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Dental How To Encourage Gp To Eat Veg After Dental Surgery?

...and yes, try to switch the syringe food a bit, that makes it more appetizing for them. We switch between Emeraid, Oxenbox CC and Burgess Dualcare, and sometimes mix in baby food for variety.
 
Thanks. I've so far been offering what she would usually have (but grated/tiny) - carrot, parsley, coriander, lettuce, pepper, kale, melon, grated fennel even. Oh and the radicchio earlier. Given her reaction to the radicchio, something new or something we haven't had for a while might be a good idea. I will buy the other syringe food as well.

Infacol might be worth a try... how much do you give?
 
we give 0.5ml but I've heard some other people use 1ml.
 
Thanks. I will try and pop out tomorrow, see if I can find any ready-grown grass for pets (as well as seeds to grow myself), and the other syringe foods.

How is Pendleton (great name by the way!) picking up the grated bits of veg? With his mouth independently from a plate/bowl or the ground, or does he take them directly from you? When I've managed to get a piece into Stormy's mouth it's literally by doing it from the side and shoving it is as far as I can, otherwise she just spits it out again. I've only done it a few times because she's generally refused them and it feels even worse sticking my finger in her mouth with a sliver of veg than it does the syringe! But I wanted her to realise she can eat them! Not sure if it's a good idea to force them in if she's trying to refuse it, or not?

I've come to bed having managed 63ml in total today, more than any other day so far but still far short of 120ml! Setting my alarm for a few hours to do a night feed...
 
You might only find those syringe foods at vets (or amazon), normal pet shops won't stock them.
He hasn't eaten any properly grated food. He ate the long shaven strips of apple by himself, picking them from the floor. But he does still struggle, and needs a few attempts sometimes. With large green leaves he also finds it easier to eat them from the floor; he holds it down with his paw and tears a small piece off with his 3 incisors. I haven't had much luck pushing food into his mouth (but I've certainly tried, in desperation!)
 
Well, Stormy doesn't have either of her bottom incisors so I don't know how she would manage to pick anything up?
 
They can. A couple of years ago Pendelton knocked out both of his lower incisors when he jumped off the sofa. But he could still eat grated food, no problem. In fact, it hardly seemed to bother him at all. But this molars problem is very different. From what you've been describing, which all sounds very similar to Pendelton right now, it sounds like Stormy's molars are causing discomfort and that is what's preventing her from picking up and eating food. Did Simon mention if there were any lacerations/ulcers on her cheeks, caused by the molars? They would take a few days to heel.
 
Another good thing about fresh grass is you can feed it into the front of their mouth one blade at a time. Once it hits the molars they can grab a hold of it and starting drawing it in. That way I guess she wouldn't need to use her incisors anyway.
 
Have you tried stalky veg, maybe parsley or spinach? Anything where you can offer the stalk, as I often find they take that into the mouth and then all the rest follows. Leafy veg should be cut into thin strips. Don't chop up small as that is going to be more difficult to pick up.
 
She won't try and pick anything up. I just tried putting a piece of grated carrot in but couldn't get it far back enough, she just spits it out from the front. And doesn't want to take it anyway. Not sure that putting a stalk in would work, as surely it would spit back out rather than be taken in? I'll give it a try though.

Meanwhile, she was busy wheeking and getting excited for morning veg just now along with all the other piggies... :( Then refusing it.

Good news is, she's 800g, same as 2 days ago (yesterday she'd put on 10g though so has lost that).

Went and overslept this morning, supposed to get up at 6am (I'm working at 8:30, i don't normally work Fridays so my phone alarm didn't go off!),- i did a 3am feed, I think I'm going to have to admit defeat and not do any more night feeds!
 
I find offering the stalk works in most cases. It is the picking up that is causing the issue. If she can get something in far enough to grasp it with her back teeth, that is going to help. By cutting things small she can't get it far enough in to reach the back teeth, but doesn't have the incisors needed to pick it up. Once they get the hang of using the back teeth to grasp stuff, they manage to pick up from the floor of the cage without any problem.
 
