Overgrown Molars, Ringworm, Flu

[A Guinea Pig]

Opal finally got into the vet today.

I've come down with flu A (could be worse, thankfully, since I'm vaccinated). My dad took her for me and I got to FaceTime the vet. With me being sick, should I just refrain from being around the guinea pigs completely? I saw mixed opinions on whether I could transmit the flu to them.

The vet said that the patch of missing fur on her nose was ringworm so she just got an antifungal cream to use.

While we were there though I expressed my concern about Opal’s weight which had gone down recently. She has had soft poops for the past three day so I gave her some Bene-Bac and cut back on veggies but it didn't seem to do anything.

I was under the impression that she was just a smaller guinea pig with her being over a year old and 450 grams in September (she is now 415). Lulu my other girl was around 500 at the same age and never had any problems. Opal was taken to the back where her molars were examined, they couldn't see her bottom teeth since her tongue kept moving but her upper molars are slightly overgrown.

The vet was really persistent on their diet being the case but they have unlimited orchard and timothy hay and rarely get pellets. Plus the other guinea pigs don't have any issues with their weight. I then asked if it was a genetic issue and they said that some guinea pigs just have to come in often to get their teeth trimmed their whole life but I still don't really know why.

This is the price breakdown I was given, it looks fine to me but just wondering if that's in line with other people's experience.

Procedure or Dispensed Item
Teeth Trim - Small Mammal $117
Oxygen & Gas Anesthesia 1st hr $97
Sedation Monitoring $70
Presurgical Physical Exam $0
Surgery- Nursing Care $0
Midazolam 5mg/ml Injection 0.20 $19
Buprenex Injectable 0.3mg/ml 0.20 $23
Critical Care Herbivore Packet App/Bana $28 (I already have emeraid so I don't need that)
Send Home Medications If Needed $30

Total estimate charges...
$384.95

I don't have a scheduled date yet, I don't know how far out they are booked in advance or how long she can go for. I'll be giving her lots of Emeraid until then though.

Thanks y'all.

 

[Roselina]

Opal finally got into the vet today.

I've come down with flu A (could be worse, thankfully, since I'm vaccinated). My dad took her for me and I got to FaceTime the vet. With me being sick, should I just refrain from being around the guinea pigs completely? I saw mixed opinions on whether I could transmit the flu to them.

The vet said that the patch of missing fur on her nose was ringworm so she just got an antifungal cream to use.

While we were there though I expressed my concern about Opal’s weight which had gone down recently. She has had soft poops for the past three day so I gave her some Bene-Bac and cut back on veggies but it didn't seem to do anything.

I was under the impression that she was just a smaller guinea pig with her being over a year old and 450 grams in September (she is now 415). Lulu my other girl was around 500 at the same age and never had any problems. Opal was taken to the back where her molars were examined, they couldn't see her bottom teeth since her tongue kept moving but her upper molars are slightly overgrown.

The vet was really persistent on their diet being the case but they have unlimited orchard and timothy hay and rarely get pellets. Plus the other guinea pigs don't have any issues with their weight. I then asked if it was a genetic issue and they said that some guinea pigs just have to come in often to get their teeth trimmed their whole life but I still don't really know why.

This is the price breakdown I was given, it looks fine to me but just wondering if that's in line with other people's experience.

Procedure or Dispensed Item
Teeth Trim - Small Mammal $117
Oxygen & Gas Anesthesia 1st hr $97
Sedation Monitoring $70
Presurgical Physical Exam $0
Surgery- Nursing Care $0
Midazolam 5mg/ml Injection 0.20 $19
Buprenex Injectable 0.3mg/ml 0.20 $23
Critical Care Herbivore Packet App/Bana $28 (I already have emeraid so I don't need that)
Send Home Medications If Needed $30

Total estimate charges...
$384.95

I don't have a scheduled date yet, I don't know how far out they are booked in advance or how long she can go for. I'll be giving her lots of Emeraid until then though.

Thanks y'all.

Hello I’m sorry to read about Opal and sorry to learn you’re poorly with Flu.
If you can it might be best to get someone else to care for your piggies while you’re poorly …or wear a mask and practice excellent hygiene routines
I don’t have any experience of the procedures you have listed but I’m sure someone will be along to advise you
I just wanted to offer you support
Sending healing vibes to You and Opal

 

[A Guinea Pig]

Hello I’m sorry to read about Opal and sorry to learn you’re poorly with Flu.
If you can it might be best to get someone else to care for your piggies while you’re poorly …or wear a mask and practice excellent hygiene routines
I don’t have any experience of the procedures you have listed but I’m sure someone will be along to advise you
I just wanted to offer you support
Sending healing vibes to You and Opal

Thank you @Roselina, my family has offered to care care of them until I’m feeling better. They won't be getting everything they usually do but I think they'll be ok for the next few days.

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m sorry you’re unwell.

I can’t help with the prices for the dental work given you are in the US.

She does sound to be a little lady!
Have you checked her heft?

