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Help! Can Anyone Help With How To Help A Dental Piggy To Get Back To Feeding.

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Stewybus

Stewybus

Adult Guinea Pig
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Minky went to the vets yesterday to have her teeth sorted out. The front teeth needed to be cut straight as they were diagonal. This was probably a side effect of her head hilt which had also put her back teeth (molars) out of line & this were also worked on. Trouble is today she hasn't really eaten although not for the lack of trying, she wants to. It's just taken me 4 hours to get her to eat nearly 15 ml of critical care. She's been fighting all the way.

I saw an old thread on here regarding using veggie twisters to put the food in so it was been held while they nibbled at it. Trouble is it's Friday night so even if I order one it probably won't get it till Tuesday or Wednesday at earliest & PaH don't stock them. I'll ring round the local independent pet shops in the morning.

I've attached 2 bird feeders to her cage & inserted some lettuce, Kale & cauli leaves so they are sticking out for her to eat. I've left her in quiet for a while & will check later to see if these are working. She's presently on painkiller & antibiotics so I'm not certain if this is being cause because she's in pain or because with her teeth been remodelled that she has to get used to them

Can anyone else advise on ways to make it easier for her to eat. I'm ringing the vets at 8:30 in the morning & will take her in if necessary.
 
I have no advice but want to wish you both luck. I can hear the despair in your voice. I really hope she eats.
 
furryfriends Excellent Adventure Sanctuary said:
Give me a call tomorrow and I'll have a chat and give you some ideas of things to try. I've rehabilitated many piggies with dental issues and they're all so different. My contact nos are on my website www.teasnorthampton.co.uk
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Thanks a lot, I'll get in touch in the morning. I really appreciate your offer of help. I've just been sat with Minky on my lap for about an hour. I gave her 1 ml of water & she took 5 ml of Critical Care. Minky hasn't eaten any of the food I put out for her but she also has some dried food, some Readi-Grass & loads of hay which she is lying beneath at present. My wife doesn't sleep well & will be down about 2am so she'll see if she can get Minky to take more CC & give her some more water.

Thanks also to piggyfan & Claire W for your well wishes.
 
Sending you my best wishes and thoughts for you and Minky.

My only thought is are you using the Oxbow Critical Care? We had a job getting Benny to eat it and our vet suggested we try one by Emeraid, in a beige packet, which is a beige powder. He loves it. He has just had some and willingly ate it. We had such a battle with him first time around with Oxbow. Our vet did say always try Oxbow first as it contains more nutrients but as he willingly takes more Emeraid, he gets more of it and there is far less stress for me and him, so its better all round. It could be worth ringing around a few vets in the morning to see if they stock it.

Good luck, I'm rooting for you both
 
guineaguy said:
Sending you my best wishes and thoughts for you and Minky.

My only thought is are you using the Oxbow Critical Care? We had a job getting Benny to eat it and our vet suggested we try one by Emeraid, in a beige packet, which is a beige powder. He loves it. He has just had some and willingly ate it. We had such a battle with him first time around with Oxbow. Our vet did say always try Oxbow first as it contains more nutrients but as he willingly takes more Emeraid, he gets more of it and there is far less stress for me and him, so its better all round. It could be worth ringing around a few vets in the morning to see if they stock it.

Good luck, I'm rooting for you both
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When she first showed reluctance to eat before her teeth op on Thursday I was using Supreme Science Recovery Plus which she didn't like. I had read on here that most people seem to use Oxbow Critical Care so I got some for my first aid kit in August. I'm currently using my first batch of this & Minky has had 20 ml altogether since 6pm. It appears to be very similar & Minky doesn't seem to like it either. When I ring my vet in the morning, I'll ask about Emeraid, thanks for letting me know about it.
 
Managed to get another 10 ml of CC into Minky overnight making a total of 30 ml since 6pm yesterday. Have spoken to Debbie at the Excellent Adventure Sanctuary who has given me lots of sound advice. I'm waiting for a reply from my vet to ask her if she can contact Simon Maddock at Northampton regarding using Zithromax on Minky. Minky has only eaten a little this morning and I think that the lack of eating is down more to the infection causing her head tilt rather than problems with her dental problems. I've got Minky on the living room floor at present with Rex for company. Here's 2 pics.

upload_2013-12-7_11-12-42.webp

upload_2013-12-7_11-16-17.webp
 
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Well done for syringing the critical care I had to do that for the first week when my guinea pig basil (the grey pig in he pic) was on meds, I found it really tough to get it in his mouth. Have you tried grass/dandelions/basil and parsley? I had to hand feed this but he ate bits especially the basil, also does he like guinea pig choc drops as they are soft?

Sending healing thoughts to Minky x
 
furryfriends Excellent Adventure Sanctuary said:
Gorgeous pics! I hope your vet was able to speak with Simon. Keep in touch and if I can be of any more help then please don't hesitate to call me x
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Unfortunately my vet is snowed under with animals today & hasn't been able to get back to me yet. I'm just hoping that she'll prescribe Zithromax without talking to Simon first. I'd like to start the treatment today if possible.
 
Gina said:
Well done for syringing the critical care I had to do that for the first week when my guinea pig basil (the grey pig in he pic) was on meds, I found it really tough to get it in his mouth. Have you tried grass/dandelions/basil and parsley? I had to hand feed this but he ate bits especially the basil, also does he like guinea pig choc drops as they are soft?

Sending healing thoughts to Minky x
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I've tried all her favourite foods. I even got some grass but where she would normally take in in like a child eating spaghetti, she gets in in her mouth but it does seem to be going anywhere. The only food apart from CC she's managed to eat was a couple of pieces of melon cut very thin with the skin left on. I held them in front of her & she nibbled the flesh & left the outer skin. When I tried this later she wouldn't touch it. I've just got another 6 ml of CC down her & will try some more soon. I want to try to get the full batch down her by 6pm tonight then she'll have eaten the recommended daily intake for her weight.

