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Not Sure What To Do! Ovarian Cysts And Bad Teeth!

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AmyP&M

AmyP&M

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi everyone,

about a week ago we noticed our 2 year old piggie Pippa was going off her food, and when we weighed her she had lost a lot of weight. We took her to the vets and they said that her teeth hadn't been ground down properly and had formed sharp points at the back of her mouth making it too painful for her to eat. We took her in the next day for anesthetic and they ground them down. She still hadn't ate anything for the last few days and was continuing to loose weight. We called up the vets and they told us to bring her in again. Turns out they missed some of the sharp bits in her mouth which was why she still wasn't eating as it was jabbing into her tongue (why they missed it i'd like to know!). She was kept in for the day again so they shaved them down. We got a phone call from the vet and they said that all of her teeth were out of line and jabbing her, there set to face inwards rather then being staright so they can't be ground down. They said that the pain wasn't a one off thing and that she'd just inherited bad teeth and to tackle it she would have to go back every 6 weeks to have her teeth shaven down. On top of that they said when they examined her they found ovarian cysts (not really a suprise as shes always had hormonal problems) They said that the best way to deal with that would be to have her neutered but that isn't something to be discussed yet as shes too poorly for surgery with all the weight loss. They said it wasn't a good long term prognosis as she'll have teeth problems for her entire life and it rarely corrects itself. She really does look miserable. Shes huddled up with her cagemate.

Were very confused on what to do. We've got her home now but shes still not eating. The vet brought up the option of having her put down as its not really the best option to have her put under anesthetic every 6 weeks and the teeth will cause her a lot of pain. I'm really confused at the moment on what to do with her. Shes only 2 she should have lots of years ahead of her. I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice? I'm devastated for her.
 
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Oh dear I am sorry :( I suspect that her teeth have grown due to her being in some discomfort with the ovarian cysts :( Is there any way you can get her to Northampton to see Simon Maddock at the Cat & Rabbit clinic? He does conscious dentals & has had great success with similar "hopeless" cases. Ovarian cysts can be controlled by Chorulon injections, once a week for 3 weeks, they are usually enough to reduce the cysts without operating.
 
Sorry to hear about your Pippa - it sounds like she is having a hard time right now.

But it also sounds like your vets are not guinea pig specialists considering they missed some spurs on her teeth the first time around.
I agree with @Poppy'sMum is it possible to get her to a specialist vet for a second opinion?
I have read a couple of stories on this forum where a very glum picture was painted by one vet, and another gave a very different opinion.

And in the short term if she isn't eating she urgently need to be syrine feed on a regular basis.
There is a great guide (with pictures) here;
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

Good luck with everything.
It sounds like you are very caring owners.
 
Swissgreys said:
Sorry to hear about your Pippa - it sounds like she is having a hard time right now.

But it also sounds like your vets are not guinea pig specialists considering they missed some spurs on her teeth the first time around.
I agree with @Poppy'sMum is it possible to get her to a specialist vet for a second opinion?
I have read a couple of stories on this forum where a very glum picture was painted by one vet, and another gave a very different opinion.

And in the short term if she isn't eating she urgently need to be syrine feed on a regular basis.
There is a great guide (with pictures) here;
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

Good luck with everything.
It sounds like you are very caring owners.
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thankyou, i'll look into finding a specialist for a second opinion!
 
Poppy'sMum said:
Oh dear I am sorry :( I suspect that her teeth have grown due to her being in some discomfort with the ovarian cysts :( Is there any way you can get her to Northampton to see Simon Maddock at the Cat & Rabbit clinic? He does conscious dentals & has had great success with similar "hopeless" cases. Ovarian cysts can be controlled by Chorulon injections, once a week for 3 weeks, they are usually enough to reduce the cysts without operating.
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Thankyou for the advice! I'll definetely look into finding a specialist or maybe finding a way to get down to Northampton!
 
I notice you are in Nottingham, we use Ellie Whitehead at Alfreton park veterinary hospital which isn't far from you. She does keyhole surgery for ovarian cysts which is minimally invasive and will also be able to give you a second opinion on her teeth (they don't do conscious dentals though, except on incisors).
 
pig in the city said:
I notice you are in Nottingham, we use Ellie Whitehead at Alfreton park veterinary hospital which isn't far from you. She does keyhole surgery for ovarian cysts which is minimally invasive and will also be able to give you a second opinion on her teeth (they don't do conscious dentals though, except on incisors).
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thankyou so much! thats really close to us!
 
I would definitely get a second opinion. Teeth are finicky and a vet who isn't experienced can make mistakes with them. It's also possible that the teeth being overgrown is secondary to poor appetite/refusal to eat due to pain from cysts or other underlying issues. I would try to get a second opinion to get a clearer picture before making any huge decisions. Are you syringing her food in the meantime?
 
