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Hole In The Throat?!

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GinaG

GinaG

Junior Guinea Pig
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my poor rescue pig, who I've not had that long, has been quiet & withdrawn, thought not losing weight, I took her to the vet & they found a hole at the back of her throat! Not big at all, the vet thinks it might have been caused by hay getting stuck. She's not been chewing on that side so one molar was slightly overgrown & they filed that down. They've given her anti-inflamatories in the hopes that the hole will heal itself & some critical care. Has anyone else had any experience of this? I'm fairly horrified - they have safe chewing toys so I can only think it happened with a spike of hay, poor little pig
 
GinaG said:
my poor rescue pig, who I've not had that long, has been quiet & withdrawn, thought not losing weight, I took her to the vet & they found a hole at the back of her throat! Not big at all, the vet thinks it might have been caused by hay getting stuck. She's not been chewing on that side so one molar was slightly overgrown & they filed that down. They've given her anti-inflamatories in the hopes that the hole will heal itself & some critical care. Has anyone else had any experience of this? I'm fairly horrified - they have safe chewing toys so I can only think it happened with a spike of hay, poor little pig
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Hi!
Thankfully, what your piggy has got is pretty unusual. have you been given some painkiller as her mouth must be pretty sore?

Please switch from feeding spiky timothy hay to feeding soft meadow or orchard hay. Guinea pig teeth are ground down by the silica in hay and grass; as long as the back teeth are evenly ground down, the front teeth are self-sharpening and stay even; uneven or overgrown front teeth are usually a sign that something is not right at the back of mouth. Chewing toys are not necessary for keeping the dental system in order.

Take the time to read through our illustrated step-by-step "how to" guide on syringe feeding. It tells you how to prep the syringe and how much/how often to feed your guinea pig depending on its health. It also has a chapter on dental guinea pigs. Piggies usually don't eat on their own immediately after a dental procedure, and it may need another round of burring (please not filing) to get everything totally right again.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

@furryfriends (TEAS) @MintyAndGarry (TEAS)
 
Thank you. The problem is I have to have Timothy hay for the other pig who has constant UTI problems. They sleep on Burgess Excel dandelion & marigold Timothy hay which is really soft, they have Pets at Home dustfree Timothy hay which again is soft & they have a little Petlife Oxbow Western Timothy hay in a central feeding bowl, which i presume caused the problem cos it is spiky, but again I got that because I thought it was good for chewing & for the UTI. I can't believe it's happened to be honest, poor little pig. Yes she's on painkillers.
 
Sounds like you're doing all the right things! Keep an eye on her eating to make sure it doesn't develop into anything more nasty like an abscess maybe :)
 
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