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Guinea Pig Tooth

Cherry Berry

Cherry Berry

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Dec 5, 2019
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Location
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Hi Guinea Pig Parents,

Hope you and your loved ones are doing great.

My girl, Oreo has not been eating properly and loosing weight. We took her to an exotic vet nearby yesterday she said that the back teeth has overgrown but suggested to give pain killer and said let's see if she bounces and the teeth files itself.

Sadly today Oreo reduced eating further so we called the vet again and she has booked us for afternoon and suggested that she can file the teeth.

Oreo is 4 years and a couple of months old.

She is still excited and munching a lot on peaflakes and few pellets (4 to 5) she is trying to grab on hay but leaves it immediately. In terms of veggies she only eats lettuce. We have started syringe feed this morning. Overall in last 2 weeks she has lost around 80g. Her front teeth look perfect. But when vet checked her yesterday she was tilting and apparently because teeth on one side has overgrown or she has injured her one teeth as she is preferring to eat only from one side.

Could you please suggest me any questions to ask vet etc?

Thanks a lot xx
 
I’m sorry to hear that

The front teeth are self sharpening and are kept in shape by the correct action of the molars.
When the molars overgrow it is then normal to see the front teeth start to slant due to only being able to eat on one side

Make sure to weigh her every morning from now on so that you can ensure she is getting enough syringe feed to stop any further weight loss. 50g of weight loss is the point at which you get concerned and given she is now beyond that, you don’t want her to lose any more.
She will need around 60ml of syringe feed per day. It will depend on how quickly she picks up and how much hay she is able to eat independently post dental.

Make sure she gets a good amount of pain relief for the days after her surgery.

We advise to cut veggies into match sticks and offer them one at a time - they can find it easier to take them like that until she regains confidence in eating

I’ve added a few guides in below to help further

I hope she is ok

Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support Levels
Tips For Post-operative Care
 
Piggies&buns said:
I’m sorry to hear that

The front teeth are self sharpening and are kept in shape by the correct action of the molars.
When the molars overgrow it is then normal to see the front teeth start to slant due to only being able to eat on one side

Make sure to weigh her every morning from now on so that you can ensure she is getting enough syringe feed to stop any further weight loss. 50g of weight loss is the point at which you get concerned and given she is now beyond that, you don’t want her to lose any more.
She will need around 60ml of syringe feed per day. It will depend on how quickly she picks up and how much hay she is able to eat independently post dental.

Make sure she gets a good amount of pain relief for the days after her surgery.

We advise to cut veggies into match sticks and offer them one at a time - they can find it easier to take them like that until she regains confidence in eating

I’ve added a few guides in below to help further

I hope she is ok

Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support Levels
Tips For Post-operative Care
Click to expand...
Thanks a lot
 
I’m sorry your piggy is not eating well.

I’ve had a couple of dental issues

My Pepper lost weight and his incisors were slanted. He had a dental. His molars were ok but the vet found pus at the base of his teeth. He had an abscess.

My Pebble had tongue entrapment. He had a dental. He didn’t eat well for 2 weeks afterwards. He needed two types of painkillers.

My Patrick had a small abscess under his chin marsupialised last week. I got him straight onto two painkillers. He’s doing well so far.

Good luck at the vets.

Make sure your vet is confident operating on piggies.

Make sure your piggy has enough pain killers.

Check for abscesses not just teeth issues.

Weigh them every morning so you can keep your eye out for any weight loss.

When they come home after the op keep them warm (not too hot). A half heated snuggle safe is good.
 
weepweeps said:
I’m sorry your piggy is not eating well.

I’ve had a couple of dental issues

My Pepper lost weight and his incisors were slanted. He had a dental. His molars were ok but the vet found pus at the base of his teeth. He had an abscess.

My Pebble had tongue entrapment. He had a dental. He didn’t eat well for 2 weeks afterwards. He needed two types of painkillers.

My Patrick had a small abscess under his chin marsupialised last week. I got him straight onto two painkillers. He’s doing well so far.

Good luck at the vets.

