Help! Guinea Pig Will Not Eat, Critical Care Help

[MissyMoo]

Hi! I have 3 female guinea pigs. They are all around 1 1/2 years old. Recently one guinea pig, Cotton, has lost a lot of weight. After visits to the vet, it has been put down to teeth problems. She has now had her teeth filed down as they have overgrown. It turns out she was born with a deformed jaw, meaning her teeth grind down differently to how they should, and the below roots will continue to grow rather than being small, therefore the ligaments are loose. They have prevented her from being able to eat. The particular way her jaw moves means her teeth will eventually end up with a spike at the front, cutting her tongue.

Basically, now her teeth have been cut down, I must get her weight back up. She has always been trying to eat any food I give her, veggies, hay, pellets etc. But she is not able to, despite her teeth now being cut. I have been force feeding her critical care, but I am only managing to get her to take around 4ml every 2 hours. She is incredibly underweight, but I need her to put on weight as she needs to have surgery to correct her back teeth, this is the only way this will ever be fixed. And there is no way she could ever survive a surgery so weak and skinny.

Please does anyone know how often I should give her Critical Care and how much? Please note, the vet I see is trained in guinea pig care, and has done this surgery successfully a few times. It really is just a matter of building her weight back up. I am not sure that it's even possible unfortunately, but it is worth me trying.

 

[helen105281]

Welcome to the forum.

I am going to tag our dental expert first @furryfriends (TEAS). She is really busy but hopefully will be along at some point.

Have you read our syringe feeding guide? Here is the link just in case. Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

Please could you let us know your location? as this will affect any advice we can give.

 

[MissyMoo]

Welcome to the forum.

I am going to tag our dental expert first @furryfriends (TEAS). She is really busy but hopefully will be along at some point.

Have you read our syringe feeding guide? Here is the link just in case. Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

Please could you let us know your location? as this will affect any advice we can give.

Thank you Helen. Yes I have read the guide, and I am having to force feed her but once she has the taste of it she is willing to eat some of the Critical Care & Water.

I am based in Surrey, UK. I have been given details of a woman in Ewell who will be the person who will see the guinea pig next, but it will only be if she is able to put on weight unfortunately.

 

[helen105281]

I know who you mean in Ewell, apparently she is really good. If you are able to travel to Northampton there is a great vet at the Cat and Rabbit clinic in Duston who deals with dental issues on a daily basis (conscious a lot of the time too), it would be worth the trip if you could get there. He is called Simon Maddock.

 

[MissyMoo]

I know who you mean in Ewell, apparently she is really good. If you are able to travel to Northampton there is a great vet at the Cat and Rabbit clinic in Duston who deals with dental issues on a daily basis (conscious a lot of the time too), it would be worth the trip if you could get there. He is called Simon Maddock.

Yes I've heard good things. The vet that I see has advised me to go to her, as she had been trained by a man who is apparently one of the best vets for guinea pigs, so I will try this woman first as it is closer for me.

I just need to get her weight up before any of this can be done, which is a real shame as I just can't seem to.

 

[DM030819]

It'll be worth speaking to the vet to see if there is any chance of performing conscious dental work. If your little girl has a deformed jaw, then she may need dental work for the rest of her life.

I second the recommendation of Simon Maddock, he is an amazing vet, and fantastic at dental work.

When she is trying to eat is she able to chew on anything if you put the food into her mouth? If so, cutting up veg and hay into smaller pieces can help.

When I'm handfeeding I use a 1ml syringe with the tip cut off. Then I'm able to feed the pig a thicker mixture of critical care. I have seen videos where people will use a bigger syringe, and force the mixture into that. They then use that syringe to load up the smaller 1ml. You could make the mixture even thicker if you can do that.

When my pig seems bored with it, I try to alternate feeding them with a mixture of wet pellets (again in a syringe) and I'll also try adding a tiny bit of 100% fresh orange juice to the Critical Care to try to make it more interesting for them.

 

[sport_billy]

I would recommend trying mushed up pellets as syringe food and also as @Jaycey says above cut the end of the 1ml syringe making sure the plunger cant come out and file it down so it is not rough this will making it easier to syringe

Is she on pain relief, their mouths are often sore after dental work, a sore mouth will mean she wont want to eat. Please ask the vet for some metacam. Simon Maddock in Northampton is an amazing vet highly skilled in dentals if you can get to him.

 

[MissyMoo]

It'll be worth speaking to the vet to see if there is any chance of performing conscious dental work. If your little girl has a deformed jaw, then she may need dental work for the rest of her life.

