Sick piggy after dental work

[wgbeattie]

Hi,

We noticed our boar, Spirit, had lost a lot of weight, but was still eating and drinking, although seemed harder than usual.

Took him to the vets on Wednesday who said probably teeth and needed to go in on Thursday to get teeth trimmed under general anaesthetic. He was in overnight so they can keep an eye on him, they said he seemed to be eating ok.

On Saturday we suspected he had stopped eating, so kept him separate, next morning no food or drink, and no pelleting. So spoke to vet got an apt straight away, who gave a painkillers injection, and an injection to help his guts move. Spirit went through the same thing 2 and half years ago, after he was neutered. Although he was quite feisty this morning , he becoming more lethargic, except when trying to escape when syringe feeding.

Got recovery food, and although we are managing to feed him with a 1 ml syringe. still no pelleting and not interested in any of his hay, water or favourite foods.

I have read about other various things to try probiotics etc, but is this some special probiotics from the vet?

Any body please give any help, to phone the vet again Monday if not any better, got 2 kids who are worried that he might not make it.

Thanks for your help and advice .

Gordon

 

[sport_billy]

Hi,

We noticed our boar, Spirit, had lost a lot of weight, but was still eating and drinking, although seemed harder than usual.

Took him to the vets on Wednesday who said probably teeth and needed to go in on Thursday to get teeth trimmed under general anaesthetic. He was in overnight so they can keep an eye on him, they said he seemed to be eating ok.

On Saturday we suspected he had stopped eating, so kept him separate, next morning no food or drink, and no pelleting. So spoke to vet got an apt straight away, who gave a painkillers injection, and an injection to help his guts move. Spirit went through the same thing 2 and half years ago, after he was neutered. Although he was quite feisty this morning , he becoming more lethargic, except when trying to escape when syringe feeding.

Got recovery food, and although we are managing to feed him with a 1 ml syringe. still no pelleting and not interested in any of his hay, water or favourite foods.

I have read about other various things to try probiotics etc, but is this some special probiotics from the vet?

Any body please give any help, to phone the vet again Monday if not any better, got 2 kids who are worried that he might not make it.

Thanks for your help and advice .

Gordon

Hi Gordon, sounds like something is still not quite right. Occasionally after dental work it can take some time before piggies start eating again. Did the vet give you any painkiller to give at home?

You will need to get him back off to the vets, whereabouts do you live? we may be able to suggest a knowledgable piggie vet near to you.
In the meantime your going to need to syringe feed him to keep his system going, Use a 1ml syringe and cut the end off it, taking care that the plunger won't pop out the end.

Please weigh your piggie daily and also before and after feeds can be useful too. Syringe feed wise you should be looking for 120ml a day if he is eating nothing on his own and feed around 15ml-20ml at a time.
Have you tried grating up some carrot for him to try?

When was the last time he poo'd?

 

[wgbeattie]

Hi Gordon, sounds like something is still not quite right. Occasionally after dental work it can take some time before piggies start eating again. Did the vet give you any painkiller to give at home?

You will need to get him back off to the vets, whereabouts do you live? we may be able to suggest a knowledgable piggie vet near to you.
In the meantime your going to need to syringe feed him to keep his system going, Use a 1ml syringe and cut the end off it, taking care that the plunger won't pop out the end.

Please weigh your piggie daily and also before and after feeds can be useful too. Syringe feed wise you should be looking for 120ml a day if he is eating nothing on his own and feed around 15ml-20ml at a time.
Have you tried grating up some carrot for him to try?

When was the last time he poo'd?

In Fife, and using st. Clair vets,

Not tried grated carrot but will, last time I know for sure he pood was Friday with vet, possibly sat, but he was with other piggy, separated about 8 last night, and know he not done any since.

G

 

[Wiebke]

I have sent a message to furryfriends, who runs a sanctuary for dental piggies in Northampton. She will be hopefully able to give you more advice later on. Otherwise you can contact her via her website: http://www.teasnorthampton.co.uk/

 

[furryfriends (TEAS)]

What exactly was the problem with the teeth, and what did the vet do? If there is a dental problem, it isn't going to be sorted in just one treatment, and follow up treatments will be necessary. Sometimes a dental issue can be resolved completely, and sometimes they can only be managed. For now it is important that you keep food going through the system, and you need to aim for about 120 mls per 24 hours. To encourage a piggy to eat for themselves I add finely chopped grass to the syringe food or grated carrot. My concern here is that it would appear that your guinea pig has been worse since having the dental, and this worries me. How experienced is your vet in doing dental work? If you would like to have a chat about ways to encourage your piggy to start eating again for himself and about dental problems in guinea pigs, please give me a call. My phone numbers are on my website. I have considerable experience in dealing with piggies with dental issues, and are lucky enough to have a fantastic vet, who is able to carry out dental work without the need for GA.

 

[Stewybus]

Hi Gordon,

Sorry to hear that Spirit is not eating. You're doing right giving him recovery food & I agree with sport_billy you could also try some finely grated carrot with maybe a little of any other salad veg that can be grated. You could also try making a mash out of his pellets to syringe feed too. Last but not least, you may have to syringe feed some water if he's not drinking from his bottle.

Check to see if he's pooing by putting him on an old white towel maybe with something waterproof underneath and try & keep him on it after he's eaten. After all this it would be wise to contact the your vets in the morning for at least advice or maybe another appointment.

I really hope that he gets better soon.

 

[wgbeattie]

What exactly was the problem with the teeth, and what did the vet do? If there is a dental problem, it isn't going to be sorted in just one treatment, and follow up treatments will be necessary. Sometimes a dental issue can be resolved completely, and sometimes they can only be managed. For now it is important that you keep food going through the system, and you need to aim for about 120 mls per 24 hours. To encourage a piggy to eat for themselves I add finely chopped grass to the syringe food or grated carrot. My concern here is that it would appear that your guinea pig has been worse since having the dental, and this worries me. How experienced is your vet in doing dental work? If you would like to have a chat about ways to encourage your piggy to start eating again for himself and about dental problems in guinea pigs, please give me a call. My phone numbers are on my website. I have considerable experience in dealing with piggies with dental issues, and are lucky enough to have a fantastic vet, who is able to carry out dental work without the need for GA.

They said after the dental work , that the teeth were fine, and had enamel deposit at back, which they filed down.

I would agree that he is worse, and will try your advice.

I am managing to give him 10-15ml over half an hour, so and some water through syringe .

Gt to speak. To vets tomorrow , and will take. From there, will look at your site and get your number

Many thanks to everyone.

G