Dental Please Help!

[Chloelouise90]

Hey everyone, my guinea pig is poorly and hoping I can get some advice what to do. A week ago I noticed that my guinea pig Darwin had diarrhoea. I took him straight to the vets, the vet did a check and prescribed fibreplex. The next day I noticed he wasn't eating much so I rang Cavy Corner asking if they had any advice. They suggested trying him with fresh grass so I did and he ate it. I started weighing him daily and he is slowly losing weight (currently 1.12kg). I took him back to the vet stating that he wasn't eating and he didn't seem his happy self. She checked his teeth just as the 1st vet did and noticed there was a sharp edge which had made his tongue sore. She suggested surgery to file the teeth and thankfully he made it through the operation. I was given more fibreplex and some emeprid, both 3 times a day. We thought he wasn't eating due to the pain do bought some Oxbow critical care to handfeed him. Woken up this morning and found him still not wanting to touch any food. His fur was very bunched up and he had eye discharge. The diarrhoea seems to have gone but now I'm wondering if it's something else. He had his operation Friday. Please any advice is appreciated. Thank you.

 

[biscandmatt]

were you given any pain relief to bring home aswell? something like metacam? he will be quite sore after a dental and won't want to eat if still in pain. the mouth can be quite tender for a while so it's good you are handfeeding until he is able to begin eating for himself again.

hair being bunched up is because he is not feeling well. eye discharge could be because of the inflammation from the dental.

first thing i would do is ask the vet about some metacam. it's both an anti-inflammatory and pain relief so will help to settle his mouth down and make him more comfortable. it is usually given as standard by most vets after dental work.

 

[furryfriends (TEAS)]

I run a sanctuary for dental piggies so have a lot of experience. There really is no standard time for when they will start to eat again. However, what you need to remember is, whilst your piggy isn't eating, the teeth will be regrowing very quickly Our vet can carry out dental work without the need for GA which means he can tidy up the mouth again, sometimes as little as one week after the first dental, therefore keeping the mouth in a good position for the guinea pig to start eating for themselves. We get excellent results using this method. Most vets will only carry out dental work under GA.

Where about do you live? It is absolutely critical that you keep getting enough food going through the system at this point. As already mentioned, Metacam is also going to be needed for pain relief, especially if there was any soft tissue trauma to the mouth because of tooth overgrowth. Will your guinea pig take syringe food okay? How much have you been getting in?

 

[Wiebke]

Here is our syringe feeding guide with lots of tips and alaos a special chapter on dental guinea pigs: Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

Hi! Furryfriends has said it pretty much.

It is as vital as any dental care that you keep a dental guinea pig fed before and after the procedure. You can usually try to encourage them to eat on their own by offering some freshly grated veg before each syring feeding session, so you know when they start increasingly to eat on their own, if very slowly at first.

Please also make sure that you have metacam for the discomfort before and after. it usually takes while and often more than one round of treatment to get the delicate balance in the teeth back. Best of luck!

 

[furryfriends (TEAS)]

I actually find it better to give syringe food first, and then offer some finely chopped veggies or grass and they are more likely to go for them once they have got a bit of food in their belly. Some dental piggies struggle with leafy stuff and do better biting down onto a hard carrot or broccoli stalk.

 

[Flutterby]

Sending healing vibes!

 

[Roxi&Leyla]

Hi,
So sorry to hear about your piggy. I'm going through very similar situation at the moment. My 3 years old Roxi had her dental last week Friday. She was very poorly for the first few days. She sat in the corner, drooling, often squeling in pain, not interested in anything.
I had to syringe feed her night and day to ensure she was getting the proper nutrition needed for her recovery. After 2 days she started showing some interest in soft foods. If you have a food processor or smoothie maker I'd recommend doing fresh spinach or curly kale smoothie (make it thick) and try to hand feeding it to him on a spoon. It worked with Roxi. The smell of freshly done curly kale perked her up a lot! Some people recommend baby food. I've tried few flavours with Roxi. She seemed to like broccoli. Again I'd just try to put it on the spoon. I also recommend soaking his pellets and grating veg and fruit. Try different things. Experiment with his favourite fruit and veg. I've turned into my piggies personal chef he he
I am now after my first week since the op and Roxi is still unable to eat hey, dry food and in general she is still struggling to eat on her own.
But...We've made progress. She got her energy back. Yesterday she grabbed a piece of pepper and started to run around the cage with it. I'm not exaggerating, I've started crying with happiness because it's a major progress.
Be patient and consistent with his feeding. Give him lots of cuddles and attention.
Hope he will get better soon :-)