That makes total sense, if I don't manage to push it at the side of her mouth far enough back she spits it out but does seem to chew and eat it fine (e.g. a piece of grated carrot) if I do manage it. I assume the stalk would need to be pretty long, then?

I am going to pop out this afternoon and get some infacol, and go to the garden centre to see if they sell any boxes of fresh grass (and seeds too to grow my own). Otherwise it'll be likely be a few days if i order online. She's still sitting hunched up looking uncomfortable (but is pooing - little ones - and weeing). How much infacol should I give her to start with? Hoping it's just a bit of gas that is making her sit like that, as not sure simple dental pain would make her do that?

Managed 10ml before 9:30am, and still leaning over while I work to shovel bits in!
 
I just calculated that given an 18 hour day (up at 6am, to bed at midnight, though ideally I'd prefer to be in bed earlier!), 120ml a day would mean 1ml every 9 minutes. Given that each time I would give 0.5ml as she doesn't want the whole ml at once (starts to gag), that's actually a squeeze of a syringe every 4.5 minutes. Add water squirts, meds, offering of veg, and then of course time taken to cook dinner, clean cage & look after the other piggies, do the shopping & other household tasks, and of course my work - No wonder it's impossible! How anyone manages 120ml (at least, without doing shifts with someone else, an option I don't have) is beyond me...
 
That seems impossible, maybe I'm just not trusting that Stormy can take it or something! Maybe I need to sit and really just go for it and see what happens!
 
How much infacol should I give at first, in case you missed that query further up? (in the hope that her hunching/misery is due to gassiness?
 
Are you on Facebook....I have just videoed myself giving Biscuit 18 mls (that was what she wanted) and it took me just under 4 minutes. If you are, add me as a friend and I will send you the video on FB messaging. I can't add a video on here unfortunately.
 
I think for the first dose of Infocal you could do 1ml, and then 0.5ml afterwards. Obviously, it's 'off-license' for guinea pigs so I don't know what would be the max in one day. To be on the safe side I would stick to 1 or 2 doses a day, and only when needed.
Regarding the syringe feeding, perhaps you can do it quicker. I find using a 1ml syringe is quickest...stick it in, squirt in one go, wait 30 secs and then do the next one. You can do 15ml in 10 mins that way. It sounds like Furyfriends is an expert to do 18ml in 4mins!
Note that they may continue to 'chew' even though there is only a small amount in their mouth, so don't be too scared of feeding too quickly (but obviously if they gag/cough you've gone too quickly!)
 
Thanks. I realised I'm working till 3pm today but later I will sit with her and try and do this, I've just been popping the odd ml in all morning while I'm working, reached 28ml so far... I also think I may have had the mixture too thick before, this morning's is runnier and definitely seems easier for her.
 
Well - i put on an episode of Friends and challenged myself to get to 20ml by the end, and we did! Yay. It really was my own lack of confidence before (and possibly coupled with her struggling for those few days before seeing Simon). I feel more optimistic now, being able to do that every few hours rather than feel like I need to be continually popping the syringe in her mouth!
 
OH. MY. GOD. Stormy just all of a sudden took parsley stalks from my hand! Quite often at bedtime when we're saying goodnight they go all wheeky and we give them some veggies by hand, Stormy no exception with the wheeking and jumping up hopefully at the side of the cage, but before, she would take one sniff at the offering and walk off giving up but tonight she just totally went for it, stalks of parsley (she had to give up on a strip of cucumber, - but did try! - and also had to spit out parsley leaves on the end of a couple of the stalks when she got to them) but man it was exciting! She was so happy just couldn't get enough!

Those of you who said thin strips - spot on! The stalks were long & thin & stiff enough for me to stick in her mouth for her to grab with her back teeth.

We're ending the day on 86ml, btw, the most so far, high hopes for tomorrow now that I've got the hang of it! :)
 
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