I am however concerned that you have been told her nose patch is ringworm but all you have been given is cream.
Creaming is the most ineffective way to deal with what is a highly contagious infection (ringworm spores are shed from a wider area than you add cream and thus they perpetuate the infection). Without proper treatment, stringent disinfection of the cage and all its items using vet strength products, hot washing all bedding and treating all of the piggies she lives with, ringworm will spread across her own body and to her cagemate(s). The spores can live in the environment for up to two years so it is something that needs to be hit hard right from the beginning otherwise it can become a long term cycle of infection.
With that said, you posted on 8 December about the nose patch. The transmission period is 10-14 days. Within that time and without being treated you will start seeing signs on the other piggies. So either it’s not ringworm and is instead a different type of fungal or you are about to start seeing signs on all of them (don’t forget it also transmits humans and any other animals).
I’ve added the ringworm guide below

Ringworm: Hygiene, Care And Pictures

 

[A Guinea Pig]

Hi @Piggies&buns, thank you for the reply.

I’ve always been able to feel her ribs, just slightly, since I got her as a baby, and she has the same bony hip bones, too. Considering she can still be growing she definitely should not be the same size so she's very unfortunately on the skinny side. Her weight was very slowly going up until September when it stopped and then recently dipped. I've reviewed the guide on syringe feeding from the forum so she'll have a lot of her food intake now from that as I try to get her to gain weight again. I'm going to give her Bene-Bac also since her poops are still not 100%.

After looking over the guide on Ringworm from the forum and the one on Fungas on Guinea Lynx, it doesn't even look like ringworm. Not to mention it started maybe over a month ago with the hair loss, it hasn't spread anywhere else on her body or to any of the other guinea pigs. It makes sense for Opal to have a fungus considering how stressed her body is so I'll administer the cream and take all the precautions as if she were to have ringworm but I really don't think it is. I have a bottle of David Moconazole Pet Shampoo so should I use that on all of the guinea pigs? It's what I've been given in the past for fungus on their feet and it's worked very well when needing to treat all the guinea pigs in my experience.

I will note though, it's pretty disappointing to read yet again that the vet I see for the pigs who is specifically an exotic vet didn't even seem to question something like that.

 

[A Guinea Pig]

I took a look at her molars myself to double-check and was able to get this photo with my phone as a light. I just rinsed her mouth out with a syringe of water and then used a nasal speculum (which has only been used on the guinea pigs) to see her molars. I don’t really know anything about guinea pig teeth but I can see the over grown mollar on the upper left side. It only took around two minutes and she got more critical after, but her poop is still not great, her bum is pretty dirty and she walks around all hunched up.

On top of that she is the most vocal guinea pig I have ever had, if I walk down the stairs and she hears, I pick her up, I walk by her, I pet her head she just wheeks. I'm worried that I can't tell the difference between the pained ones and the food begging ones.

 

[A Guinea Pig]

Just an update to bump this thread:

Opal is doing much better with the Critical Care I got. She weighed 460 grams this morning and has stopped walking around all hunched up. However, her poops are solely made of critical care and she does not eat any hay. She can kind of eat pellets and veggies but it's difficult for her.

I haven't checked her teeth recently but she's not going to get her molars trimmed for a week or two. I still don't know how often she would need this procedure or the long-term risks, so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I've attached a photo of her, she just eats the critical care out of a bowl.

 

[Truffolo]

Well done for looking at her molars with the speculum. If she can just hang on until the Molar can be trimmed hopefully she will be OK. She is eating and communicating and fighting. Wishing you success with your care for her. I hope she will be OK soon ❤

 

[A Guinea Pig]

Hi all, Opal never made it to her teeth trim in time. She had passed away last weekend. She could eat only mushy food. I fed her a whole bowl of critical care the night before and found her within 30 minutes of her passing in my arms the next morning. It really broke me since I wasn't expecting this at all and how she had been doing so well every day leading up to this.

I'm extremely appreciative for everyones support with Opal. It means the world to me to have a community like the one here.

She's been buried next to her sister Moo. Sleep tight, Opal.

 

[piggieminder]

I'm so sorry to hear your very sad news.
Sleep tight Opal.

 

[Qualcast&Flymo]

I'm sorry you lost her, poor little one

It sounds to me as though she had something wrong that she was born with, and there wasn't anything that could have been done to overcome it. You gave her a life of happy todays though, and nobody can do more than that.

Popcorn free Opal

 

[weepweeps]

Oh no I’m so sorry to read this. Popcorn high over the bridge gorgeous Opal.

You did everything you could

 

[Wiebke]

BIG HUGS

I am so very sorry that Opal has made her way to the Rainbow Bridge. You have given her love and the best care you could under the circumstances and against likely a genetic or congenital underlying problem.

Dental overgrowth in guineas, which could have its own underlying causes, is usually difficult to find a good vet for since it is not an area vets train for and have the necessary practice.

PS: If you have immuno-suppression issues or are looking for practical guidance in handling owner illness/anxieties, you may want to bookmark this guide link here. You should find it helpful: Contagion - Inter-species Transmission and Pet Care During Owner Illness/Pregnancy (incl. Covid)

 

[Truffolo]

Rest easy at the bridge little Opal

 

[eileen]

I'm so sorry Opal has passed.You did all you could.I agree with Qualcast &Flymo.Hugs to you.x