I second the recommendation of Simon Maddock, he is an amazing vet, and fantastic at dental work.

When she is trying to eat is she able to chew on anything if you put the food into her mouth? If so, cutting up veg and hay into smaller pieces can help.

When I'm handfeeding I use a 1ml syringe with the tip cut off. Then I'm able to feed the pig a thicker mixture of critical care. I have seen videos where people will use a bigger syringe, and force the mixture into that. They then use that syringe to load up the smaller 1ml. You could make the mixture even thicker if you can do that.

When my pig seems bored with it, I try to alternate feeding them with a mixture of wet pellets (again in a syringe) and I'll also try adding a tiny bit of 100% fresh orange juice to the Critical Care to try to make it more interesting for them.

The vet actually did some dental work last night, as much as he could whilst she was conscious. He also told me that she will need dental work for the rest of her life, every 4 weeks, which is completely fine as I can get this done. It is just that the cause of the whole problem is the roots of her back teeth. These need to be sorted out, which is only possible under GA. Which of course I will aim to get done, as without this he has said it is not fair to keep her suffering the whole of her life, but can only be done once she has put on weight.

She is not able to chew on any food despite how small I am cutting it, but it was only yesterday she had quite a lot done to her teeth. She does chew the Critical Care once in her mouth, I say chew as in how they do whilst drinking etc. I am currently using a 1ml syringe with the tip cut off. I have been trying Critical Care and pellets. She will take the food, but only about 4ml. I am worried it is not enough, as the vet advised me to feed her as much and as often as she is willing to eat.

 

[MissyMoo]

I would recommend trying mushed up pellets as syringe food and also as @Jaycey says above cut the end of the 1ml syringe making sure the plunger cant come out and file it down so it is not rough this will making it easier to syringe

Is she on pain relief, their mouths are often sore after dental work, a sore mouth will mean she wont want to eat. Please ask the vet for some metacam. Simon Maddock in Northampton is an amazing vet highly skilled in dentals if you can get to him.

I have tried mushed up pellets, and she will eat these, it's just she will not really eat much. I am not sure how much is ever enough. I am using the same syringe as you have described.

She was given a pain relief at the vets last night once her teeth had been sorted as much as they could be for now. But nothing other than that. Could this be the reason why she is trying to eat but cannot actually chew enough to swallow food?

 

[sport_billy]

Our vet always gives us pain relief (metacam) to give at home, the injection they gave them should last 24hrs - I would be asking for some to give at home. If her tongue is cut it is going to be painful, it is another thing to help rule out.

 

[MissyMoo]

Our vet always gives us pain relief (metacam) to give at home, the injection they gave them should last 24hrs - I would be asking for some to give at home. If her tongue is cut it is going to be painful, it is another thing to help rule out.

Okay I will call the vet and ask for some metacam. Thank you for your help, I really appreciate it. Desperate to help her recover.

 

[DM030819]

If she is going to have dental work every 4 weeks then I would definitely recommend finding a vet who can do it whilst conscious. Being put under anaesthetic every 4 weeks will be tough for any pig.

I would call the vet and ask for some Metacam. It's very common for a pig to suffer some pain after teeth work, and if her teeth are painful then she's not going to consider trying to eat.

 

[sport_billy]

Okay I will call the vet and ask for some metacam. Thank you for your help, I really appreciate it. Desperate to help her recover.

Dental piggies are so heartbreaking to have. We have had two dental piggies and I can't express how important finding a good vet is. I am lucky to have one just down the road from me. If you can get to Simon he is brilliant

 

[MissyMoo]

If she is going to have dental work every 4 weeks then I would definitely recommend finding a vet who can do it whilst conscious. Being put under anaesthetic every 4 weeks will be tough for any pig.

I would call the vet and ask for some Metacam. It's very common for a pig to suffer some pain after teeth work, and if her teeth are painful then she's not going to consider trying to eat.

No it is work that can be done whilst conscious that needs doing every 4 weeks, the same as what was done last night. This vet deals with a lot of guinea pigs so avoids ever having to use GA, with the surgery for her jaw being an exception. Even then, he has told me to go to another vet he knows who is used to doing this procedure.

Yes, I will call for metacam. Do you think this is the only thing that could improve her condition right now?

 

[MissyMoo]

Dental piggies are so heartbreaking to have. We have had two dental piggies and I can't express how important finding a good vet is. I am lucky to have one just down the road from me. If you can get to Simon he is brilliant

it really is heartbreaking, I'm willing to do all I possibly can, it's just horrible having to watch her so weak and hungry. Yes I will definitely try there, it's just nothing can be done until she is physically strong enough

 

[DM030819]

It's not a guarantee, far from it unfortunately, but pain relief will do no harm.

