Dental Sick Piggie - dental

[sfoederer]

Hello! I am searching for help for my piggie, Lord Wigglesworth. He's two years old or maybe 2.5 years. A month ago he stopped eating and drinking. He lost a lot of weight. We went to the vet and got him on critical care syringe feedings three weeks ago. He's had labs done (nothing found) and x-rays. The teeth were a little overgrown in back so they put him under and filed them done. I am convinced it's something with his mouth. We saw a second vet yesterday and now he's on pain medication to see if it's pain. We still syringe feed him critical care and now apple juice lettuce and cucumbers in a blender. He has continuous drooling. He seems like he wants to eat but he can't. So very worried and hoping someone has some advice or ideas. He's so small now and doesn't poop or drink water either

 

[Piggies&buns]

Drooling and not being able to eat does sound dental - all we can tell you is that you need to find a vet who can perform the dental work properly. Sadly a vet who is not experienced enough in doing piggy dentals can make the problem worse.

If he isn’t pooping, then he isn’t eating enough. You need to switch from weekly weighing to weighing him every day (at the same time each day) to ensure his weight is not dropping. If he is still losing weight then you need to syringe feed him more critical care than you are already giving - you are aiming for 90ml of critical feed in a 24 hour period. What happens with his weight is the only way to know you are feeding him often enough.

Do you have access to fresh dog pee free grass? If so, you can also hand feed him grass as that also helps keep their teeth worn down (along with eating hay)

Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Weight - Monitoring and Management

 

[Free Ranger]

I'm so sorry for you and your poor boy. It sounds like a horrible month. Drooling is a sign of tooth problems but it could also be something else like pain from an abscess in the mouth. Have you noticed if his breath smells bad? Has he been on any antibiotics?

It can be difficult to do a guinea-pig dental just right and the op usually leaves them a bit sore. I has a girl who had this done and they gave me pain meds for a week afterwards (unfortunately for my girl her teeth were not the problem - the overgrowth was a result of her not eating for another reason) so it's good that you have been given pain meds. Can you tell us what they are?. Whichever way this ends up going the pain meds will make him more comfortable.

The critical care syringe feeding is what is keeping him alive right now so can you tell us how much you are able to give in 24 hours and how much he takes in a feeding session? It is a worry if pooping stops completely because the gut is slowing right down and you don't want it to stop. If he's keen to eat and can take the slurry some people have found that by putting it in a dish the piggy will help themselves. The girl I mentioned above did not want to eat (she had some issue with swallowing) so she fought the syringe but some pigs welcome it. Does your boy still have an appetite?

I hope things can improve for you soon x

 

[sfoederer]

Drooling and not being able to eat does sound dental - all we can tell you is that you need to find a vet who can perform the dental work properly. Sadly a vet who is not experienced enough in doing piggy dentals can make the problem worse.

If he isn’t pooping, then he isn’t eating enough. You need to switch from weekly weighing to weighing him every day (at the same time each day) to ensure his weight is not dropping. If he is still losing weight then you need to syringe feed him more critical care than you are already giving - you are aiming for 90ml of critical feed in a 24 hour period. What happens with his weight is the only way to know you are feeding him often enough.

Do you have access to fresh dog pee free grass? If so, you can also hand feed him grass as that also helps keep their teeth worn down (along with eating hay)

Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Weight - Monitoring and Management

Thank you for your help! We have another appointment next Friday with a specialist vet. I think we need to up the feedings. Didn't know 90mls was the goal so thank you! We weigh him daily. Again, thank you for your thoughts and advice!

 

[sfoederer]

I'm so sorry for you and your poor boy. It sounds like a horrible month. Drooling is a sign of tooth problems but it could also be something else like pain from an abscess in the mouth. Have you noticed if his breath smells bad? Has he been on any antibiotics?

It can be difficult to do a guinea-pig dental just right and the op usually leaves them a bit sore. I has a girl who had this done and they gave me pain meds for a week afterwards (unfortunately for my girl her teeth were not the problem - the overgrowth was a result of her not eating for another reason) so it's good that you have been given pain meds. Can you tell us what they are?. Whichever way this ends up going the pain meds will make him more comfortable.

The critical care syringe feeding is what is keeping him alive right now so can you tell us how much you are able to give in 24 hours and how much he takes in a feeding session? It is a worry if pooping stops completely because the gut is slowing right down and you don't want it to stop. If he's keen to eat and can take the slurry some people have found that by putting it in a dish the piggy will help themselves. The girl I mentioned above did not want to eat (she had some issue with swallowing) so she fought the syringe but some pigs welcome it. Does your boy still have an appetite?

I hope things can improve for you soon x

 

[sfoederer]

I didn't know about the amount of syringe feeding. He only has been taking 40mls a day. Definitely gonna up it. He has had some small poops in the last few days. They looked for an abscess and didn't see anything on the x-rays. He seems to want food still but tries to take it then pulls back. He has been on antibiotics and gut motility meds in the beginning. Thought his tummy was upset. He is on Metacam for pain. He has a stinky smell to him but think it's the feedings and the constant drool which keeps his chin wet. I appreciate your help and well wishes for us! Thank you

 

[Piggies&buns]

Yes definitely increase his syringe feeds. Your syringing feeding is directly replacing the hay he isn’t able to eat for himself. You will need to feed him every couple of hours to get enough into him. You can also leave a bowl of critical care in the cage for him to eat for himself but the issue there is that his cagemate will probably eat it too so you do need to ensure his syringe feedings are enough. As I said, weighing him daily to ensure there are no day to day drops is important.

The problem is it’s a vicious circle - he needs to chew hay or grass to keep his teeth wearing down but while there is a dental problem he can’t chew so the overgrowth continues and further stops them wanting to chew. I hope the specialist can sort his problems out.

 

[sfoederer]

Thank you so much! Yes I will definitely bump up the syringe feedings. Have lots of experience with guinea pigs but only had one pig before on critical care and he only made it a week. Very surprised my boy is still alive. Critical care is keeping him alive. Thank you again.