• 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

New vets

Status
Not open for further replies.
Kenzo

Kenzo

Teenage Guinea Pig
Joined
Sep 20, 2012
Messages
660
Reaction score
114
Points
370
Location
margate kent
So I went to Plunketts in Ramsgate a few weeks back and they were not very helpful - previous thread about cuttlefish bones. So Charlie was not well today and we went to the Margate branch recommended on here. Well it seemed to go a lot better than before. The vet we saw said that a proper examination should be done of the back teeth and not just the front teeth. So she had a look and said they were overgrown and would need to cut back (going on friday for that). She prescribed baytril as his poos are very watery and he has been sleepy/quiet recently. She also said he should not have any fresh food for a while as eating just hay/pellets for a while would help his stomach and wear his teeth down more? Will that be ok?
 
He wasn't too happy this morning when he came up for breakfast and got a mouthful of baytril instead! But it seems to be working already so that's good.
 
I don't know much about dental problems, but I do know that too many bad vets fail to have a good look at the back teeth, so it's good that they've done that. The fresh food advice is dead on if you're seeing soft poos, although I might get a probiotic to use along with the Baytril so Charlie doesn't get an upset tummy. You can get those from pet shops and such so wouldn't need to return to the vet.

If he starts resisting the Baytril, try syringing it with a tiny bit of sugar free Ribena or cranberry juice to help mask the taste. I don't think most pigs find it very delicious at all. :/

Very glad you've got some better advice this time!
 
Also I wanted to ask, how urgent is the teeth clipping at the back? My next morning off (this vets works general check ups evening, anything surgical morning) is the 13th of October. If it's very urgent, I will try to take friday off but really I would like to wait until the 13th when I actually have the time off. It's not bothering him in any way, he eats fine, probably more then he should lol. Just worried about him being uncomfortable if I wait, not sure what to do. :/
 
It so needs to be done friday at the VERY latest! the 13th of Nov i assume you meant is 2 weeks away, Piggies teeth grow mm's a week, if they are already overgrown this is sure to start causing him a problem and putting him off his food any minute now, and trust me, once that happens its a long slippery slope to get him back to normal. Why couldn't the vet have done this today for you whilst you were there?

xx
 
I'm don't know actually, I asked her would she do it then and she said "oh we'll wait and see how he gets on". But his teeth aren't going to sort themselves out, I'm not sure what she meant. As you say, there's no reason she couldn't do them then.
 
I would see if you can get him booked in before friday at a time to suit you, or someone else if you have someone else to take him, you really dont want them to get just that tiny bit longer an make him uncomfortable and have him go off his food, then you'll have to start syringe feeding. xx
 
Sorry i have just read this fully, i bet the reason he his poo's are watery is because he hasn't really been eating...? And quiet/lethargic is a sure sign of a poorly piggy, this is exactly how all of my dental probelms started with my boy, i'll get the thread for you:

http://theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=82948&highlight=snot

Have a read through that.

What has she prescribed the AB's for? If it is just because of watery poo's then the AB's could do more harm than good with how marsh they are on the tummy, Baytril can put piggies off food anyway.

xx
 
I have an idea...if I can get thursday afternoon off work fingers crossed, the lord whiskey clinic down the road from me offer an afternoon surgery. If I leave work early, we might just make it in time. That's this thursday so not too long a wait for him.
 
I work about 80 to 90 hours a week so hopefully my manager will be nice and agree to me having time off for once. :{
 
Fingers crossed, the sooner its dont the better. Are you syringe feeding him atall? x
 
I haven't but he's still eating fine. I'm watching for any changes. Will he get what he needs from the dry food and hay?
 
If he is eating it yes, how are his poo's now? If they are back to normal tomorrow you can feed him a small amount of veg again. How long is the course of Baytril for and what dose is he on? xx
 
His poos are a lot better, almost completely solid. He's on 0.4ml twice a day. I just can't stop worrying about him though. I'm going to try and borrow some money so I can take him tomorrow afternoon.
 
I have exams all morning, I will have to pick him up afterwards and then go straight to the vets at 2. Then I have to go to a funeral at half 4 and then start a 14 hour shift at 9 in the evening. I am not looking forward to tomorrow. :(
 
Oh bless you, that is quite a high dose of baytril - almost the max a piggie can have in one day! What has she prescribed this for? Is he still eating? Has he lost any weight? How does he seem in himself today?

x
 
All she said was that it would "firm up" his poo, she didn't give a specific reason for it. He's eating absolutely fine, I gave him a little bit of fresh veg yesterday evening. Or he helped himself! I put the bowl down in the cage for Kenny while Charlie was eating dry food in the other room. Charlie was like a little gymnastic piggy. He ran into the room, shot up the side panel, over into the cage and landed in their food bowl. He had finished everything in about 2 mins. It doesn't seem to have affected him, having fresh food.

I'm waiting for a call back from Lord Whiskey with appointment details. Hoping we get friday morning. I did want today but I can't get the train soon enough back home and I would prefer a day where i can stay with him after he comes out of the vets.
 
Last edited:
I have never EVER heard of Baytril being used to firm up poop's, it is an antibitoic - used to fight and kill infection, I could be wrong, so please someone correct me, but as i have already said if anything it would have the opposite effect as its harsh on the guts.

x
 
I never got a call back from the vets so I phoned a second place and no call back from them. I phoned a third vet this morning, no call back from them. This is crazy, I just want it sorted. I'm worried I've got tomorrow off for nothing and I'm not going to get an appointment. What is taking so long? ?/
 
One of the vets phoned me back and offered to see him tomorrow for 160. She said that's about the average price of dental work with medicines included. Higher than I thought but whatever it takes. Loan time I think!
 
I am really surprised by that. My cat had dental work (different vets) and all her teeth were removed except for 2 and that was only about 230. Is it the fact that he's a guinea pig that raises the price?
 
So happy, just had the best news ever. Another vet phoned me back and said they will do the surgery for £20, not to worry about consultation fees. Amazing amazing amazing. Could actually cry lol. If he can be awake for it, they will charge 10.
 
That is good news! They shouldn't need to use a general anaesthetic just for trimming his teeth, they should be able to do it using a clamp to keep the mouth open and maybe a whiff of gas just to calm him down and make him a bit woozy. My boys have been done this way without anaesthetic, he was just wrapped in a towel like a baby so that he couldn't wriggle :))
 
Will it make him very drowsy afterwards? They said if he does have to have anaesthetic, he will stay in for the day anyway so they can watch him. Just wondering how long it will take for him to recover.
 
If they are just trimming the teeth he should not need a GA, it is very risky for such a simple procedure, just a whiff at most, he should be fine with just a whiff maybe a bit quiet, if he has a general, he should be ok, but he will be shakey for most of the night, but that is just the GA wearing off.

Good luck, keep us posted. x
 
Just an update - we got to the vets and were seen, I think, by a nurse? He said he needed to check before Charlie went to the vet. Lol, he a look at his back teeth and said I think we need to wait for him to finish cos he has a mouthful of food! He took him through to the vet, which I didn't see and then came back. He said they had tried to do it while he was awake but he was in too much distress. So I signed the disclaimer to have him put under anaesthetic. Whatever is best for him reallly.
 
I'm waiting to pick him up now, they said it will be about 30 mins.
 
Well he seems absolutely fine. They brought him out wrapped in a towel and he was a bit quiet but as i was leaving, he started running round the carrier. He's eating some carrot while we wait for the train x
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top