Help with weight gain post-operation

[heart<3]

One of my guinea pigs recently had dental surgery. They just filed down his back teeth under anesthesia. It went well and he’s active and good but is having a hard time eating. He’s basically eating slower, seems to be struggling still with some stems of hay and things like his vitamin c cookie, and for all foods it just takes him longer to get through the same amount. His cage mate is probably also getting extra veggies and potentially pellets as a result since he can just eat faster and so steal some.

So unsurprisingly he lost weight. He’s down approximately 50g to 958g. I’ve been giving critical care but I’m considering increasing it to at least 1 tablespoon (dry, before mixing. Or about 45+ml when mixed) and also giving him a couple teaspoons of rolled oats per day till he catches up, in addition to his regular diet (unlimited hay, 1 tbsp pellets, oxbow vitamin c tab, low sugar and calcium veggies). Is this ok or is there a better approach to help him gain weight?

For added info—I’m really bad at doing regular weigh ins unfortunately—but here are his last 3 measurements:
991g July 28, 2025
1006g aug 12, 2025
958g august 21, 2025

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m sorry to hear he has dental issues.

Please do increase his critical care.
If he is not eating which hay to maintain his weight then he does not more critical care. Generally that amount needs to be at least 60ml per day (that is 60ml of the product after it has been made up).
You need to weigh him every day (each morning at the same time) while he is unwell and recovering to be able to monitor what the actual amount of critical care he needs is as it’s linked to the amount of independent hay intake which can’t be monitored by eye - the less hay he eats independently, the more critical care you need to feed.

When did he have the dental work done?
Is he still on painkillers?

I would get a check up done.
In some cases it can be that they need more time to regain confidence to eat but in others it can be that there is still an issue with the teeth - something not done right, still pain somewhere etc.

The first thing is to make sure he doesn’t lose weight, so more critical care.
Hand feed him strands of hay wirh each round of syringe feeding.
Cut his veggies into match sticks and hand feed those to him.
A small amount of oats are fine but they should not be much.

I hope he is ok

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[Merab]

When I have needed to help a piggy gain weight I add a small piece of mashed banana to the critical care.
Mine have all loved it.
I also place a couple of small dishes in the cage to encourage eating for themselves.
One contains the critical care mush, the other some raw oats mixed with grated carrot or sweet potato.

 

[heart<3]

Thank you guys.

His operation was august 19th, and his course of pain killers ended today the 22nd.

We have a follow up appointment on September 2nd booked then another in October.

Thank you for the responses. I’ll weigh him daily in the mornings, continue with support feeding, and also leave some in bowls.

 

[Piggies&buns]

So it’s all very new. I would speak to the vet and see if you can get his painkillers extended

I hope he is ok