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How long to recover from malocclusion?

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traylee

traylee

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Hi,

One of my piggies has just had surgery 4 days ago for malocclusion of his molars. He had stopped eating before the surgery (presumably due to pain) and was syringe fed prior to having his teeth fixed. Since we got him home though he still won't eat. I have been syringe feeding him for the last 4 days, i'm just wondering what other people's experiences of this are, and how long before he is likely to want to start eating again? He will very gently nibble on cucumber but nothing else, no dried food, hay or other veggies. He is on an anti inflammatory that i got from the vets for pain relief. Is it just a matter of time until he eats again (hopefully), or should i be worried?
 
What did he have done to his molars? One of mine had his filed down and the spurs cut off on saturday and he was eating saturday night. I have him on Daktarin for his mouth ulcer for the next 2 weeks (already been on it a week) and he was also given 0.2ml of Nurofen for the pain on saturday but he doesnt need it now. I have been softening my gerty food with a little warm water and he has been eating that quite happily. I have also been syringe feeding him a little food though I didnt yesterday and he didnt loose weight so he is obviously maintaining his eating
 
Hi Traylee, welcome to the forum. :)

Sorry to hear your boar has had dental issues. There can often be more going on than just malocclusion, which can explain why there is still refusal to eat, and many pigs require repeated dentals either until the root cause is treated, or for life if the problem is genetic.

You might find these threads/posts helpful, lots of info and advice in them which can also be applied to your boar:

http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=56604
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showpost.php?p=886519&postcount=3
 
He has had spurs filed off his lower and upper molars. He is interested in the food but struggles to pick food up and struggles to chew it once its in his mouth and pretty much drops everything. He isn't eating any nuggets at all or really drinking.He is going to the toilet because i have kept a check on this although his poops are only small compared to normally. He weighs approx 950g,he weighed 970g pre op last week (used to weigh 1200g but i hadn't weighed him in ages and ages before he got ill). I'm feeding him science recovery sachets that i got from the vet, i try and get 4 - 5 feeds in him per day - 6 mls at a time. I have also been syringing him water with vit c in it with his food, 4-6 mls at a time. Is this enough or too much? He is going back to the vets on friday for another post op checkup? Just really worried as have already spent £220 on him and he doesn't seem to be getting better! Thanks for the tips and advice so far :)
 
£220 is very expensive :O Have you thought about joining the CCT? as you pay 30 pounds membership for a whole year but you get free dental care - this is in case he would need ongoing dental work.
Keep on trying to get him to see soft foods - try anything like banana, cucumber, tomatoes & grapes (without the skin) and see if he will try anything as he needs to get his teeth grinding all the same thing would occur again. Try softened some pellets and putting them in the cage to see if he wants to try and eat them.

When my guinea pig was being syringe fed I was giving him mashed up science selective pellets as he preferred this to critical care and he was getting about 12ml in the morning and then another 20ml or so at night, divided into another two feeds.

I couldnt feed him during the day but he was eating a little.

If you give him mashed up pellets and syringe feed you wouldnt need to give him water with vitamin C in it (sometimes the taste can put them off drinking water)
 
Cambridge Cavy Trust - Run by Vedra
http://www.britishassociationofrodentologists.co.uk/CCT.html

I contacted Vedra last week about my guinea pig and she told me to contact her associate and he put me in touch with two experienced people who deal with dental cases and I took mine on saturday and turned out his had spurs either side and a ulcer (vets noticed neither) and now he is doing great *touch wood* and this is just since saturday.

The people were both very nice and gave me loads of advice and were very patient with Hector as he was a little s**t
 
I've provided care and rehabilitation for a lot of dental piggies, and there really is no average time for them starting to eat again. I've had some take months and others start eating within days. It is really important to get sufficient syringe food into a piggie who can't eat for him/herself. Generally I aim to get around 120 mls into them over the day.
 
My little ossie is still barely eating and requiring syringe feeding. I have run out of metacam syrup for him. Can i give him calpol as an alternative painkiller? And is so how much? Its 500mg/5mls. Thanks :)
 
furryfriends said:
How experienced is the vet you use, in dealing with dental issues in guinea pigs? Has he suggested any further treatment or follow up appointment?
Click to expand...

They seem experienced. They provided me with the science recovery sachets, metacam, baytril and zantac syrups. I have had one follow up appointment where she suggested a blood test if things don't improve. My next appointment is in 3 days time (monday). I have been off work this week so have been able to dedicate a lot of time to syringe feeding him, but i'm worried as i'm back to work next week (i work 3 14hour shifts per week), so i won't be around on those days. My boyfriend also works 10 hour days every day too. I'm worried he's going to go really hungry. Having said that, he is trying to eat but is only managing very small amounts and it takes him ages to eat the smallest amount. He is so small next to my other pig, its heartbreaking to see as both used to be the same size. He's a sad little pig. :(
 
Try handfeeding strips of food, grass is great but round here it is all under the snow! I used to cut the food into strips about the size of blades of grass and poke them into side of the mouth down to the back teeth. Or try small crisp spinach leaves rolled into a small baton shape; it take a lot of time, patience and imagination as different techniques work for different piggies and at differeht stages during their recovery.
Good Luck!
 
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