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Pig yawning / trying to clear mouth?

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rachelsharp

rachelsharp

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Hi, not sure if this is behaviour or health and illness?

Anyway, I went to feed my two girls this morning, and I noticed when I went to feed Poppy that she was sort of yawning and opening her mouth really wide, while also trying to get her front paw towards it, it seemed as if she was trying to clear her mouth maybe? I've seen Meg my other girl do this before and was really worried at the time she was choking and couldn't get rid of something in her mouth, but then settled down straight away and acted as if nothing happened. Well the same thing happened with Poppy today. She was fine after about a minute, and started tucking into some celery but when I've seen it it's always a bit strange to watch, and don't know if it's something anyone else has noticed before? x
 
Hi

It's possible that she had some food akwardly stuck in her mouth.

Not wishing to worry you - but keep an eye on her as it could be an indicator of the begining of dental problems. My dental piggie used do the yawning/pawing when her teeth were overgrown/digging into her tongue. It was the first indicator for us that she had a teeth problem, if this is the case you need to get her looked at by a vet.

Has she lost any weight? Watch her closely and if it happens again I would take her to the vet to have her teeth checked. Hope this helps

Also did you cut the celery into small chunks as it can be quite stringy and this can get trapped in thier mouths.
 
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That's a big help thankyou. I have seen both of the girls do it now, Meg has done it once in the past and now Polly this morning. They're chubby little things and I've not noticed weight loss, they have a good appetite etc. I might for peace of mind take them both for a checkup just to make sure nothing is wrong, as I must admit I don't check their teeth myself, last time they were checked was their checkup at the vets last year. Should I be checking them regularly? x
 
I always cut the celery up into chunks just in case, although the problem with her mouth was before she had any, it was only when I went to give her a piece that she started to do it. They had only had nuggets and hay available during the night which they could have eaten x
 
A good cavy savy vet can check the back teeth quite easily.

It's always a good idea to weigh piggies regulary (we weigh ours once a week) to check for weight loss, as this is often the first indication of any problems, teeth or otherwise.

Hopefully they'll both be fine and it was a one off - just a little chewy food stuck.
 
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