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Sick pig for the first time - teeth? Help!

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Zofia

Zofia

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi. Ernie's sick. I've never had to deal with a sick pig before. I picked him up last night and he seemed very unresponsive. When I weighed him, he'd lost 200g since the weekend. he had wetness under his mouth.

I took him to the emergency vets and they said his back teeth don't meet. They gave me some science recovery and said to syringe feed him to try and build his strength up. I managed to get about 4 syringe fulls of food in him last night and another 2 this morning. I've also fed him some orange juice.

He seemed a bit brighter this morning, but still unwell. he seems to have put 50g on overnight. Why would this be? could it have been dehydration?

I've got him booked in to my vet for this evening so hopefully they'll be able to fix him. he's with by OH at the moment, I've instructed him to feed him every hour.

Vibes please!!

Oh-and he hasn't pood since last night but doesn't seem to be impacted. is this just because he's not eating?
 
I'm sorry to hear that Ernie's sick. I would have thought it was his teeth but if the vets checked them then it can't be. Is his breathing noisy at all or his nose running - although I would have thought the vet would have checked for these already.inbreeding
 
Why are you feeding him orange juice? Either water or rehydration fluid. OJ is very acidic so not good if he's not eating.

The rule of thumb for feeding is 6g of food per 100g of body weight so you need to get quite a bit down him.
 
sounds like his teeth need trimming, hence why hes dribbling, you need to get quite alot of food into him or his system will shut down.

I'm syringe feeding one of my pigs at the moment due to a mouth infection he is fed 5-6 times a day he gets at least 25 mls a feed which is about 10 syringe fulls (i use a 2.5ml syringe, you should be able to get them from your vet) i hope ernie gets better soon :)

and please don't give him orange juice its really not good for him! the rodentologist i saw told me to put coconut and pinapple juice in his feed as it helps him digest his food and as hes only having it for a short time its ok :)
 
Pigmad said:
and please don't give him orange juice its really not good for him! the rodentologist i saw told me to put coconut and pinapple juice in his feed as it helps him digest his food and as hes only having it for a short time its ok :)
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There is no need for either of those as well. The best thing is water. Just bear in mind that the vast majority of "rodentologists" have no veterinary qualification whatsoever.
 
I took Ernie back to the vet last night and he said to give him pineapple juice and water to rehydrate him and also the recovery feed. He wouldn't take the food - just kept spitting it out, but I managed to get some water in him. He looked very poorly indeed. The vet said his back teeth needed doing but he wasn't well enough for the anaesthetic. he did clip his front teeth though. He said the teeth problem had caused his digestive system to pack up because he couldn't chew his food. He gave metaclopromide and B12 to try and get him going again. I took him back this morning because he hadn't improved. The vet said that if we didn't get his teeth sorted he won't improve so we had to bite the bullet and get his teeth done, although the risk of the anaesthetic is v. high. So at the moment I'm just waiting. I've got to call the vet in about an hour, but I'm not very hopeful tbh. I just hope he's got enough fight in him to get through it!
 
Zofia said:
I took Ernie back to the vet last night and he said to give him pineapple juice and water to rehydrate him and also the recovery feed. He wouldn't take the food - just kept spitting it out, but I managed to get some water in him. He looked very poorly indeed. The vet said his back teeth needed doing but he wasn't well enough for the anaesthetic. he did clip his front teeth though. He said the teeth problem had caused his digestive system to pack up because he couldn't chew his food. He gave metaclopromide and B12 to try and get him going again. I took him back this morning because he hadn't improved. The vet said that if we didn't get his teeth sorted he won't improve so we had to bite the bullet and get his teeth done, although the risk of the anaesthetic is v. high. So at the moment I'm just waiting. I've got to call the vet in about an hour, but I'm not very hopeful tbh. I just hope he's got enough fight in him to get through it!
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Piggies dont necessarily need to have anaesthetic for teeth trimming, they just file them down - he donsnt need to go under if its a risk. I would tell your vet this although they should know this in the first place.
 
daftscotslass said:
There is no need for either of those as well. The best thing is water. Just bear in mind that the vast majority of "rodentologists" have no veterinary qualification whatsoever.
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well she knew more than my "vet" did.

hope little ernie is ok got my fingers crossed for you :)
 
My guinea had to have his back teeth trimmed twice in 6 weeks and he went under anesthetic.......the second time he only weighed about 750g.....but he pulled through. I suggest after his op (if its a success) you feed him up with critical care (buy this from the vets, its a powder food and you just add water). I fed mine this every few hours. Also i grated up carrot and apple. If he is living with greedy mates then i would separate him so you know exactly what he is eating and how he is pooing. When he has a cage to himself, have water, hay, fruit/veg and his normal food on offer, just in case he wants to start eating properly.

After the second op, he still wasnt eating, then about 4 days from when he had the op, he just decided to eat when i put fruit/ veg in his cage......now after a month he has started eating hay again. I also put him out on the grass when his mate and he ate grass then.

