I have a lovely little guinea pig who stopped eating 2 weeks ago... since then he has visited 3 different vets; has had two lots of anasthetic and teeth filing, and is now being syringe fed with critical care food and also has daily metacam. It is only through reading entries on this helpful forum that I have learnt I should be feeding him every 2-3 hours. I'm trying everything: pureed veg; organic baby food; critical care food; leaving solid food for him should he decide to start eating. But he still seems to flat and lethargic, is turning his nose away from food (except for a small nibble on melon) and is quite scared of me following all these vet visits and injections. I'm just wondering how long guineas take to recover, or if perhaps there is still something wrong with him? He's such a lovely wee fella. Any advice would be very much appreciated, thanks.
-
Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement
How long can it take for guinea pigs to recover from dental work?
- Thread starter mellourich
- Start date
- Status
lissie
Teenage Guinea Pig
Did the vet file down his molar too or just trim the incisors? When I took my Rocky in for this molar filing, he started to eat the same day after his teeth were filed. He never stopped eating before I took him in, he was just losing weight.
I'm not sure if it takes longer to recover if your pig totally stopped eating before the procedure.
I hope he gets better soon.
I'm not sure if it takes longer to recover if your pig totally stopped eating before the procedure.
I hope he gets better soon.
lissie
Teenage Guinea Pig
My vet recommended doing a full check up, blood work, scans, etc. if Rocky didn't eat regularly after the filing. Fortunatly he ate. So I didn't have to take him back in.
clairelove
Adult Guinea Pig
full bloods on guineas pigs with dental problems isnt needed it would never sort the dental problem out some guinea pigs can have teeth problems been genetic but no abnormal bloods results will cure any dental problem xrays can be done to check the roots on the teeth but personally i would go to a rodentologist first as ive heard so many cases of people going to vets, then in the end going to a rodentologist only to find out either thevets has messed the teeth up worst or infact they never did any work on the teeth and charged for work that wasnt done, some vets that know there stuff with guinea pigs can do teeth but you know if a vet is a good guinea vet as they will say you dont need a GA to check or do the teeth...
some guineas take mths and mths to start eating but i think 2 things 1* your vets insnt very guinea savvy or they wouldnt do a GA as its not needed and they havent done the dental work correct, and 2* he hasnt taken well to the GA.
what you need to do is ring the Cambridge cavy trust and ask them for your local-est rodentologist, they will do a guinea pig dental with out GA and they normally dont charge either, by the sounds your guinea pig will need regular dentals every 2-4wks until the teeth are at a correct level and your guinea pig is eating on his own(enough to grind his own teeth down) and then he may need them mths apart for a long time.
hope this helps x
some guineas take mths and mths to start eating but i think 2 things 1* your vets insnt very guinea savvy or they wouldnt do a GA as its not needed and they havent done the dental work correct, and 2* he hasnt taken well to the GA.
what you need to do is ring the Cambridge cavy trust and ask them for your local-est rodentologist, they will do a guinea pig dental with out GA and they normally dont charge either, by the sounds your guinea pig will need regular dentals every 2-4wks until the teeth are at a correct level and your guinea pig is eating on his own(enough to grind his own teeth down) and then he may need them mths apart for a long time.
hope this helps x
Last edited:
clairelove
Adult Guinea Pig
what signs of a dental problem does your guinea pig have?
how old is your guinea pig?
how old is your guinea pig?
lissie
Teenage Guinea Pig
My vet recommended blood test in case the pig stopped eating because other underlying issues. If the teeth was filed, the pig should be able to eat.
When I adopted Rocky, the rescue told me that he might have a heart disease. I told the vet about it. When he listened to Rocky's heart, he didn't hear anything wrong with it. Maybe that's why he recommended full test in case Rocky does not eat after the filing.
Check with your vet to see if there are other underlying issues.
When I adopted Rocky, the rescue told me that he might have a heart disease. I told the vet about it. When he listened to Rocky's heart, he didn't hear anything wrong with it. Maybe that's why he recommended full test in case Rocky does not eat after the filing.
Check with your vet to see if there are other underlying issues.
clairelove
Adult Guinea Pig
Most of my dental pigs didnt eat for mths after having dental work done, and personally i think yes that is possale there maybe another problems causing them to not eat but if a guinea pig does have dental issues regardless of what the blood results say, the guinea pig still needs to have their teeth done and 9/10 the guinea pig just has a dental problem and not another problem.
