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Practical Advice On Constant Wet Chin/chest Due To Drooling Please (dental Pig)

LozzyBee

LozzyBee

Junior Guinea Pig
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Ok, so the short simple question is - Elvis is constantly drooling and has a very wet chin/chest. He's going for another vets visit on Tues, but is there anything I can do in the meantime to make him more comfortable? At the moment I'm just picking him up every couple of hours to dry him off. This morning he's quite whiffy bless him. Worried about him getting sore.

As a side note - he's a dental piggie, we have been travelling up to the cat and rabbit clinic since May/June. There was a brief improvement where it looked like he could go for monthly dentals, but now we're back to square one and he's struggling to make it two weeks between appointments. Can't lie - keep worrying about this cold winter I keep seeing on the headlines, as I won't be able to make 2.5-3 hour trips up the motorway if it's awful weather conditions!

The drooling is new by the way - hasn't ever done in all the time he's had dental issues. He last had a dental 8 days ago. He's been drooling for the past 2 days.
 
furryfriends (TEAS) said:
Drooling is usually the result of incisors being too long. What time are you there on Tuesday? Have you been seeing Simon or Kim? x
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Ah ok. It's just bizarre. He did struggle after his dental last week I've got to say - was in a lot of pain and had his head tilted for the rest of the day. He's had a lot of dentals now and has never been affected like that. We mostly see Kim, but sometimes Simon. It's 11.10am on Tues x
 
Is there any way you could see Simon? Kim is amazing, but Simon does have the edge when it comes to dental work, as he does so many more than Kim. I guess with the time you are there on Tuesday, Simon should've arrived, as he goes in at about 11.30 on a Tuesday. xx
 
furryfriends (TEAS) said:
Is there any way you could see Simon? Kim is amazing, but Simon does have the edge when it comes to dental work, as he does so many more than Kim. I guess with the time you are there on Tuesday, Simon should've arrived, as he goes in at about 11.30 on a Tuesday. xx
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I may try that next time - have to say, Kim did look at his history recently and said they can't really blame user error as sometimes it's Simon, sometimes it's herself, and there seems to be no pattern following it on how well he does after a dental.

I'm limited to mornings because of the distance I travel. I'll take him on Tues, see how he goes and maybe next time ask for Simon but over the phone - would feel bad doing it at the desk! xx
 
LozzyBee said:
I may try that next time - have to say, Kim did look at his history recently and said they can't really blame user error as sometimes it's Simon, sometimes it's herself, and there seems to be no pattern following it on how well he does after a dental.

I'm limited to mornings because of the distance I travel. I'll take him on Tues, see how he goes and maybe next time ask for Simon but over the phone - would feel bad doing it at the desk! xx
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Simon works all day Monday, Wednesday and Friday xx
 
LozzyBee said:
Ok, so the short simple question is - Elvis is constantly drooling and has a very wet chin/chest. He's going for another vets visit on Tues, but is there anything I can do in the meantime to make him more comfortable? At the moment I'm just picking him up every couple of hours to dry him off. This morning he's quite whiffy bless him. Worried about him getting sore.

As a side note - he's a dental piggie, we have been travelling up to the cat and rabbit clinic since May/June. There was a brief improvement where it looked like he could go for monthly dentals, but now we're back to square one and he's struggling to make it two weeks between appointments. Can't lie - keep worrying about this cold winter I keep seeing on the headlines, as I won't be able to make 2.5-3 hour trips up the motorway if it's awful weather conditions!

The drooling is new by the way - hasn't ever done in all the time he's had dental issues. He last had a dental 8 days ago. He's been drooling for the past 2 days.
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If he is whiffy, it means that he either has got a dental abscess or cannot chew and swallow properly anymore with food decaying inside his cheeks, so you have to be very careful in syringe feeding and watering him very slowly and little to ensure that what he takes on goes down. The salivating is a reacting to him not being able to move his tongue and swallow properly anymore. Apart from gently wiping his chin, there is not much you can do about it; it is going to disappear again as soon as the teeth are fixed and the tongue is no longer trapped.
 
Wiebke said:
If he is whiffy, it means that he either has got a dental abscess or cannot chew and swallow properly anymore with food decaying inside his cheeks, so you have to be very careful in syringe feeding and watering him very slowly and little to ensure that what he takes on goes down. The salivating is a reacting to him not being able to move his tongue and swallow properly anymore. Apart from gently wiping his chin, there is not much you can do about it; it is going to disappear again as soon as the teeth are fixed and the tongue is no longer trapped.
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That makes a lot of sense, thank you.
 
Hi all,

Just to update. Saw Kim today, she couldn't find any obvious reason for the drooling other than the usual tooth issues he has going on (he has ulcers, spurs, a tooth slightly out of place, and a tooth that seems to grow spreading outwards towards his cheek...). She thought it was just from sheer pain.

So, filed down again, not sure how long he'll manage until next time. He barely made it just over a week this time. She did say maybe give it a couple more and it might be time to start making decisions as nothing is consistently helping (he's had I think 16/17 dentals since May/June). They're happy to keep going as long as I am. I look at it that it's ok at the moment time wise and financially, but there may well come a time when it's not ok and I shall worry about it then. Obviously if it becomes obvious Elvis is really struggling I'll think twice then too :(
 
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