• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Quick question about eating habits...

Status
Not open for further replies.
NotFondOfCarrots

NotFondOfCarrots

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Oct 22, 2010
Messages
292
Reaction score
9
Points
255
Location
Leeds, West Yorkshire
Our little Estelle has suddenly begun taking ages chewing her food. She's still as chirpy and as interested in her dinner and her hay as ever - it's just become obvious that she isn't ploughing through it as normal.

Do piggies have 'off days', or do they change their eating habits, or should I be concerned that this could be a tooth/mouth issue?

She's not lost any weight, and has no other symptoms at all.

Thanks for any suggestions here.
 
Yep always worth getting her teeth checked, not experienced with this personally...but i say when in doubt ask the vet. Let us know how she gets on at the vet.
 
Please have her back teeth checked by a vet and weigh her daily in order to keep an eye on her actual food intake.

If she needs dental treatment, make sure that you get a painkiller and recovery food for hand feeding afterwards; most piggies won't eat straight away due to a painful and sore mouth. Cut the thin tip off a 1ml syringe for hand feeding for best results and control.

Here is our member's map of recommended piggy savvy vets: https://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?msid=204458758673513849635.0004e111354a528da0dbb&msa=0

http://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html
 
I noticed last week that Nelson was taking an awfully long time to eat his food, and then he was leaving bits - turns out his back teeth had grown wonky and were trapping his tongue, poor boy! So I imagine your piggy has a dental issue of some sort.
 
Wow, the Forum is back!

Quick update on our little Estelle...

After an x-ray, an ultrasound and a great deal of wheekage, little Estelle was diagnosed with an ovarian cyst and slightly overgrown molars.

She had the teeth filed down, and came home the same day.

After a week, she's now eating as normal, but has developed a bit of a drug habit - she can't leave the metacam alone!

Touch wood, though, she's on the mend.
 
Thank you all for your kind wishes and advice, as always. The Forum is 8)

A little update on our girlie.

She's a bit up and down... After successfully coming through the tooth filing/x-ray and ultrasound, and a week of metacam, she returned to her usual bouncy self, and started eating us out of house and home again. Her weight climbed again, and we thought she was hunky dory.

This last week, however, she's exhibited similar signs of the initial problem - she's being a bit picky with her food, she's taking a while to eat, and her weight has steadily (but not dramatically) dropped.

I've put her back on the metacam, and have increased her food, and hand-fed it - to try to stimulate her food interest and to prevent greedy guts Stacey and Tilly from scoffing everything before poor Estelle gets a look in.

Before we take her back to the vets, does anyone have any particular advice, or theories on this? Is it most likely to be that her little tooth spurs have re-grown, despite the op and the extra roughage we've given her? Could it be that she's having metacam withdrawal symptoms? Or do piggies get a little 'seasonal' when the temperature drops? The other two are totally unaffected, and look like little footballs.

Thank you all again.
 
...and here is a little pic of our little herd.

(L>>R) Stacey, Tilly, and the patient, Estelle.

1186269_10151660541667379_758480896_n.jpg
 
In my experience of dealing with dental piggies, here at the Sanctuary, it is often the case that dental problems can be managed rather than cured, so it could well be time for your piggy to have some more dental work. Worth getting them checked asap.
 
Well, that optimism didn't last long. As we were examining her and giving metacam, we noticed a lump in her jaw area. So whipped her straight to the vet.

It turns out that she has an abscess in her right lower mandible, and what looks like some small spurs again on the molars. The vet couldn't really see right to the back, as she had a bit of undigested food stuck in there, but after a very thorough examination and discussion, this is where we are at: she's on antibiotics (not Baytril) for one week, in pill form, and metacam 2x daily. The vet thinks that given her age, and the dentition cavities below the jaw on the x-ray, that it might not be feasible/practical/fair to put her through another (and potentially further) op(s). So we have to watch her, feed her as much as we can get into her using critical care if necessary to get her weight back up and keep her gut healthy, and make sure she gets the meds. If after a week, the abscess has reduced, we will discuss the options.

After 3 days, though, it hasn't - if anything it looks bigger, and is now prominently visible in her face I think. She is still a happy, inquisitive piggy, and still eating a variety of food.

We'd really welcome any thoughts.
 
I can't say I have any advice, but I do hope that she begins to show improvement. Is it possible that she might need a stronger antibiotic? Is your vet cavy savvy? Maybe another vet would have some better advice? Just a couple of thoughts. Good luck, and your girls are beautiful!
 