With dental issues there are so many things it could be, from the teeth being filed down to far, to a cut tongue/mouth, to an injured jaw, to an abscess and probably more that I can't think of at the moment.

The best you can do is get some Metacam and try your very best to get as much food into her as possible. If you have a loved one, or friend that can help then ask then too as I know from personal experience how time consuming hand feeding is.

If she doesn't show any sign of trying to eat in the next couple of days, or if she declines then she'll need to go back to the vet for them to investigate the issue further. She might need xrays, scans or a full dental exam to see if there's another problem.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi! I have 3 female guinea pigs. They are all around 1 1/2 years old. Recently one guinea pig, Cotton, has lost a lot of weight. After visits to the vet, it has been put down to teeth problems. She has now had her teeth filed down as they have overgrown. It turns out she was born with a deformed jaw, meaning her teeth grind down differently to how they should, and the below roots will continue to grow rather than being small, therefore the ligaments are loose. They have prevented her from being able to eat. The particular way her jaw moves means her teeth will eventually end up with a spike at the front, cutting her tongue.

Basically, now her teeth have been cut down, I must get her weight back up. She has always been trying to eat any food I give her, veggies, hay, pellets etc. But she is not able to, despite her teeth now being cut. I have been force feeding her critical care, but I am only managing to get her to take around 4ml every 2 hours. She is incredibly underweight, but I need her to put on weight as she needs to have surgery to correct her back teeth, this is the only way this will ever be fixed. And there is no way she could ever survive a surgery so weak and skinny.

Please does anyone know how often I should give her Critical Care and how much? Please note, the vet I see is trained in guinea pig care, and has done this surgery successfully a few times. It really is just a matter of building her weight back up. I am not sure that it's even possible unfortunately, but it is worth me trying.

Please read the chapter on caring for dental guinea pigs in our syringe feeding guide.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

Make sure that you have her seen every few weeks. The trick with dental guinea pigs is to not wait until something has gone wrong again, but to nip any overgrowth right in the bud. This will enable the piggy to eventually go back to normal unless there is a chronic issue. Being on syringe feed at first means that the teeth are more likely to overgrow again because it takes time to rebalance the whole system fully. Try feeding grated veg like carrots or fine strips of green veg.

The vet who treats The Excellent Adventure Sanctuary dental guinea pigs has pulled off some amazing long term success stories from guinea pigs that had been given up by their vets that way - and they really have to come back to him for a yearly check-up. As the ladies from the sanctuary can tell you, your home care is the other important part to make sure that this dental care is provided.
@furryfriends (TEAS)

 

[MissyMoo]

It's not a guarantee, far from it unfortunately, but pain relief will do no harm.

With dental issues there are so many things it could be, from the teeth being filed down to far, to a cut tongue/mouth, to an injured jaw, to an abscess and probably more that I can't think of at the moment.

The best you can do is get some Metacam and try your very best to get as much food into her as possible. If you have a loved one, or friend that can help then ask then too as I know from personal experience how time consuming hand feeding is.

If she doesn't show any sign of trying to eat in the next couple of days, or if she declines then she'll need to go back to the vet for them to investigate the issue further. She might need xrays, scans or a full dental exam to see if there's another problem.

I will call to get the pain relief.

Yes, he did say that her condition is one of many problems. Due to the roots of her back teeth overgrowing due to a genetic problem, it has cause the ligaments around the teeth to loosen, causing her jaw not to sit properly, causing her teeth to grind incorrectly, causing sharp edges which cut her tongue.

I have currently taken a few days holiday from work so I am able to be with her constantly, and feed her as often as possible. I was told only to give her a few days anyway until I need to return to the vets. So will be trying 1 more day and then going.

She is trying to eat, and was straight away, its just like her mouth doesn't let her.

 

[MissyMoo]

Please read the chapter on caring for dental guinea pigs in our syringe feeding guide.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

Make sure that you have her seen every few weeks. The trick with dental guinea pigs is to not wait until something has gone wrong again, but to nip any overgrowth right in the bud. This will enable the piggy to eventually go back to normal unless there is a chronic issue. Being on syringe feed at first means that the teeth are more likely to overgrow again because it takes time to rebalance the whole system fully. Try feeding grated veg like carrots or fine strips of green veg.

