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Making the right call for jaw problems

Phoenix1998

New Born Pup
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Location
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Hi,
One of my girls has been having some issues with her jaw for a while now. She developed an abscess just before Christmas in her right cheek. We treated with antibiotics, draining and flushing it. That cleared up well and she was fine again. She never really stopped eating, just slowed down, before the issues she was going between 1400g and 1500g with very little change. At the time the vet wanted to do an MRI (£1000) or an x-ray (£200). I really couldn't afford that. I knew and still know that without the scans we won't know what is causing this so we treated the abscess without looking for the underlying issue. As I say, the abscess cleared up but she still had a little nodule on her cheek, smaller than a pea. It was hard and not moveable and hasn't grown. I think it may be a bone reaction to the abcess, or some scar tissue. Jump forward to about a month and a half ago and we noticed she had lost some weight and seemed to be eating slowly, her incisors at this point were a little long and a bit wonky so we booked an appointment, her jaw also looked out of aliment. We took her into the vets and they said that her molars were overgrown and trapping her tongue down a little. She went back in and they burred them down but said that her incisors would likely self correct and to come back if she wasn't eating properly.

I think that she is favouring her left side out of habit from where the abscess and that has affected her teeth but either way the underlying issue is causing her problems. She was 1200g about 2 months ago and now she is down to 850g, in the last 2 and a bit weeks she has lost 150g. We are getting x-rays and incisors done on Monday but her jaw is misaligned at the moment and her incisors are wonky, she isn't eating enough or properly. I think it is likely going to be some bone growth that has knocked her mandible out of place or the roots of her molars are growing wrong. We are faced with a impossible situation as far as I can see. If she can't eat and keep her teeth down we won't be able to afford monthly burring down nor will we be able to pay for meds constantly, and we are also not going to be able to syringe feed her multiple times a day, nor do we want to stress her out like this.

The only options that I see - unless the x-ray reveals something miraculous that we can fix - are to have her PTS or try to find somewhere we can rehome her if she is not going to be suffering, and if we can find someone who can give her the TLC that she needs. Does anyone have any experience with this sort of ailment and what is the outcome? Is she in lots of pain? Will she need to be fed multiple times a day? Is there anything that can be done? Will a rescue centre take her on? I don't want to give up on her, but my job means I can't be there all day, and so does my partner's. I am working away a lot and I can't change jobs right now in the current climate.

I am really upset about this because I love her to bits. Does anyone have any advice?
 

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I am so sorry you are going through this, and in these cases sadly it all comes down to the experience of the vets.

If at all possible I would try to have her seen by Simon or Kim at the Cat and Rabbit clinic.
Is your vet experienced with guinea pig dental issues?

At least with Simon and Kim you will be assured of getting a total accurate diagnosis and prognosis, plus their prices are a lot more reasonable than many other vets.

That would at least be a good first step.
If she does need ongoing dental treatment then I know that debbie often takes on dental piggies so they can be near the cat and rabbit clinic for ongoing treatment.
 
I am so sorry you are going through this, and in these cases sadly it all comes down to the experience of the vets.

If at all possible I would try to have her seen by Simon or Kim at the Cat and Rabbit clinic.
Is your vet experienced with guinea pig dental issues?

At least with Simon and Kim you will be assured of getting a total accurate diagnosis and prognosis, plus their prices are a lot more reasonable than many other vets.

That would at least be a good first step.
If she does need ongoing dental treatment then I know that debbie often takes on dental piggies so they can be near the cat and rabbit clinic for ongoing treatment.
We are quite a way away from the Cat and Rabbit Clinic. We are with a vet who has been recommended to us for being good with guinea pigs and they have been good so far. Do you know if there a good dental clinic in the central belt (Scotland)? We have been quoted £200 for the xray and I think that includes the incisors burring as well which will all be done on Monday.
 
Thank you for your replies and your support. I just wanted to update this. Bonnie is coming back from the vets today but its not good news. The vets had to redo all of the dental work they had done 3 weeks ago. The vet can feel the roots of her molars along her jaw and they apear to be growing in the wrong direction. We think that it is very advanced dental disease and the fact that her molars have already grown to the point of trapping her tongue again in less than a month is worrying. We have made the decision to try to hand feed her for a week and see if she picks up, if she does and she goes on a bit longer we will keep her comfortable and we have pain meds for if she needs them. If she doesn't and when she goes downhill again we will be making the hard decision to have her PTS. She is a massive eater, cheerful and loves her food. It breaks our hearts to see her like this and repeated surgeries and syringe feeding is not going to be good for her or her quality of life.
I love this pig so much and she is probably my favourite in the herd so this is going to be very tough.
 
