for her she will have to be put to sleep.

I'm going to ring simon tomorrow as I'm really not happy with this diagnosis. She has eaten abit tonight but she's still struggling same as before she went in, nothings changed. If it was her kidneys then why would this affect how she eats?its defo her teeth it has to be. She bites the food and plays with it in the front part of her mouth, then she pushes it to the back part and tries to chew it, then it comes back to the front part, she drops it on floor, picks it up , repeats this a couple of times then finally manages to swallow it.

They said everything in her mouth was fine , they just filed the teeth down some more to see if it helps. I'm so angry , if they thought it was a cyst then why not xray her while she was there today, surely that would show on a xray?
x:(
 
hello sorry for late reply, my guinea pig as started eating again, THANK GOD! she started eating small amounts the day after the op. The vet gave me some banana medicine to try (which is a human medicine) and she has come along leaps and bounds.
Gave her 10 bean sprouts,shredded carrots and shredded greens and she ate nearly all of it, took her an hour but she did eat it. Over the weekend she as started eating some dry food too and is eating a little more each day, still not totally there but defo getting there , bless her. Thank * everyone for your help its been great to have people to talk to about it who have some experience with dental issues.
I would like to thank all of * very much.
I'm still syringe feeding her throughout the day to build her strength up. I take her out her cage to feed her on a towel on edge of my bed, and now when i put food in her cage she wont always eat it but if i take her out cage and put fresh food on the towel then she will eat it, think she associates the towel with 'meal time' now.
Thanks again everyone xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>>>
 
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