Your girls are beautiful! Just wanted to say that we are going through much the same thing here... last spring, one of our pigs, Sundae, was off her food and having obvious difficulty chewing her food. We went to the vet, who found a large molar spur. After her teeth were filed, she went back to normal... for about a month or two. Then it was back to the same symptoms. So we went back to the vet, where she had her teeth looked at again. This time they were not terribly overgrown, but were slightly lopsided. So once again they were filed down and she was eating much better. About a month later, we were back where we started, but this time while feeling her jaw I could feel an obvious lump. So we were back to the vet, where she had an abscess lanced and drained and her antibiotics changed around. We're now a few days post abscess draining, and she is obviously feeling much better. The long term plan is still not quite known. We are irrigating the wound every day and giving antibiotics. The vet is happy with her progress so far, and she will be checked again in a week. The vet said that many abscesses are recurrent, and she may be on antibiotics long-term because of it. Because of the size/location the vet doesn't think it would be feasible to remove the abscess capsule entirely. Hope this helps a little bit. How old is she that they are advising against lancing and draining the abscess? I would think that this would be the most common course of action- at least it's what was done with my two pigs who developed this problem.
 
Thank you both!

The vet didn't mention lancing it - it's a hard lump inside her cheek or on/under/in the jaw, and he felt it would be extremely difficult to extract or remove.

As it stands, we're to see how the antibiotics fare up over 7 days, then report in.

Should I be going back to the vet before then and demanding it be opened up? I can't see how they'd manage to get at it without knocking her out first, even though she is a very accommodating piggy.

She's 3 and a bit.
 
Even with the most hard hitting antibiotic you are unlikely to get anywhere without drainage of the pus. The abscess needs to be lanced and drained and the wound left open so you can continue to flush it at home. Here at the sanctuary we have had fantastic results with jaw abscesses, but have found that Zithromax is the antibiotic that is best for the job. I would have said is there any way you can get your piggy down to Northampton to be seen by the vet the sanctuary use, but unfortunately he is on holiday until a week on Monday.
 
NotFondOfCarrots said:
Thank you both!

The vet didn't mention lancing it - it's a hard lump inside her cheek or on/under/in the jaw, and he felt it would be extremely difficult to extract or remove.

As it stands, we're to see how the antibiotics fare up over 7 days, then report in.

Should I be going back to the vet before then and demanding it be opened up? I can't see how they'd manage to get at it without knocking her out first, even though she is a very accommodating piggy.

She's 3 and a bit.
Click to expand...

I'm having a complete nightmare with abscesses myself. Unfortunately in guineas anytibiotics alone won't rid the abscess. Perhaps see if he can gas her a little, not knock her out, to lance it. Hopefully the abscess is close to the surface.
 
Jeniva - sorry to hear about your piggy - I really hope they make a full recovery.

Thank you to Furry Friends - I've replied, but I am not sure if my message sent - thank you very much for your kind gesture.

Thanks to all who have wished us well.

Estelle went back to the vets this week, and has had a GA, and the abscess drained and removed, and her teeth filed back. She's now on metacam, baytril and critical care for 10 days.

The vet managed to access and operate externally, so the wound is under her chin. We're opening it, and syringing the abscess daily with saline, and so far, touch wood (!), the abscess seems to be going. Her appetite hasn't yet returned, so our big challenge for the next week is getting food into her by all and any means and getting her weight up.

She's lively, inquisitive, and really enjoyed a floor time session with Stacey and Tilly (lots of grooming and wheeky sympathy) but only has a passing interest in food, so for now, it's critical care and as much grass/hay as she will take.

She may be going to visit the Cheeky Chubbies Nursing Home for Pigs for a couple of days, as Mrs Carrots and I can't get time off work to feed her during the day.

Fingers crossed for her the next week.

Here's a pic of her in her cosy having a bit of celery:

1400540_10151754976077379_1109945431_o.jpg
 
Freela - I've just re-read your post again. Really helpful, thank you - and I hope your piggy is still improving. Did the draining/saline flushing cause any problems? She seems ok with it, but it's the eating we're concerned with.
 
Yes - but not in any kind of volume. Bit of hay, bit of grass, bit of celery, carrot, melon, apple, leafy greens etc. Mushed pellets. Critical care. But only little bits.
 
Thanks - that's what we're aiming for. Prior to the op, I think if Estelle could speak she'd probably list her favourite foods as "metacam", "water bottle spout" and "surreptitious corners of newspaper"... ! We've got her faves, and I'm continuing to cluck like a hen asking her if she wants some apple or a bit of grape. Thanks for the advice - much appreciated.

The forum :)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top