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Poorly Piggy

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Mr Biggles

Mr Biggles

New Born Pup
Joined
Jan 10, 2015
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79
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195
Location
Axminster
Biggles lost a tooth just after Christmas but was fine for a few days but then started to get funny with food. Took him to the vet who found he was impacted. Had 2 injections - appitite stimulant and metacam but over the last couple of days although he seemed to want to eat, he couldn't really manage. I got some recovery food from the vets yesterday and have managed to get some into him which in itself seems to encourage him to try his other food Although he seems to be holding his own at the moment, he is definitely not at all right. Any suggestions?
p.s. thank you sport_billy for you help and encouragement last night. Sorry it was so late!
 
Hi!

Have you continued to check your boy for signs of impaction? This is in an ongoing issue as it is caused by weakening muscles.

I would also strongly recommend to have your boy's teeth checked, especially the premolars that can grow arching spurs either trapping the tongue or painfully burrowing into the cheek. Wanting to eat, but not being able to can point to tooth problems.

Please continue to hand feed your boy; your good care can make the difference in getting him through this difficult time. Is your vet experienced with dental issues in guinea pigs? @furryfriends Excellent Adventure Sanctuary

Here are are more tips for hand feeding and impaction:
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/complete-hand-feeding-guide.115359/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/impaction-recovery-how-to-help-your-guinea-pig.120787/
http://www.guinealynx.info/impaction.html
 
Mr Biggles said:
Biggles lost a tooth just after Christmas but was fine for a few days but then started to get funny with food. Took him to the vet who found he was impacted. Had 2 injections - appitite stimulant and metacam but over the last couple of days although he seemed to want to eat, he couldn't really manage. I got some recovery food from the vets yesterday and have managed to get some into him which in itself seems to encourage him to try his other food Although he seems to be holding his own at the moment, he is definitely not at all right. Any suggestions?
p.s. thank you sport_billy for you help and encouragement last night. Sorry it was so late!
Click to expand...
I know nothing about this but I wanted to say get well Biggles! If he is the piggie as your avatar he is very handsome!:love:
 
Hi Mr Biggles, I know it's really hard, but do persist. I am having exactly the same problems with one of my piggies at the moment. He's currently in a carry case, being kept warm and round the clock care. good luck.
 
Mother Hubbard said:
Hi Mr Biggles, I know it's really hard, but do persist. I am having exactly the same problems with one of my piggies at the moment. He's currently in a carry case, being kept warm and round the clock care. good luck.
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Thank you for that Mother Hubbard. Good luck with your chap too.
 
Wiebke said:
Hi!

Have you continued to check your boy for signs of impaction? This is in an ongoing issue as it is caused by weakening muscles.

I would also strongly recommend to have your boy's teeth checked, especially the premolars that can grow arching spurs either trapping the tongue or painfully burrowing into the cheek. Wanting to eat, but not being able to can point to tooth problems.

Please continue to hand feed your boy; your good care can make the difference in getting him through this difficult time. Is your vet experienced with dental issues in guinea pigs? @furryfriends Excellent Adventure Sanctuary

Here are are more tips for hand feeding and impaction:
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/complete-hand-feeding-guide.115359/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/impaction-recovery-how-to-help-your-guinea-pig.120787/
http://www.guinealynx.info/impaction.html
Click to expand...
Thank you Wiebke. I have been checking for further impaction - I don't know which one of us gets more upset! There was initially a bit of build-up that I managed to shift but not so much today.
The vet did try and look at his teeth and said maybe we should have a closer look later as they were rather green and skanky as he'd been having a go at some grass. He did lose a front tooth just after Christmas. Will this grow back? (hope that's not a silly question!) I don't know how good she is with guinea pigs as I've only seen her for large animals.
He has had some food today (Recovery) but that's a bit of a struggle too - he can still wriggle well enough. I've just given him some straight water which he's much happier with as we're on spring water so anything different is quite marked. Am I better giving him Pro C from a syringe. Vet had given me vits to put in his water but although he's been drinking some, ob viously not as much as he wanted. Thank you also for the links.
 
Mother Hubbard said:
Hi Mr Biggles, I know it's really hard, but do persist. I am having exactly the same problems with one of my piggies at the moment. He's currently in a carry case, being kept warm and round the clock care. good luck.
Click to expand...
How is your chap getting on? Hope all is well
 
Mr Biggles said:
Thank you Wiebke. I have been checking for further impaction - I don't know which one of us gets more upset! There was initially a bit of build-up that I managed to shift but not so much today.
The vet did try and look at his teeth and said maybe we should have a closer look later as they were rather green and skanky as he'd been having a go at some grass. He did lose a front tooth just after Christmas. Will this grow back? (hope that's not a silly question!) I don't know how good she is with guinea pigs as I've only seen her for large animals.
He has had some food today (Recovery) but that's a bit of a struggle too - he can still wriggle well enough. I've just given him some straight water which he's much happier with as we're on spring water so anything different is quite marked. Am I better giving him Pro C from a syringe. Vet had given me vits to put in his water but although he's been drinking some, ob viously not as much as he wanted. Thank you also for the links.
Click to expand...

