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Guinea pig tooth problem

GuineaPig Mom

GuineaPig Mom

New Born Pup
Joined
Oct 30, 2020
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Location
Washington
Hello,

I’d really appreciate getting some advice for my guinea pig’s teeth.

My guinea pig is 11 months old right now. Today, while I had him in my lap, I found something wrong with his front incisors. His bottom incisors are nice and aligned, but his top incisors had a problem. One of the teeth is fine, but the other is waaay too short. I’ve heard of guinea pigs having teeth too long, but not too short.

I considered taking him to a vet, but he doesn’t have any problem eating. He eats his vegetables, pellets, and hay very well, and even now he is eating from his pile of hay.

I’m really not sure what to do for him, since the tooth misalignment isn’t really bothering him, so I’d really like some advice on this. Also, does anyone know if the shorter tooth could grow back? And could the short tooth be a dental disease? Or could it have simply broken off?

Sorry that my post is too long, and thank you for any answers!
 
GuineaPig Mom said:
Hello,

I’d really appreciate getting some advice for my guinea pig’s teeth.

My guinea pig is 11 months old right now. Today, while I had him in my lap, I found something wrong with his front incisors. His bottom incisors are nice and aligned, but his top incisors had a problem. One of the teeth is fine, but the other is waaay too short. I’ve heard of guinea pigs having teeth too long, but not too short.

I considered taking him to a vet, but he doesn’t have any problem eating. He eats his vegetables, pellets, and hay very well, and even now he is eating from his pile of hay.

I’m really not sure what to do for him, since the tooth misalignment isn’t really bothering him, so I’d really like some advice on this. Also, does anyone know if the shorter tooth could grow back? And could the short tooth be a dental disease? Or could it have simply broken off?

Sorry that my post is too long, and thank you for any answers!
Click to expand...

Hi!

Breaks in front teeth are not uncommon and will grow back out pretty quickly.

Please check whether the shorter tooth is not wobbly (indicating a break further up the 1 1/2 inches long tooth that runs along the jaw to roots just in front of the grinding back teeth. If it is firm in the gum, then you need not worry; if the incisors are wobbly then picking up food may be more difficult. The incisors are self-sharpening against each other and they will rebalance again on their own.

With only one tooth out and no further issues, your piggy is still able to eat pick and cut their food normally and not need any extra support.
 
Wiebke said:
Hi!

Breaks in front teeth are not uncommon and will grow back out pretty quickly.

Please check whether the shorter tooth is not wobbly (indicating a break further up the 1 1/2 inches long tooth that runs along the jaw to roots just in front of the grinding back teeth. If it is firm in the gum, then you need not worry; if the incisors are wobbly then picking up food may be more difficult. The incisors are self-sharpening against each other and they will rebalance again on their own.

With only one tooth out and no further issues, your piggy is still able to eat pick and cut their food normally and not need any extra support.
Click to expand...
Okay, thank you so much for the info!
Also, I never saw a broken tooth anywhere in the cage, do you think he could have swallowed it? And if he did, would it be a problem?
 
GuineaPig Mom said:
Okay, thank you so much for the info!
Also, I never saw a broken tooth anywhere in the cage, do you think he could have swallowed it? And if he did, would it be a problem?
Click to expand...

If your boy is not showing any discomfort, it is highly unlikely that he has swallowed the broken bit of tooth.
 
Wiebke said:
If your boy is not showing any discomfort, it is highly unlikely that he has swallowed the broken bit of tooth.
Click to expand...
Okay, thank you so much TT I really appreciate it!

Also, if you’re okay with it, I have one more issue that I’ve been pondering for a long time.

Since I brought my guinea pig 8 months ago, he’s been making some weird sounds, and though it’s gotten better recently, it was pretty bad a while back.

I’ve taken him to the vet and they couldn’t find out what was wrong, and we’ve even taken blood tests and treated him for a possible URI, but we could never find the problem. I think it’s related to his respiratory system, but I really can’t find what it is. I’ve also never heard of other owners saying their guinea pig was making such a sound.

I attached the link of the sound he made, and I promise this will be the last question, so I would really appreciate if you told me about anything this could possibly be.

Guinea pig weird noises (respiratory)
 
Does he appear to be struggling in any way while he is making the noise?
What is he usually doing when he is making the noise.

It is odd, but he doesn't sound in particular distress, although of course it is impossible to know for sure with just a sound recording.
I have a piggy who makes a similar noise as she is walking around her cage.
Some days she can't take a single step without making little grunts, and it is usually when she is feeling happiest and most pleased with herself, so some piggies can be a bit more vocal than others.
 
Swissgreys said:
Does he appear to be struggling in any way while he is making the noise?
What is he usually doing when he is making the noise.

It is odd, but he doesn't sound in particular distress, although of course it is impossible to know for sure with just a sound recording.
I have a piggy who makes a similar noise as she is walking around her cage.
Some days she can't take a single step without making little grunts, and it is usually when she is feeling happiest and most pleased with herself, so some piggies can be a bit more vocal than others.
Click to expand...
No, he doesn’t seem to be struggling when making the noise. He usually makes it whenever, but I found he does it most often during the night while lying down. He also seems perfectly healthy except for this noise (and the chipped tooth).

Oh, and I found that after making it sound, it gradually gets bigger. Then he makes a kind of sneezing?/coughing?/choking? kind of a sound and then stops making any kinds of sounds at all.

I’ve really searched all over the internet for problems like this, and really couldn’t find anything T^T
 
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