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Jambo Off To Vets Tonight :-(

Jude

Jude

Junior Guinea Pig
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Please keep your fingers crossed for our big boy. We've been monitoring his weight for the last few weeks as it is dropping on a daily basis. I'm pretty sure it's his teeth - watching him eat, he is noticeably slower. So we are booked in to see our piggy savvy vet tonight. I have ordered some critical care which should come today. This is the first ill piggy we've had in 2 years so its all new and quite daunting. I've been syringe feeding him some mashed pellets and handfeeding him dandelion leaves just so he's got something in his tum. Will keep you posted later.

jambo bath.webp
 
Jude said:
Please keep your fingers crossed for our big boy. We've been monitoring his weight for the last few weeks as it is dropping on a daily basis. I'm pretty sure it's his teeth - watching him eat, he is noticeably slower. So we are booked in to see our piggy savvy vet tonight. I have ordered some critical care which should come today. This is the first ill piggy we've had in 2 years so its all new and quite daunting. I've been syringe feeding him some mashed pellets and handfeeding him dandelion leaves just so he's got something in his tum. Will keep you posted later.

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Poor boy, I hope you get some answers xx
 
Jude said:
Please keep your fingers crossed for our big boy. We've been monitoring his weight for the last few weeks as it is dropping on a daily basis. I'm pretty sure it's his teeth - watching him eat, he is noticeably slower. So we are booked in to see our piggy savvy vet tonight. I have ordered some critical care which should come today. This is the first ill piggy we've had in 2 years so its all new and quite daunting. I've been syringe feeding him some mashed pellets and handfeeding him dandelion leaves just so he's got something in his tum. Will keep you posted later.

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Please be aware that even after dental treatment, you need to continue to syringe feed. The mouth is still sore; ask your vet for a painkiller if you do not get one after any dental treatment.

It also usually takes a while and usually several rounds of dental treatment to achieve a lasting balance in the dental system again if the premolars have overgrown and impacted on other teeth.

Key to that is to not wait until teeth have overgrown again, but to check the teeth every 2-3 weeks at first and to burr any spurs as soon as they start developing. There is often a pain issue that causes the uneven chewing; if possible this needs to be found and addressed (root abscesses). Mouth ulcers or thrush can also cause eating problems.
 
Sending healing vibes, I hope they can sort him out. Keep up updated!
 
Thanks for your kind thoughts and advice everyone. :nod: We saw the vet last night and she couldn't see any problems with his back teeth but he wasn't happy at all with her touching his jaw. So he's on a painkiller (can't remember the name - Metaxial or something) and we're topping him up with critical care. We'll continue to weigh him daily (he's gone from 1408g to 1240g in 3 weeks). He is still trying to eat which is good and is still pretty bright in himself - still rumbling at the girls! Fingers crossed. :luv: He's such a good boy x
 
Wiebke said:
Please be aware that even after dental treatment, you need to continue to syringe feed. The mouth is still sore; ask your vet for a painkiller if you do not get one after any dental treatment.

It also usually takes a while and usually several rounds of dental treatment to achieve a lasting balance in the dental system again if the premolars have overgrown and impacted on other teeth.

Key to that is to not wait until teeth have overgrown again, but to check the teeth every 2-3 weeks at first and to burr any spurs as soon as they start developing. There is often a pain issue that causes the uneven chewing; if possible this needs to be found and addressed (root abscesses). Mouth ulcers or thrush can also cause eating problems.
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Thank you for your advice, Wiebke :-)
 
So update on Jambo. By Thursday he was still losing weight and becoming depressed. So I found an exotics vet not too far away and booked him in to see them on Friday. On Friday, we saw a lovely vet who loves piggies, who examined Jambo and admitted him straight away for a dental. It seems one of his back teeth had grown wonkey, hence the slanted front teeth. She did what she needed to do and we collected him last night with more painkillers and some Cisapride for his guts. I kept him with Primrose last night to try and see if he was pooing. This morning he is a right Mr Grumpy so I guess in some discomfort. We have kept a close eye on him, he's had some critical care but wants to eat for himself so has had coriander, dandelion leaves, stuff he likes. He is pooing and weeing. Now its a waiting game - horrible seeing him unwell but I am so glad we went to the other vets.
 
Jambo is not doing so well :no: but the good thing he's off to the vets later today for a check up. His weight continues to drop daily despite the critical care, painkillers etc. It's horrible - feel helpless. I didn't expect him to pick up immediately after his op on Friday but is this normal? When should an improvement start? Help!
 
VickiA said:
Please support him with syringe feeding while he recovers. You can feed a pellet mash if you don't have critical care or similar feed. Please see our syring feeding guide for tips.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
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Hi Vicky, Yes, we've been doing that - every few hours. The vet gave us an amount to make sure he has throughout the day which we've been giving him. I've also softened the pellets in their cage. He's really cheesed off though, right Mr Grumps and even bit my daughter this morning. I've just read about giving him veg in peelings. Just worried really. thank you
 
I hope the vet can shed some light as to what is going on. Poor Jambo
 
Jude said:
thank you - I've been really emotional about him. He's such a sweetie
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I know what a worry our piggies are. I've been off the forum most of the weekend as I've been nursing a sow who's had an emergency spay. They give us so much joy but also so much anxiety x
 
VickiA said:
I know what a worry our piggies are. I've been off the forum most of the weekend as I've been nursing a sow who's had an emergency spay. They give us so much joy but also so much anxiety x
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I hope your lady pig is ok x
 
Squeakz said:
He is gorgeous! What a stunning boar. How is he doing any progress?
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Thank you. Latest from vet is that she is not bothered with weight loss as his guts are working fine. We have been given more pain relief and he's booked in for a check up in 2 weeks. He seems much brighter today and very keen on eating. We are continuing with the critical care and I am shredding veg. Have also dampened the nuggets so they are soft to chew.
 
Advice please. Jambo continues to lose weight - approx 10g a day. He is on 0.4ml Metacam twice a day and is being supplemented with critical care. He is still trying to eat just slowly and its like he cannot eat the thin stuff like hay.

My vet was not worried by his weight loss as his guts are still working. However, I have been told by someone who knows about gpigs that this weight loss is not acceptable. He is due to go back to the vets a week on Friday. Should I take him back earlier?
 
I don't know in piggies, but the cat living in my building lost appetite and weight during a therapy with Metacam and also a rabbit of a neighbour had the same bad effect... in both cases the weight came back normal and consider that your piggie is eating well...
 
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