Not Drinking From Bottle On His Own?

[mindlessruffian]

Hello all!

So I have had the month from hell with my boar, Beans. He had his teeth filed, refused to eat, and has now developed mites (sigh). He is due for his second round of ivermectin tomorrow, and has drastically improved when it comes to eating on his own in the past week or so.

But he won't drink on his own. Not from a bottle, not from a bowl. He will, however, drink from the bottle if I hold it for him while I hold him on my chest.

Has anyone experienced something like this? Any pointers on how to get him drinking on his own?

 

[Wiebke]

Hello all!

So I have had the month from hell with my boar, Beans. He had his teeth filed, refused to eat, and has now developed mites (sigh). He is due for his second round of ivermectin tomorrow, and has drastically improved when it comes to eating on his own in the past week or so.

But he won't drink on his own. Not from a bottle, not from a bowl. He will, however, drink from the bottle if I hold it for him while I hold him on my chest.

Has anyone experienced something like this? Any pointers on how to get him drinking on his own?

Hi and welcome

What has been wrong with your boy's teeth? How piggy savvy and dental experienced is your vet?

Have you been syringe feeding and syringe watering your boy during that time when he struggled to eat? it is not unusual that guinea pig with dental problems will not eat in the wake of painful dentals that have not fully rebalanced their system and that have left the mouth very sore. Did your boy get painkillers for the recovery period? Has your vet re-checked the teeth to make sure that they are being ground down properly?

It is likely that your boy struggles with drinking. Please weigh him regularly and see whether he is happier to have his water and feed syringed.
All the tips are in here, including a section on caring for a dental guinea pig. Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

 

[mindlessruffian]

Hi and welcome

What has been wrong with your boy's teeth? How piggy savvy and dental experienced is your vet?

Have you been syringe feeding and syringe watering your boy during that time when he struggled to eat? it is not unusual that guinea pig with dental problems will not eat in the wake of painful dentals that have not fully rebalanced their system and that have left the mouth very sore. Did your boy get painkillers for the recovery period? Has your vet re-checked the teeth to make sure that they are being ground down properly?

It is likely that your boy struggles with drinking. Please weigh him regularly and see whether he is happier to have his water and feed syringed.
All the tips are in here, including a section on caring for a dental guinea pig. Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

Thank you for your response! He had a couple minor spurs filed down that had caused an infection in the back of his mouth. He received antibiotics for the infection and metacam for his pain. He had his teeth done November 1st and has been to the vet multiple times in the past month to check his progress. Both of the vets who saw him are very cavy savvy and the vet who did the grinding is well known in the area for his piggie expertise. I was making sure to syringe feed him every couple hours with food and water in the time that he was unable to eat on his own. He is eating hay, pellets, and his normal veg (in smaller portions because he tends to gorge himself on them, thus causing soft poops) without any problems.

In fact, he drinks from the water bottle without any problems....but only when I hold it for him. Is it possible that he is just enjoying the extra attention?

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you for your response! He had a couple minor spurs filed down that had caused an infection in the back of his mouth. He received antibiotics for the infection and metacam for his pain. He had his teeth done November 1st and has been to the vet multiple times in the past month to check his progress. Both of the vets who saw him are very cavy savvy and the vet who did the grinding is well known in the area for his piggie expertise. I was making sure to syringe feed him every couple hours with food and water in the time that he was unable to eat on his own. He is eating hay, pellets, and his normal veg (in smaller portions because he tends to gorge himself on them, thus causing soft poops) without any problems.

In fact, he drinks from the water bottle without any problems....but only when I hold it for him. Is it possible that he is just enjoying the extra attention?

In this case, it sounds like he is enjoying the attention! Cavy dentals are unfortunately an area that many vets are not experienced with and can get very wrong, so it is important for us to make sure that there is nothing more serious going on.

 

[mindlessruffian]

In this case, it sounds like he is enjoying the attention! Cavy dentals are unfortunately an area that many vets are not experienced with and can get very wrong, so it is important for us to make sure that there is nothing more serious going on.

So I was laying in bed on my laptop and I heard a light tapping of a water bottle. My one pair of boars have a bottle without a ball so it is silent. So I knew either Beans or Porkchop was drinking.

I sneak up to see Beans enthusiastically drinking from the bottle. Once he notices me, he stops with the water bottle nozzle in his mouth and his eyes go wide. He stared at me stunned for roughly 2 mins straight. I've been played.