Freela said:
I would definitely get a second opinion. Teeth are finicky and a vet who isn't experienced can make mistakes with them. It's also possible that the teeth being overgrown is secondary to poor appetite/refusal to eat due to pain from cysts or other underlying issues. I would try to get a second opinion to get a clearer picture before making any huge decisions. Are you syringing her food in the meantime?
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were trying our best. The vet we do see gave us some critical care food but she really puts up a fight when we try to give her some plus it doesn't help that the syringe the vet gave us is terrible and blocks up.

Were going to ring up another vet tomorrow in our area whos a guinea pig specialist. Hopefully she might be able to give us some better news!
 
AmyP&M said:
were trying our best. The vet we do see gave us some critical care food but she really puts up a fight when we try to give her some plus it doesn't help that the syringe the vet gave us is terrible and blocks up.

Were going to ring up another vet tomorrow in our area whos a guinea pig specialist. Hopefully she might be able to give us some better news!
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If you have a pharmacy nearby try getting some of the baby syringes (or make the feed up with a touch more water so it doesn't block up so much) as the opening might be slightly bigger. You could try adding some very finely chopped herbs (oddly enough I brought a coffee grinder for various reasons a year or two ago and it works well for chopping herbs into the finest pieces possible - I used it to make a feed for a poorly degu with dental problems). With syringe feeding its a case of perseverance, keep trying at it. If the piggy seems hungry try offering some on a teaspoon as I've had piggies who are happy to eat off a spoon but not from a syringe and others who won't eat so I've had to force feed.
 
@Lady Kelly @Freela @pig in the city @Poppy'sMum @Swissgreys THANKYOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR RESPONSES! We took Pippa to the suggested vet in Alfreton today. SO happy we did! She examined Pippa and found an abscess in the corner of her mouth. This was the cause of the pain making her eat on one side which is why her teeth formed spurs and are all out of level. Unfortunately they can't drain the abscess now as they need to put her under anesthetic to do so and as our previous vet at vets for pets has put her under anesthetic twice now we'll have to wait until next week. Shes been given antibiotics for the meantime and we've been told to continue the syringe feeding. I really can't believe it! We were ready to put her down! Cannot express my gratitude for all of your advice! Definitely will continue to use guinea pig specialists for any future issues! Hopefully Pippa will recover and be back to normal soon enough! :))
 
Oh bless but I am so glad that the underlying cause has been found and I really hope she manages well over the next week until she can have the abscess drained. Come on Pippa, you can do it!
 
Aww that's brilliant news.
So pleased for you and your gorgeous girl (not that she has a mouth abscess, but that she has something treatable).
 
Awwww. she's precious! Glad that you've seen a vet with abscess experience. It can make all the difference in the world to have a vet familiar with specific guinea pig issue! Wishing her a full recovery!
 
eileen said:
@AmyP&M I can vouch that dental /abcess can be resolved.I had taken Jerry to a vet in leicester whom wanted to PTS Jerry.he has just been to Simon maddocks today.Jerry is now eating on his own and not likely to need further treatment.i am over the moon,he is such a lovely lad[ Jerry ]:)
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thats glad to hear! Wishing Jerry all the best!
 
Kerrie74 said:
Ahh brilliant :) Ellie is really good at her job, I'm going to be taking Coco for an ovarectomy and Snow to have tumours removed.

I hope Pippa makes a full recovery, she's a lovely little guinea :)
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she definetely is! Wishing Coco and Snow good luck for their procedures :)
 
How is she doing? Are you managing the syringe feeding? I saw Ellie yesterday and told her how pleased you were with finding the cause of your piggies problems.
 
pig in the city said:
How is she doing? Are you managing the syringe feeding? I saw Ellie yesterday and told her how pleased you were with finding the cause of your piggies problems.
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Shes doing better, shes still struggling with her food but thats to be expected. The syringe feeding is going a lot more smoothly as we got a new syringe which is making the process a lot more easier on us and for Pippa! Shes a lot more perkier now shes got some good food in her system (as were doing it more frequently now). We'll be taking her back to the vets sometime next week so hopefully we'll see a better improvement after the visit. Thankyou for asking! :D
 
AmyP&M said:
Shes doing better, shes still struggling with her food but thats to be expected. The syringe feeding is going a lot more smoothly as we got a new syringe which is making the process a lot more easier on us and for Pippa! Shes a lot more perkier now shes got some good food in her system (as were doing it more frequently now). We'll be taking her back to the vets sometime next week so hopefully we'll see a better improvement after the visit. Thankyou for asking! :D
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That's good news, if you can keep her weight stable it will help a lot with the anaesthetic. I assume she is on a painkiller as well as antibiotics. Bless her what a fighter and such caring piggy owners xx
 
Just caught up on this thread. Glad the problem has been identified properly now and shes seeming to be getting a bit better. Shes a lovely little piggy x
 
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