The missing front tooth is a worry if it is no longer growing back; a broken front too will grow back within a few days. Your vet can check the back teeth by clearing the mouth, especially the pouches on the sides, from the gunk that is always there with the help of a cotton bud or two.
Vets that have got experience with guinea pig dentals in this country are rare, but if your vet is prepared to speak to a vet with experience, I would recommend that she contacts Simon Maddock at the Cat&Rabbit Care Clinic. He is the vet who looks after the piggies at the Excellent Adventure Sanctuary which specialises in looking after guinea pigs with temporary and chronic dental problems, so he has lots of practice and he is prepared to speak to other vets.
http://www.catandrabbit.co.uk/
 
Mr Biggles said:
How is your chap getting on? Hope all is well
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Yeah, Jack is doing fine. I had a right weekend of it. Jack is all good now. Sadly in another unrelated matter, I lost a different piggy. What a flipping weekend. I've actually been caring for two piggies. What are the chances?! Never happened before.
 
Wiebke said:
The missing front tooth is a worry if it is no longer growing back; a broken front too will grow back within a few days. Your vet can check the back teeth by clearing the mouth, especially the pouches on the sides, from the gunk that is always there with the help of a cotton bud or two.
Vets that have got experience with guinea pig dentals in this country are rare, but if your vet is prepared to speak to a vet with experience, I would recommend that she contacts Simon Maddock at the Cat&Rabbit Care Clinic. He is the vet who looks after the piggies at the Excellent Adventure Sanctuary which specialises in looking after guinea pigs with temporary and chronic dental problems, so he has lots of practice and he is prepared to speak to other vets.
http://www.catandrabbit.co.uk/
Click to expand...
I'm back again! The broken tooth appears to be growing back ok. I'm still feeding him bt he seems to have started dribbling. His nose and eyes are fine so could it be due to the regrowth or possibly the syringe feeding? He really isn't that keen on it. Regarding the vet conversation, not that sure how well the suggestion would go down.
 
Mr Biggles said:
Given the choice, would you feed normal food mushed up or recovery food?
Click to expand...

I would feed whatever he will eat, both are fine. Dribbling would indicate something isn't right teeth wise. I would advise to ring round all vets you could get to and see if any are cavy savy and are knowledgeable on piggies teeth, this is how we found our current vet. Lots of love to your boy
 
The broken tooth appears to be growing back ok. I'm still hand feeding him but he seems to have started dribbling, His nose and eyes are fine so could it be due to the regrowth or possibly the syringe feeding? He really doesn't like it!
sport_billy said:
I would feed whatever he will eat, both are fine. Dribbling would indicate something isn't right teeth wise. I would advise to ring round all vets you could get to and see if any are cavy savy and are knowledgeable on piggies teeth, this is how we found our current vet. Lots of love to your boy
Click to expand...
Thank you. Think I'll get on the phone tomorrow but it's a bit of chicken and egg. He won't take a huge amount of food and as a result has lost some weight so I don't want to expose him to more stress than possible until he's stabilised a bit. Really need that tooth to grow pdq so he can take over. Luckily he was quite a little pudding so there has been a bit to play with.
 
At last, Biggles has started to eat little bits of, parsley. shaved carrots and grass on his own! Stil feeding the recovery food but at last beginning to think we're going the right way!
 
That's great news. I would keep up the weighing him and monitoring his intake. I found weight loss can be rapid due to the slightest fluctuation indicating a problem. Keep up with the recovery food, you could also mix that with mushed pellets. I found piggy teeth do grow quite quickly, but it's still important they eat to ensure their other teeth continue to be trimmed by the wear and tear of everyday chewing.
 
Many apologies for lack of updates but I didn't want to tempt fate! (Still don't really) It's been a real roll-a-coaster and several times I didn't think he'd see the day/night out. The impaction problem seems at last to have sorted itself out. It was daily bottom duty and then he just seemed to begin to be able to manage for himself to an extent - now totally. His teeth were a greater worry. The syringe feeding went on until a few days ago when he started to try on his own. The lost tooth was growing back well but the top teeth seemed to start going in and he was getting quite frantic about water and the syringe and impaling bits of tomato on the long bottom tooth. Took him to the vet last night and she trimmed the long bottom one and the top ones. Eating Gertie G.P. today and seems happier but he has lost a lot of weight. I'm still giving him a bit of supplementary 'mush' to try to get some weight back. Is that right? Does anyone on here know of a 'piggy' vet in the Axminster area? Not overly happy with our vet last night although it seems to have worked this time. She did seem fairly surprised to see him!
 
Final update on Mr Biggles. The roller coaster ride has ended and we lost. He died this morning at 8.30 on my lap. I only hope he knows how much he was loved. R.I.P Major Biggleswade. Am getting a very rusty face as the tears won't stop. Wishing all luck to all of you with problems. Ginnie x
 
Only just come across this thread tonight.

I'm so very sorry to hear Mr Biggles has passed.
You did everything you could for him...it was clearly his time to go and he went to The Bridge knowing he was much loved.
Hugs
x
 
Oh dear :( how sad, he sounds like he had the best chance, but sometimes its just a lot for a small piggy to handle :( Lots of sympathy x
 
:( I am so sorry you lost him, your pain is so clear - it's obvious you loved him so very much and did all you could. Sleep tight Mr B x
 
You are all so very kind. Thank you for your messages, they mean a great deal. He was a very special lad and it's very strange here tonight. God bless you B xx
 
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