The vet who treats The Excellent Adventure Sanctuary dental guinea pigs has pulled off some amazing long term success stories from guinea pigs that had been given up by their vets that way - and they really have to come back to him for a yearly check-up. As the ladies from the sanctuary can tell you, your home care is the other important part to make sure that this dental care is provided.
@furryfriends (TEAS)

Thank you.

Yes, I am not to leave her much longer than a few days. The regular check ups will need to be done, but the only way she will ever recover and be able to eat again without pain is to have this surgery to correct her back teeth/jaw. Which can only be done if she puts on weight. It really is vital I get her eating again. I will try grated carrots, thank you.

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you.

Yes, I am not to leave her much longer than a few days. The regular check ups will need to be done, but the only way she will ever recover and be able to eat again without pain is to have this surgery to correct her back teeth/jaw. Which can only be done if she puts on weight. It really is vital I get her eating again. I will try grated carrots, thank you.

Please carefully read the section about feeding dental guinea pigs in our guide.

 

[furryfriends (TEAS)]

Is there any way you could get your piggy up to Northampton to see Simon Maddock at the Cat and Rabbit Clinic. People travel the length and breadth of the country with their guinea pigs, particularly those with dental issues, as Simon works wonders with them. He is the reason that The Excellent Adventure Sanctuary exists, as we are only able to offer help to guinea pigs with dental issues, as Simon is our vet.

In most cases he can carry out the work without the need for anaesthetic, which means much less risk for the guinea pig, particularly when they are frail and underweight. I've lost count of the number of guinea pigs who have come here, where vets have said they have congenital dental issues, elongated tooth roots, dislocated or deformed jaws, but in all cases this has not been the case, and as soon as the crowns of the teeth are sorted, they can eat for themselves with no problem. Dental issues aren't a quick fix but as long as you follow the appointment regime that Simon suggests they do very well. Just before Christmas I was contacted by someone from Portsmouth whose piggy was unable to eat despite two dentals by their local vet. The guinea pig was brought up to see Simon and immediately was able to eat, after Simon filed the teeth, without anaesthetic. They have been back for some follow up treatments and today I saw them at the vets. The guinea pig is doing amazingly well. Has gained lots of weight, eats for herself and Simon will recheck her in 8 weeks and if all still okay will not need to see her again for about 12 weeks.

I can't stress enough how good Simon is, and it would really be well worth a trip to see him.

www.catandrabbit.co.uk

 

[MissyMoo]

Is there any way you could get your piggy up to Northampton to see Simon Maddock at the Cat and Rabbit Clinic. People travel the length and breadth of the country with their guinea pigs, particularly those with dental issues, as Simon works wonders with them. He is the reason that The Excellent Adventure Sanctuary exists, as we are only able to offer help to guinea pigs with dental issues, as Simon is our vet.

In most cases he can carry out the work without the need for anaesthetic, which means much less risk for the guinea pig, particularly when they are frail and underweight. I've lost count of the number of guinea pigs who have come here, where vets have said they have congenital dental issues, elongated tooth roots, dislocated or deformed jaws, but in all cases this has not been the case, and as soon as the crowns of the teeth are sorted, they can eat for themselves with no problem. Dental issues aren't a quick fix but as long as you follow the appointment regime that Simon suggests they do very well. Just before Christmas I was contacted by someone from Portsmouth whose piggy was unable to eat despite two dentals by their local vet. The guinea pig was brought up to see Simon and immediately was able to eat, after Simon filed the teeth, without anaesthetic. They have been back for some follow up treatments and today I saw them at the vets. The guinea pig is doing amazingly well. Has gained lots of weight, eats for herself and Simon will recheck her in 8 weeks and if all still okay will not need to see her again for about 12 weeks.

I can't stress enough how good Simon is, and it would really be well worth a trip to see him.

www.catandrabbit.co.uk

I really won't be able to get to north Hampton, especially as they'd be continuous appointments, I don't drive, and the costs would just be too high for me. I really wish I could, Simon sounds brilliant.

I will try the woman in Ewell tomorrow and see if she is able to help. The guinea pig is trying to eat but is just not able to chew it properly, only hold food in her mouth. I can't leave her much longer as she has an appetite and it is sad to watch.

Thank you for your help.

 

[Poppy'sMum]

I second about seeing Simon, I have also been told that my piggy has long tooth roots & possible nerve damage & will need dentals every two weeks for the rest of her life. We took her to see Simon & have already been twice, he is optimistic that we can cure her problem & she eats straight away when we get her home. Eventually she will relearn to eat normally once she gets used to her teeth being corrected. Pain relief is essential. It's possible the long roots could cause an abscess so we have her on Zithromax antibiotic which Simon prescribes.