• 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

Loss Of Weight Even After Dental Work

Status
Not open for further replies.
Ness

Ness

New Born Pup
Joined
Dec 2, 2014
Messages
3
Reaction score
1
Points
35
Location
London
Hello everyone, this is my first post on here, so I'm sad that it's not a very positive first post! I'll just say first that I do have an appointment booked tomorrow with the vet, I'm just wondering if anyone's had the same experience as me or can offer some advice?

My guinea pig Prince (male, 2 years old) started to lose weight at the beginning of November which was due to malocclusion. When I first visited the vet, he gave me Oxbow Critical Care to help him put on a bit of weight and Prince put on 30g in two days. He had dental surgery about a month ago, where he went under GA and the vets filed back his teeth, which were apparently quite bad and had started to hurt his cheeks.

For two weeks after the surgery he seemed back to normal (he put on 100g in a couple of weeks), eating fine and squeaking a lot! But then I noticed he started to lose weight again. I phoned the vets who advised to put him on Oxbow Critical Care again, which I've been syringe feeding him since last Wednesday. I've been trying to feed him as close to 50ml of CC a day as I can, including syringe feeding him water with a Vitamin C probiotic and 1ml of Fibreplex a day. He has some interest in veggies - he might have a small piece of celery or two, but not much else. I've seen him pop out of the bed area to drink water/eat hay/pellets so it's not like he's had a complete loss of appetite. He was even a bit squeaky last night when he heard me chopping up veggies!

But despite all of the above, he's just not putting on weight - last Wednesday he weighed 720g and last night he weighed 690g. I know there's some degree of weight fluctuation in guinea pigs, but I'm absolutely baffled as to why he's not putting on as much weight as the first time round with the CC - I feel like I'm doing everything I can with it. To put it into perspective, I have another pig called Ziggy (male, 2 years old) who's a porker by comparison at 1100g!

I can't get to the vet until tomorrow (as that's when the vet who specialises with small animals is in), I just wondered if anyone's got any idea what might be going on? It breaks my heart to see him not feeling himself!

Thanks all,
Ness x
 
It sounds like he may need some more dental work as Wiebke has stated above, to keep his interest up in syringe feed it may be worth alternating between critical care and mushed up pellets. It may also be worth speaking to the vet about some pain killer Metacam after dental work as their mouths can often be sore.

Sorry your first post isn't a pleasant one, welcome to the forum, lots of healing vibes and love to Prince, please keep us updated on him
 
I run a sanctuary for guinea pigs with dental issues and we are able to get really good results because we have a vet who can carry out dental work without the need for GA, in most cases. This means that regular filing of the teeth can be done in the early days with a bigger gap between appointments as the guinea pig makes progress. I see you live in London. Is there any way you could get up to Northampton with your guinea pig to see Simon Maddock at the Cat and Rabbit Care Clinic. People travel from all over the UK to see Simon as he is so experienced with guinea pigs, and is probably the most experienced vet for dental issues.
 
Thank you so much for all your replies, I will definitely keep on hand feeding him and will consider making a pellet mash to keep him interested.

Furryfriends - I wish I owned a car, which would make it possible for me to get Prince to Northampton! I've read all about the sanctuary and I'm gutted that it's not easy for me to get there, it sounds like that's just what he needs. The first time around it was the GA that crippled me financially, so it's good to know it's possible to treat dental issues without the need for GA - I'm dreading the vet saying he'll need more treatment.

I'll keep you updated about what the vet says tomorrow, thanks for the well wishes!
 
There is a Facebook group called The Piggy Train who can help with transport to TEAS. I am going to tag the person who runs the Piggy Train group so he is aware. @Stewybus

Keep us posted on how you get on tomorrow, but unfortunately dental issues aren't usually sorted in one dental, and Simon is one of only a few vets who can do dental work without GA. Hopefully if need be, we can get Prince transported here x
 
Is it possible to get to Northampton by train? I think it is about an hour out of London. That's what I would have to do if I needed Simon, but I would have to go into London and out again.
 
The Piggy Train would help you if necessary @Ness . Just checked www.thetrainline.com & trains are fairly cheap depending on what time you leave, eg Euston to Northampton return on Saturday 20th is as low as £14 to £20 return if booked in advance x
 
Hello all, Prince has improved greatly over the past 36 hours, he has been squeaking for food and out and about in the cage a lot, like he has a new lease of life!
The vet I went to see yesterday was amazing, she's really knowledgeable and even has guinea pigs of her own. She checked his teeth and said there's nothing she can see wrong with them and can't see any trauma to his cheeks/gums. She said his weight loss is most likely to be from an upset to his digestive system, probably a combined reaction to the GA and from eating too much food after his teeth were filed (she said his poos don't look quite normal at the moment).
He's now on an antibiotic (I can't remember the name right now), Ranitidine and Fibreplex to regulate his gut and we're cutting out some of the more watery veg in his diet until things resume to normal - he won't be happy about this as celery and cucumber are his favourites!
We're going back for another check up on Saturday, but I'm feeling much more positive now that he's behaving like his normal self, just much thinner than I'd like him to be! I'll be keeping a very close eye on him, and if dental problems do arise again I know exactly where to go. Thanks for all your advice and help x
 
I'm glad he's doing better! My advice would be keep running your fingers along his jawline once every day or so, to feel for any lumps. Sundae had similar symptoms where she would have sore teeth/weight loss, but after the initial dental where she did have a spur, her teeth never looked that bad to the naked eye. Eventually after about six months of on-again, off-again symptoms, she had an abscess puff up along the side of her jaw. The vet and I think it was probably brewing for some time, but wasn't outwardly visible until it puffed up. After the abscess was treated, her dental issues and intermittent weight loss did not recur. So I would just keep an eye on that as a potential cause that might not be apparent at the beginning.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top