Don't give up on him, give him love and feed him up on Critical Care (its miracle food). And keep taking him to the vets for check ups on his back teeth as they grow very fast if he isn't eating.

Good luck!
 
He didn't wake up from his operation. :0

The vet said that his bowel was so distended that even if he'd pulled through the op, he probably wouldn't have recovered anyway.

I'm gutted, but I'm trying to be positive. He came from such a bad home before he was at the rescue centre, I'm just glad he was in a nice place with lots of love before he died.

I've still got Babe who's only 4 months old. She needs a friend so I've asked the rescue if I can take the last boy pig they've got - Eric. He's going in for neuter tomorrow so I'll be getting him on Saturday. It's strange because Eric was originally paired with Ernie at the rescue, but they were separated because they weren't getting on. At least I'll be able to give another pig a home.

I'll be paranoid about teeth from now on. I just can't believe that Ernie was absolutely fine one day and then so ill the next.

So for the next 4 or 5 weeks I'll have to borrow a cage from the rescue to keep Eric in. Babe's lonely. At least from saturday she'll have someone to talk to through the bars.
 
So sorry to read about Ernie passing away!
It is a shock when piggies are fine one day and gone the next. Unfortunately, as they are so good at masking illness this does happen.

Remember the good times with Ernie and look forward to getting Eric to live with Babe.
 
Malaclusion?

Zofia said:
Hi. Ernie's sick. I've never had to deal with a sick pig before. I picked him up last night and he seemed very unresponsive. When I weighed him, he'd lost 200g since the weekend. he had wetness under his mouth.

I took him to the emergency vets and they said his back teeth don't meet. They gave me some science recovery and said to syringe feed him to try and build his strength up. I managed to get about 4 syringe fulls of food in him last night and another 2 this morning. I've also fed him some orange juice.

He seemed a bit brighter this morning, but still unwell. he seems to have put 50g on overnight. Why would this be? could it have been dehydration?

I've got him booked in to my vet for this evening so hopefully they'll be able to fix him. he's with by OH at the moment, I've instructed him to feed him every hour.

Vibes please!!

Oh-and he hasn't pood since last night but doesn't seem to be impacted. is this just because he's not eating?
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You piggie may have a tooth abcess or malaclusion, as if the teeth don't meet then they grow over tounge, and piggie cannot eat. Have you felt the back teeth,? (open piggies mouth and stick your pinkie finger into the mouth and towars the side where the teeth grow>)> they should feel like our teeth in the back,flat and well worn. if they are pointed or over grown then the best thing to do is to have the vet shave the back teeth...if you cannot take him to vet then you can feed him, but this takes lots of time,(3-4 times a day with frequent water breaks w/ a small 1 cc syringe, be careful and give water into mouth sideways, towards one cheek, behind the front teeth... so he doesn't choke, just a few drops at a time) keep giving him the food the vet gave you and make sure your vet knows about "small animal care", often the vet doesn't know "exotic pets" very well, so he may not be looking in the right places. --If you can look in paper/phone book for a vet that "specializes in small animals" he may be able to give you a good/resonable price on having his teeth shaved back, though it does require anethesia, which is expensive...I send you my best & most pure vibes --I am thinking about your piggie and praying that you will find a vet that will be okay with the $ that you can give him, until then keep feeding and loving him; i know he's worth it!
 
so sorry!

Zofia said:
He didn't wake up from his operation. :0

The vet said that his bowel was so distended that even if he'd pulled through the op, he probably wouldn't have recovered anyway.

I'm gutted, but I'm trying to be positive. He came from such a bad home before he was at the rescue centre, I'm just glad he was in a nice place with lots of love before he died.

I've still got Babe who's only 4 months old. She needs a friend so I've asked the rescue if I can take the last boy pig they've got - Eric. He's going in for neuter tomorrow so I'll be getting him on Saturday. It's strange because Eric was originally paired with Ernie at the rescue, but they were separated because they weren't getting on. At least I'll be able to give another pig a home. So for the next 4 or 5 weeks I'll have to borrow a cage from the rescue to keep Eric in. Babe's lonely. At least from saturday she'll have someone to talk to through the bars.
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HI, I didn't relize that Ernie had died when i wrote last note...was it his teeth? (curious to know)...poor guy!...I am glad you're adopting Eric though, that is funny that they were paried!...when i got my 2 girls for my singleton Lyla (from SPCA -here in the States)--the pair had 2 proir homes and HAD BEEN BROUGHT BACK TO THE SHELTER 2 TIMES!--i was lucky to give them a "forever home" they are still together and healthy now! ...I have to get my pics up, so cute they are!
I'll be paranoid about teeth from now on. I just can't believe that Ernie was absolutely fine one day and then so ill the next.
 
can you See the date on this post? It's 2 years ago! And the poor lady's pig died. Please respond to recent posts so as not to confuse and upset everyone thanks x
 
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