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Help please - Dental Post-Op Feeding

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Spencer

Spencer

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Hi all,

Just joined tonight... (hence the no profile photo..sorry!) I have a 3 year old torte Male, neutered, (Spencer's a big boy, currently weight in at a little over 1200g) who just had dental surgery carried out on him ,as his left side & front T&B had somewhat overgrown and were causing him problems. Thankfully, he was able to come home Yesterday after his overnight stay in the vets...yey!

I was told syringe feeding him Oxbow Critical Care fine grind for the next couple of days (1 tbsp to 3 tbsp warm water) feeding him 2/3 times a day & he's taking between 10-30mls. He doesn't appear to be that interested in his oxbow hay or Cavey complete pellets and while he has attempted to eat his basil leaves he ate 1/2 and gave up (poor mite is probably still sore!).

My question is: am I syringe feeding him enough? Or am I overfeeding him and putting him off his greens etc? Are my measures in line with his weight?

Any tips or info would be great...thanks for your help!

Spencer's Mummy
 
Hi, and wecome to the forum!

Is he eating anything by himself at the moment?

If he's not eating anything by himself, then the recommended "magic number" is 120ml of critical care in a 24 hour period, which is best split into feeds of 20-30mls. It sounds a lot; it is quite a lot, but it's vital that he gets enough to keep his gut moving along nicely, otherwise he's at risk of gut stasis (where the transit of food isn't enough to keep stimulating the gut to work, so it stops).

Although I've never had any dental pigs myself, I've looked after several due to my job, and find that leafy things (like you said, basil!), and things like parsley, coriander, dandelion leaves and even grass often go down well after dental work.

Has he been sent home with any medications for you to give him?

Keep up the hard work, it'll be worth it! More people will be along with more bright ideas soon!
 
Welcome to the forum!

You will need to be feeding him 120mls in a 24 hour period to maintain his weight while he is not eating for himself. You can also mush up some of his usual nuggets using hot water, allow them to cool and syringe that mixture to him if he prefers it. Snipping the end off a 1ml syringe will make feeding easier - a piggy can take 1ml in its mouth at a time.

Porridge oats made into a porridge like consistency using water and adding finely chopped fruit, veg or herb favourites are good for maintaining weight and encouraging independent eating. You can put some on a saucer in the cage and see if he helps himself - the same can be done with mushy nuggets.

It is encouraging that he is still showing an interest in his favourite foods and he is a good weight so it is important to maintain that so he has the strength to keep up the fight back to full health. Dental issues often require several treatments to get things right since recovery to normal eating habits can be slow so teeth will overgrow in the meantime.

Did the vet give him anything for pain relief? Metacam is good. Did they say if he had any ulceration or other issues in his mouth?


Whereabouts are you located? :)
 
Thanks a million for the tips! This is very new to me as Spencer has never had problems like this before...I feel so bad, keep thinking I should of spotting things sooner but he was eating & drinking well so I actually assumed this front teeth just needed to be trimmed, never thought for a second it could be the back teeth! 120ml...wow I think in total he has had about 20/40mls I have to up the feeding now but I was afraid I might be "force feeding him" as he was getting p@ssed off with me!

He is on pain relief for 7 days it's called Meloxidy and he's to take 0.5mls daily.

He 'picked' up his basil leaves about an hour ago and you could clearly see he was trying to eat it but it was like he tried to chew it(the leaves were kinda wet) couldn't do it so gave up :( and while I haven't seen him eat his pellets he has gone to his bowl to 'check them out').

Oh I'm from Ireland! :))
 
Hi,

I don't know the situation with his teeth needing trimming? But if it's needed again I would recommend you visit a rodentologist (trained by the Cambridge Cavy Trust), who will be able to do it without anasethic.
 
Try shredding his leaves, or cutting them up really small. Seems like he might be interested in his nuggets, so maybe try softening some for him.

You might feel like you are force feeding him, but most pigs will struggle to begin with. Generally once they feel their bellies getting full, they see how it helps them! I know it makes you feel bad, but you are doing the best for your pig.

I am wondering if there are any vets in Ireland who would be able to do dental work without GA. I know they are very few and far between anywhere. A 'Rodentologist' has no official qualification - it is a made up name by the CCT; they have been 'trained' by the CCT, who are not qualified veterinarians nor do they have legal authority to treat animals. In fact, several animals they have 'treated' have been referred on to my vet. Pig teeth are difficult to get right and tinkering around with them, despite having a certificate, can do more harm than good. :x
 
I will try cutting them up small tks! Oh he was a right handful tonight just did not want to playball - but it's for his own good! He starting to pick up a string or two of hay here and there so I guess that is good :{

My vet is highly trained in "exotic" as piggies are classed as (gas,I know!) so I feel he is in safe hands thou being a small (yet fat) piggie I did worry while he was under GA lets hope that was the last time!
 
Unfortunately, due to guinea pig teeth growing continuously, they often become overgrown again very quickly as it can take a while for a piggie to start eating after dental work. This is why it helps tremendously to have a vet who can do dental work without GA. The dental piggies here at the Sanctuary have regular check ups and filing of the teeth in the early stages, which helps them start eating again for themselves. Once they can eat independantly then the gap between checks can be extended and in many cases the piggie fully recovers within a couple of months. When temporary residents return home I always recommend a diet that consists mainly of hay and grasses with some veg every day, and very little dry food. I also advise that they are weighed weekly to make sure any weight loss is picked up on quickly, as it could be an indication that the teeth are starting to go wrong again.

When I first started taking in dental guinea pigs a few years ago, we felt that the condition could be managed but not cured. However, with increasing knowledge, my vet is curing more and more and now it is only a few who need life-long treatment.
 
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