Ive found many vets that are not guinea savy recommened full bloods in guineas with dental problems and i really cant see the point in that as no antibiotics or other medication is going to correct the teeth, dentals need to be done before any other problem can be sorted.
None of my guineas had any bloods done they had their teeth done every 2-4 wks and once the teeth were better they started to eat, but i do see where your coming from x
Ive found many vets that are not guinea savy recommened full bloods in guineas with dental problems and i really cant see the point in that as no antibiotics or other medication is going to correct the teeth, dentals need to be done before any other problem can be sorted.
None of my guineas had any bloods done they had their teeth done every 2-4 wks and once the teeth were better they started to eat, but i do see where your coming from x
lissie
Teenage Guinea Pig
I thought the OP already had the teeth done. That's why I suggested talking to the vet to see if there are other problems. There are many things that can cause guinea pigs to stop eating. Hope it's okay if I post this link. It's a medical site we use here in the USA.
http://www.guinealynx.info/anorexia.html
http://www.guinealynx.info/anorexia.html
clairelove
Adult Guinea Pig
one dental doesnt cure a guinea pig of dental problems and start them eating, it can take many months of dental treatment for them to eat on their own, and i dont think the guinea pig should be having anymore GAs atm, he needs a rodentologist or vet the will do the teeth with out GA first that can help him with his teeth.
He also needs to be on Daktarin 3 times a day as its possible he also has a sore mouth and possible thrush in the mouth and ulcers from the spurs pushing in the tongue and cheeks.
He also needs to be on Daktarin 3 times a day as its possible he also has a sore mouth and possible thrush in the mouth and ulcers from the spurs pushing in the tongue and cheeks.
Thank you, he was eating (though not as much) up until 2 days before his last vet visit, and now he only eats very small bits of broccoli or melon just after i've syringe fed him. I think he got all his teeth filed right down, and he had a spike filed down too. No abcesses seen though. perhaps it will take him a bit longer to recover.... thanks again.
Many thanks for this. The 3rd vet we went to is reported to be an expert with guinea pigs, and trains other vets around Scotland on guinea care. However, he did put Otis (my guinea) under GA (though this seemed reasonable at the time as wee Otis seemes terrified when they try to inspect his teeth whilst he is awake), and perhaps he hasnt responded well to that. I will call the cambridge cavy trust, thanks for your advice :O)
Thanks for your response, the first sign was eating less, then eating nothing at all; when inspected at the vets they couldnt see any food around the back of his mouth, but excess saliva; when he did eat he looked very uncomfortable holding his head to one side. We're not sure how old he is, he is a rescue guinea pig, we got him a year and a half ago. :O)
Thanks again, I feel relieved to hear your guineas didnt eat for months, I was worried that as mine had stopped eating this was the start of the end! But I will continue to syringe feed him in the hope he'll start to pick up. I think I was expecting him to immediately start eating again as other people have said thier pigs immediately picked up. Thanks again.
Sorry for all the quotes, just new to this site so getting used to it! He is on metacam which I believe is for pain control. The vets didnt notice any ulcers however I did not think about the possibility of thrush. He is due a check up on Tues so I will ask the vet then, and veer away from any more GA's. Thanks again.
clairelove
Adult Guinea Pig
daktarin is a human oral thrush cream and needs to be given at a dose of 0.5ml 3times a day i tend to give just before a feed as i find it soothes the mouth x
hazeyg
Adult Guinea Pig
Hello
I have had two poorly little piggies with on and off dental problem. Theo was ill for about 5months with his teeth.
Sometimes post dental treatment the mouth is really tender and once they get put off they get very scared of trying again thats why it takes so long for some to start eating properly again. So its firstly a matter of perseverence and getting the weight on and this requires dedication on your part, a piggie wont want to eat unless it feels better within itself.
For syringe feeding you can use the recovery type diets that vets offer but they are really expensive and your piggie has only had a dental problem so I would advise you buy a decent pellet food, or one your already using. Then add hot water,cover with cling film and leave to soak (some pellets will take longer than other- anything up to an hour) then use that to syringe, add more hot water to the consistancy you require. Serving it warm (not HOT) is yummier to piggies .
Using a pellet food makes it easier for the guinea pig to start eating normally as it has the same food. To the mushed up pellet I add probiotic, which you can buy at pets at home( add as directed) and a vitamin c liquid supplement (add as directed), also available at most pet shops). I give initially 2-5ml every two-three hours to restart the gut function properly. Please remeber guineas dont have our digestive system they need it to go constantly so leaving a guinea all night can defeat all the good work done during the day. A pig that is used to hand feeding will turn away when its had enough. Giving too much food at once can cause bloat and do them no good. Watch for a swollen belly. Little and often is the key. If no weight goes on....it's not enough try adding more into the feeds. My boys took 15ml some feeds but thats only my boys and they are big boys he he. It really is down to the individual pig so keep weighing.
