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Poorly Piggy

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lawz

Junior Guinea Pig
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Mar 9, 2015
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Essex, UK
hi,

One of my GPs has been poorly with an abscess on her back tooth. The rescue has been great, took her to vets who gave her antibiotics and pain meds until all was ok to trim the tooth.
This was done a week ago, but still she wont eat properly - she does eat just not as much as other gannits! :)
Shes now back with herd which includes her sister, and she will nibble pellets, but she tilts her head now and again as though to keep pellet on good side, and when she does shes so slow.

others practically inhale their veggies while she just chomps at a nugget.
she didnt have the best start to life prior to rescue taking her so is underweight especially where she had trouble eating aswel due to pain, so I'm wondering how long it takes for her to get back to normal? could it be she relates pain with eating and so is reluctant? and will the fact she is now back with herd help her? She does eat just not as much especially as others rush forward for fresh hay, food and veggies yet she just takes her time - i dont want her to be so reliant on syringe feeds or me soaking pellets for her as thats not going to help grind her teeth down.
Friend at rescue has been brill but ide just like other views?
 
Hi, she is probably still uncomfortable as it takes a while to recover from a dental & sometimes it can slightly alter the angle of the bite. Soaking some pellets for a while won't do any harm as it is the jaw motion of eating hay & grass that keeps the teeth ground down. If she can eat grass its one of the best things to feed & will help with her weight. Could you separate her off for a time so she can eat at her own pace & you can monitor what her intake is then let her back with the others perhaps? May also be worth giving a probiotic as some antibiotics disturb the gut flora & effect the appetite.
 
hi all.
My friend at the rescue took her to vet who prescribed pain meds and antibiotics - despite me being told was an abscess as it was on inside of mouth more likely to be an ulcer- unfortunately i dont know which meds.
Prior to being rescued was never given treatment for and her and her sister were kept in a box and with a rabbit at one point.
While she was on meds rescue was syringe feeding her critical care and due to care she gained a bit of weight - which given she gained i dread to think the weight she was before, but the fact shes gained is something.
I'm soaking pellets today, as although she is eating small amounts the fact shes trying is again something so just going to syringe feed her small amounts to keep her topped up and she is drinking fine, i just dont want her to get reliant on syringe feeds as thats then not going to help her teeth as they will still be growing
while rescue was treating her she was on her own, and i had her sister and rest of group, so we are hoping that once she settles into new home and being back with sister that she will perk up.
I'm hoping its a classic case where theyre all different, as all rest literally inhale their food and my fault that i expect her to be so like the others.
The burgess pellets theyre all on are quite big for her, so have been crushing them to make them a bit more manageable. The oregano and blackcurrant ones are alot smaller also, so might put a few in there with food and see if she takes to them easier
I cant fault my friend at all really and she is helping me out. Shes speaking to vet today to get her opinion and relay things ive told her.
As shes already been seperated I'm reluctant to have to seperate again unless have to, as when she went in with her sister she seems brighter each day as does her sister and other mate have all increased in confidence so dont want to cause her any distress yet again.
Other girls leave her to eat, and she has her front paws on edge of bowl, and ive noticed she does nose around for smaller bits, and any bigger bits hang out side of mouth for a bit before she gets it in and chews slowly.
It breaks my heart because she is such a sweetie.
Ive had GPs before but this is a learning curve for me which is a good thing i guess.
Thank you all
 
Could you ask your friend for the name of the medication? as it will help us establish if it is the most effective treatment. Also if you could confirm your location it would really help. I suspect the UK as you feed Burgess. You would not need to separate permanently just take her out for a bit of extra feeding on her own.

Here is our hand feeding guide in case it has any information you are not already aware of:

https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/complete-hand-feeding-guide.115359/
 
yes sure i will do today. sorry yes am in UK in Essex.
Ulcer has completely gone, will soften pellets later and take her out and see what she does
 
Thank you :) she's such a sweetie.
as with any animal that has been neglected it amazes me just how forgiving and sweet they can still be.
I'm hoping now she seems more settled in thats she's finding her eating rhythm, 10 mins i watched her nibble this morning, so can't be too bad.
I'm just a worrier and as i said before expect them to all eat like my other gannets
 
hi all,
so the rescue said my piggie was given Baytral and then Septra - Baytral i know can be harsh on their tummies.
BB looks brighter today and readily approaches food bowl. trying her with some pellets that are smaller(burgess with oregano and blackcurrant) and also soaked some of the larger ones(burgess with mint) too-so am hoping its a waiting game and now that she is settling in more that shes starting to get her appetite back.
Rescue also said she used to be fed muesli (which I'm against) and although other 2 eat pellets, would it be a bad idea to get some muesli and mix with pellets? Or just keep to pellets since she is eating them?
 
Yes Baytril can affect their tummies, are you giving probiotic too? it needs to be given at least an hour after the Baytril. Though has the Septrin now replaced the Baytril? Also abcesses respond best to an antibiotic called Zithromax (Azithromycin) so it would be a good idea if your friend could discuss that with the vet. Is she on any pain relief?

As for the museli I would be tempted to add some in if she will eat it, you can phase it back out when she is better. Keep the pellets going too though.

Metatone tonic is good aswell for stimulating the appetite. It is sold in the vitamin aisle in most supermarkets. Dose is 0.5ml a day for 1 week and 0.3ml a day for a second week.
 
she was on baytril first and then septra after, she finished all antibiotics just over a week ago i believe, then once they saw the ulcer/abscess had gone they trimmed teeth at back, and friend kept syringe feeding her while encouraging her to try harder food and grass - i questioned her about jaw allignment and she said thats all ok.
Rescue gave her probiotics and pain relief up until i brought her home sat 7th march.
Although rescue is saying was an abscess is it not more likely to be an ulcer if in mouth, because abscesses are hard and need draining and flushing?

This is all new to me, so in a way am glad about this as it gives me experience for future, so want to get all information i can in making BB comfy. She seems brighter every day and want her to put some weight on now which will happen in time i guess
 
It depends really, if the abscess hadn't quite come through yet it would not be visible. Could they actually see it in her mouth?
 
yes they could, and said its quite possibly never been treated before so she could have struggled for some time
 
hi all.
BB Has perked up considerably since giving her metatone, however I'm just taking her to vet tonight to get her checked over :)
 
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