Mouth Problem

[amyeeclaire]

My guinea pig has recently struggled eating his veggies unless I cut them up small for him, he's also leaving his pepper almost completely. He wants to eat it but can't, I think he may have a cut inside his mouth and the pepper stings?

Just want a second opinion! I've checked his teeth which are all fine and all his gums look healthy and pink. He's fine in himself, happy, running around the cage and wheeking and he's eating his hay and nuggets as normal. I'm just baffled!

Edit: I've also checked if he's just bored of his veggies and given him the most tempting things that he would usually love as a rare treat and wouldn't eat them unless they were cut up small.

 

[Elgifu321]

He could have a sore on his tongue or something or maybe he's just being fussy haha mine get bored if I give them the same things and stop eating them! Spoiled piggies haha x

 

[amyeeclaire]

He could have a sore on his tongue or something or maybe he's just being fussy haha mine get bored if I give them the same things and stop eating them! Spoiled piggies haha x

I'm thinking it must be a sore, I just don't know how to check if it gets infected? Never dealt with a mouth problem before! I was going to lay off the pepper for a few days to give it a chance to heal in case. I hope he's not bored, I've tailored him to a special veggie diet because he used to get cystitis all the time and this is the only one I've found works for him! D: haha

 

[Elgifu321]

Oh dear I hope he's not just being awkward then! How did you check his teeth? Do you just mean his incisors? It's hard to see the molars... if he's eating hay and pellets I wouldn't have thought there would be a big mouth problem but if part of his molars have gotten sharp it could be causing a cut or sore on his tongue... hmmm if you're really worried due to his special diet it may be worth a trip to the vets so they can have a good look inside x

 

[DM030819]

It sounds like he has something wrong with his teeth. They could be overgrown and cutting into his mouth.

I'd recommend a visit to a good guinea pig vet as teeth/mouth problems don't usually get better by themself.

 

[amyeeclaire]

Oh dear I hope he's not just being awkward then! How did you check his teeth? Do you just mean his incisors? It's hard to see the molars... if he's eating hay and pellets I wouldn't have thought there would be a big mouth problem but if part of his molars have gotten sharp it could be causing a cut or sore on his tongue... hmmm if you're really worried due to his special diet it may be worth a trip to the vets so they can have a good look inside x

I've only checked his incisors (He broke one about a year ago, thankfully it grew back, thought it could have been the same problem again). Yeah I have a vet appointment for him later in the week, hoping he'll just improve though. Knowing him he just cut himself on one of his toys! He managed to get a piece of hay stuck in his eye a couple of months back, always up to mischief and in the wars haha.

 

[helen105281]

I agree with getting his teeth checked. Where abouts in the UK are you? Do his incisors look slanted at all?

 

[Freela]

I would suspect a problem with the back teeth. They may be wearing unevenly and trapping the tongue or causing cuts and injury to the mouth. Typically the back teeth can be quite overgrown before you see a change in the incisors. Hopefully a vet who is experienced with teeth can give you a professional recommendation about getting him back on track if that is indeed the problem.

 

[Elwickcavies]

I agree with everyone that it's best to get his molars checked by the vet. There are other possiblities if his teeth are fine, like oral thrush, which is simple to treat, but see vet to be sure what's going on.