Make sure your vet is confident operating on piggies.

Make sure your piggy has enough pain killers.

Check for abscesses not just teeth issues.

Weigh them every morning so you can keep your eye out for any weight loss.

When they come home after the op keep them warm (not too hot). A half heated snuggle safe is good.
Click to expand...
Thank you xx
 
Hi Piggie Parents,

Thanks a lot for your help x

Oreo had her procedures yesterday. The vet didn't see any root damage as in abscess or infection. However she said her teeth were overgrown a lot especially on right side which explains why she was eating from one side. Her teeth have been filed

She is recovering from anathesia and started moving around. She is excited to eat but she cant eat because of pain so we are syringe feeding her.
 
I’m glad she is ok

It can take some piggies a while to be able to eat properly again.
Is she on a good amount of pain relief?
 
That’s good.
A good dose of pain relief a couple of times a day will help her.
Keep up with daily weight checks and syringe feeling and hopefully she will be feeling better soon
 
Hi everyone,

Hope you and your little ones are doing great.

It has been one week since Oreo's surgery. We have been giving her syringe feed a lot but her weight is not picking up.

The scar on her tongue is healed and the vet said that her jaw is moving too but she is not picking up food on her own. She comes running when food is served she looks at her mates for picking food she sniffs and looks like she really wants to eat but she is not able to at all.

The vet has added one more pain killer and said us to give it till Tuesday so that it would be 10 days for her surgery and hopefully she starts eating once all her pain is gone.

She still has overgrown teeth in her roots the ones at the top were filed but the roots were not.

We have been trying to lure her into her favourite food by giving her very small piece but she doesn't pick it up all. Please advise if something can be done 🙏
 
I’m sorry she is still having problems.

Unfortunately She isn’t likely to gain weight until she is fully recovered and eating properly again on her own. Weight gain takes weeks to months to occur and is done with adequate hay intake. The aim of syringe feeding is simply to stop further weight loss

Even the smallest thing still wrong with the teeth can unfortunately cause them to not eat
 
Piggies&buns said:
I’m sorry she is still having problems.

Unfortunately She isn’t likely to gain weight until she is fully recovered and eating properly again on her own. Weight gain takes weeks to months to occur and is done with adequate hay intake. The aim of syringe feeding is simply to stop further weight loss

Even the smallest thing still wrong with the teeth can unfortunately cause them to not eat
Click to expand...
Thank you.

The thing is her teeth are healthy and have no abscess and while the roots are a bit elongated removing healthy teeth can be extremely risky and not sure if she will make it. That's why our vet advised against it and it is making sense.

It is so sad seeing her running towards teeth, sniffing it but not picking it. She doesn't even try picking it. Can they have ptsd that she is just scared that it will hurt her if she picks?
 
I have read people saying on here that they feel their lovelies need to get their confidence back after dentals, pain relief is so important too of course but maybe if you can find some safe grass it would help her as it's softer 🙏
 
My house bunny was in a similar situation, with very elongated roots. She needed several pain killers at once before she would eat again on her own.
Hopefully she will start eating again once she has started some extra painkillers 👍
 
Wheekallweek said:
My house bunny was in a similar situation, with very elongated roots. She needed several pain killers at once before she would eat again on her own.
Hopefully she will start eating again once she has started some extra painkillers 👍
Click to expand...
I am sorry may I ask how long it has been for your bunny?
 
One more thing I wanted to share and yes I am guilty of this just to notice how Oreo would chew few days ago I chopped her veggie in a very small smaller than a pea pod very small and I tried forcing her to eat. She refused to eat so I opened her mouth and placed it behind her teeth first she spit it out immediately then I placed it behind her teeth again she chewed it at a great speed like normally.

I have not been doing this a lot as I dont want to stress her out. My intentions were just to observe her and give her taste of her favourite food to lure but still she doesn't pick up on her or if I force it she spits it out immediately.

Initially I thought it was infection on her tongue but her vet it is healing on her tongue so I dont know if it needs more healing.

I am confused on why she spits immediately
 
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