Thank you for the update, I’ve had a dental piggie and it’s heartbreaking at times. I was lucky enough to be able to take my Ted to Simon Maddock in Northampton for regular conscious dentals which kept Ted eating, happy and healthy but it was a 600 mile round trip every month, we were lucky to find another owner with a dental piggie in Devon in the last year which made it easier sharing the sharing the drive but still stressful with sometimes four piggies in the car to look after There are owners who travel from Scotland and The Cat and Rabbit Clinic do have a fb page for long distance owners, perhaps you could put out a message to see if anyone travels from your area? They are brilliant as dentistry for guinea pigs and the go to vets in the UK for anything dental related, good luck x

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You are in a tough place, but whatever happens you will do the right thing because you love Bonnie so much.
Holding you in my heart ♥️
 
I really appreciate the support and I wish I could make her better. The clinic os about a 7 hour drive for us and I can't drive which would mean finding someone to take me. Between me and my partner we have already put at least £700 into trying to get her better and she has dropped so much weight its heartbreaking. We have started her on critical care and I am making her some veggie smoothie sort of things and she was starving. She wouldn't let go of the syringe. Its now 2 days post op and she still can't bite anything, no chunks in the mixes I've been making and certainly not hay. We are syringe feeding her about every 3-4 hours and giving her lots of cuddles.

She took a really long time to come back from the anesthesia and needed to stay overnight to keep her temp up before it wore off so I don't think she'd come back if we had to do it again. I know that Simon does awake dentals but unless he is guaranteed to be able to work this miracle, taking her away from her sister sitting her in a car for hours to leave her in a strange place just sounds like a lot to put on her. If we had have jumoed when she had the abcess 8 months ago I probably would have gone for it but she bounced back. Maybe I should have paid for the CT or MRI then but I still think this would have been the outcome, ir we would have made the call months ago.

She has also started to get a very crackly chest and very noisy breathing which I think may be a URI that her sister is getting over. We are doing everything we can to make her feel better for now but we are just delaying the inevitable and letting her suffer. We are going to go to the vets tomorrow with her.

I am writing this crying my eyes out on the bus to work. I really don't think there is anything more I can do for her.
 

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I really appreciate the support and I wish I could make her better. The clinic os about a 7 hour drive for us and I can't drive which would mean finding someone to take me. Between me and my partner we have already put at least £700 into trying to get her better and she has dropped so much weight its heartbreaking. We have started her on critical care and I am making her some veggie smoothie sort of things and she was starving. She wouldn't let go of the syringe. Its now 2 days post op and she still can't bite anything, no chunks in the mixes I've been making and certainly not hay. We are syringe feeding her about every 3-4 hours and giving her lots of cuddles.

She took a really long time to come back from the anesthesia and needed to stay overnight to keep her temp up before it wore off so I don't think she'd come back if we had to do it again. I know that Simon does awake dentals but unless he is guaranteed to be able to work this miracle, taking her away from her sister sitting her in a car for hours to leave her in a strange place just sounds like a lot to put on her. If we had have jumoed when she had the abcess 8 months ago I probably would have gone for it but she bounced back. Maybe I should have paid for the CT or MRI then but I still think this would have been the outcome, ir we would have made the call months ago.

She has also started to get a very crackly chest and very noisy breathing which I think may be a URI that her sister is getting over. We are doing everything we can to make her feel better for now but we are just delaying the inevitable and letting her suffer. We are going to go to the vets tomorrow with her.

I am writing this crying my eyes out on the bus to work. I really don't think there is anything more I can do for her.
I’m so sorry for you, I know exactly how you feel, it is a terribly long journey for a poorly piggie to make. My thoughts were always “if only we lived nearer” but we can drive so we managed, but you are right it’s a very long way especially if she is so weak, sending hugs x
 
I’m so sorry for you, I know exactly how you feel, it is a terribly long journey for a poorly piggie to make. My thoughts were always “if only we lived nearer” but we can drive so we managed, but you are right it’s a very long way especially if she is so weak, sending hugs x
Thank you ❤️x
 
You have already done everything possible for your piggy.
Now, out of love, you are making that hardest of all decisions, to let her go.
Please be gentle with yourself. You are already grieving and we will be here to support you.
Will be holding you in my heart ❤️
 
I agree with everyone else - it is clear how much you love her, and no one could have tried harder or done more.
In an ideal world all out piggies could be saved, but the reality is that sometimes we have to make the hardest decision for us, and the kindest one for them.
Wishing you and your beautiful girl peace and strength.
 
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