Also a major important thing is tempt with soft fresh veggies cut up small to minimise chewing. Lettuce although not the best for them is my boys favourite and without it I would never have got them to eat again. Also try grass if you can get a hold of some fresh, free of pesticides and grass treatments. Also cabbage, tomatoes and cucumbers. Grass is probably the best all rounder. Once he was trying and eating quite a lot of the fresh stuff I added in celery and carrots.
Monitor his weight daily, it is important that its done at the same time and not straight after feeding.
If the piggie starts to try more himself reduce the hand feeding gradually, I went from every 2-3 hours to every 4 hours/5hours then 3 times a day to 2times a day and then not at all . Alongside increase the time between feeds, I lessen the amount of water added to the pellets, this makes it really hard to get in the syringe but it gets the piggie used to a thicker constistancy. Eventually I have to just use my pinky finger to scoop some up and place in their mouth, my piggies are extremely trusting and placid. But usually by this point they will be licking it off your finger.
Its really important you put in all the time in the next couple weeks as without it you'll end up with the same issue all over again as the teeth will overgrow.
Alvin was eating normally in 5 days, Theo took 3-4 months. This seems really long I know but each week there was small improvements.
And most importantly always get dental work done without a GA it makes the healing process a lot quicker and less stressful, no horrible GA to recover from and less time away from their cosy beds
Good luck X
I have had two poorly little piggies with on and off dental problem. Theo was ill for about 5months with his teeth.
Sometimes post dental treatment the mouth is really tender and once they get put off they get very scared of trying again thats why it takes so long for some to start eating properly again. So its firstly a matter of perseverence and getting the weight on and this requires dedication on your part, a piggie wont want to eat unless it feels better within itself.
For syringe feeding you can use the recovery type diets that vets offer but they are really expensive and your piggie has only had a dental problem so I would advise you buy a decent pellet food, or one your already using. Then add hot water,cover with cling film and leave to soak (some pellets will take longer than other- anything up to an hour) then use that to syringe, add more hot water to the consistancy you require. Serving it warm (not HOT) is yummier to piggies .
Using a pellet food makes it easier for the guinea pig to start eating normally as it has the same food. To the mushed up pellet I add probiotic, which you can buy at pets at home( add as directed) and a vitamin c liquid supplement (add as directed), also available at most pet shops). I give initially 2-5ml every two-three hours to restart the gut function properly. Please remeber guineas dont have our digestive system they need it to go constantly so leaving a guinea all night can defeat all the good work done during the day. A pig that is used to hand feeding will turn away when its had enough. Giving too much food at once can cause bloat and do them no good. Watch for a swollen belly. Little and often is the key. If no weight goes on....it's not enough try adding more into the feeds. My boys took 15ml some feeds but thats only my boys and they are big boys he he. It really is down to the individual pig so keep weighing.
Also a major important thing is tempt with soft fresh veggies cut up small to minimise chewing. Lettuce although not the best for them is my boys favourite and without it I would never have got them to eat again. Also try grass if you can get a hold of some fresh, free of pesticides and grass treatments. Also cabbage, tomatoes and cucumbers. Grass is probably the best all rounder. Once he was trying and eating quite a lot of the fresh stuff I added in celery and carrots.
Monitor his weight daily, it is important that its done at the same time and not straight after feeding.
If the piggie starts to try more himself reduce the hand feeding gradually, I went from every 2-3 hours to every 4 hours/5hours then 3 times a day to 2times a day and then not at all . Alongside increase the time between feeds, I lessen the amount of water added to the pellets, this makes it really hard to get in the syringe but it gets the piggie used to a thicker constistancy. Eventually I have to just use my pinky finger to scoop some up and place in their mouth, my piggies are extremely trusting and placid. But usually by this point they will be licking it off your finger.
Its really important you put in all the time in the next couple weeks as without it you'll end up with the same issue all over again as the teeth will overgrow.
Alvin was eating normally in 5 days, Theo took 3-4 months. This seems really long I know but each week there was small improvements.
And most importantly always get dental work done without a GA it makes the healing process a lot quicker and less stressful, no horrible GA to recover from and less time away from their cosy beds
Good luck X
- Status