I'm fearing the worst but will fight to get her right.
 
Aww it prob just hurts to chew I had to cut the skin off cucumber to get him to eat it fingers crossed she will have the rest of the cc x
 
Aww I am sorry to here that Minky is still not well Stewybus. Those symptoms you are describing sound much like the symptoms Ruby had when she had her head tilt. A friend of mine said to me that could it have been possible that she had been exposed to grass that was infected with E.cuniculi, transmitted by rabbits, this causes head tilt, loss of appetite and problems with eyes too.
The vet had to trim Ruby's front teeth as you have with Minky, but said she didn't seem to have any problems with the rear ones, however i found that she was eating small amounts but was then holding it at the back of her mouth, which led me to wonder what it was she was going through.
I will post you a link to the E.cuniculi which can occur in both rabbits and guinea pigs too.
http://www.petcarevb.com/wordpress/rabbits/e-cuniculi-in-rabbits/
 
They are a very cute pair.

I really hope you can get Minky fighting fit again.

Did you have any luck sourcing the Emeraid food?
 
Poor Minky, really hope your vet is wiling to try Zithromax, it can work wonders.
 
sharonS said:
Aww I am sorry to here that Minky is still not well Stewybus. Those symptoms you are describing sound much like the symptoms Ruby had when she had her head tilt. A friend of mine said to me that could it have been possible that she had been exposed to grass that was infected with E.cuniculi, transmitted by rabbits, this causes head tilt, loss of appetite and problems with eyes too.
The vet had to trim Ruby's front teeth as you have with Minky, but said she didn't seem to have any problems with the rear ones, however i found that she was eating small amounts but was then holding it at the back of her mouth, which led me to wonder what it was she was going through.
I will post you a link to the E.cuniculi which can occur in both rabbits and guinea pigs too.
http://www.petcarevb.com/wordpress/rabbits/e-cuniculi-in-rabbits/
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I know of a pig recently who had this, he was very poorly though and the diagnosis was too late but treatment was with Panacur.
 
Unfortunately I will never know what was wrong with Ruby as it was never Diagnosed 100%, but she had alot of the symptoms atributed to it.
 
guineaguy said:
They are a very cute pair.

I really hope you can get Minky fighting fit again.

Did you have any luck sourcing the Emeraid food?
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I can't find a stockist in the UK. It seems that it has to be shipped in from Germany.
 
helen105281 said:
Poor Minky, really hope your vet is wiling to try Zithromax, it can work wonders.
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I picked up a generic version of Zithromax from my local chemist this afternoon & have mixed my first batch because it can only be used for 10 days once mixed. Minky's had her 1st dose at 7.30pm so it's now a case of wait and see. I've also given her more Critical Care, I'm giving it at a rate of about 6 ml per session (about 30 to 45 minutes) every 3 hours. I'll check her weight in the morning. Not expecting a rise but hoping not to have a big drop.
 
helen105281 said:
I know of a pig recently who had this, he was very poorly though and the diagnosis was too late but treatment was with Panacur.
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I'm really hoping we've caught it in time. The next 48 hours will be critical.
 
sharonS said:
Aww I am sorry to here that Minky is still not well Stewybus. Those symptoms you are describing sound much like the symptoms Ruby had when she had her head tilt. A friend of mine said to me that could it have been possible that she had been exposed to grass that was infected with E.cuniculi, transmitted by rabbits, this causes head tilt, loss of appetite and problems with eyes too.
The vet had to trim Ruby's front teeth as you have with Minky, but said she didn't seem to have any problems with the rear ones, however i found that she was eating small amounts but was then holding it at the back of her mouth, which led me to wonder what it was she was going through.
I will post you a link to the E.cuniculi which can occur in both rabbits and guinea pigs too.
http://www.petcarevb.com/wordpress/rabbits/e-cuniculi-in-rabbits/
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link, unfortunately Minky's symptoms sound very much like this could be what she has because she too had food lodged in the back of her mouth when my vet did her back teeth.
 
I use the generic version too as my vets don't stock it, it usually works well and the effects can be seen fairly quickly. Keeping everything crossed for Minky. If you can get more food in that would be good as they need at least 120ml in 24 hours if they are not eating at all but I know it is difficult.
 
Claire W said:
Minky is gorgeous (as is Rex). I remember seeing her at the pignic.

Come on Minky, we are all routing for you xx
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This is the first chance I've had to introduce Rex to the forum, I wish it could have been a happier time but hope that will change over next few days.
 
Stewybus said:
Thanks for the link, unfortunately Minky's symptoms sound very much like this could be what she has because she too had food lodged in the back of her mouth when my vet did her back teeth.
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In which case if you see no improvement after a few days with the Zithromax mention this to your vet and ask about treatment with Panacur, alongside the Zithromax (assuming that they would not affect each other but best to check).
 
helen105281 said:
I use the generic version too as my vets don't stock it, it usually works well and the effects can be seen fairly quickly. Keeping everything crossed for Minky. If you can get more food in that would be good as they need at least 120ml in 24 hours if they are not eating at all but I know it is difficult.
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I'm trying my best with feeding Minky Critical Care but have only managed to get about 50 ml down her in just over 24 hours that's about 75% of the mix I made based on her current weight. She's also eaten a little melon but nothing much else. I'm also giving her water by syringe & she will sometimes take a little from her water bottle if I hold it in my hand at the correct angle.

Thanks to everyone who has offered advice or sent their well wishes.
 
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