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Still Not Eating Dry Food After Two Dentals, Has A Uri And Losing Weight

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Cjay

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi!
I've had Bailey for four years and he usually weighs around 1200g. Since Christmas he's had problems with his teeth and been for two dentals, 3 weeks apart. Initially it was thought he was struggling to eat due to a cut in his cheek, but even after being given Metacam and Emeprid, he still refused to eat. He went in for an X-ray under GA when I noticed he'd dropped 200g despite syringe feeding, and our exotic vet found his molars were slightly overgrown due to a unusual bite. In the x-ray it also showed slight shadowing in his lungs which the vet thought was the start of a chest infection. She corrected this by filing the molars and also his incisors and put him on Baytril and Zantac. He did attempt to eat small pieces of dry food at first but still noticeably struggled and was continually losing weight. He seemed to be intolerant to the Baytril, as he became very poorly, lethargic and developed diarrhea and was taken off it.

He's been to the vets on 5 occasions and has been fed a combination of mushed pellets, Critical care and Science Recovery, small pieces of veg, grass and mushed alfalfa hay pieces (when he'll take it) over the past few week. He's on at least 20ml every 4 hours, but is still struggling to maintain weight. Bailey just plays with his hay but doesn't want to eat it. We've given him Avipro Plus (probiotic) and some Metatone Tonic alongside Dioralyte. She performed a second x-ray, dental and blood work on Monday and found that the shadows in his lungs had darkened, his liver was slightly inflamed (most likely due to not eating properly) and that there was a little spike bit of tooth that was not visible on the x-ray. All his other blood work was in the normal range. He's now on 0.6ml of Septrin Pediatric twice daily alongside his Metacam 0.6 twice daily.

The past few days he's been up and down, sometimes sounding clicky from the URI. Yesterday was a bad day as he wasn't eating well, but today he has big appetite so we've been feeding him roughly 40ml every 2/3 hours. He still enjoys floor time so his fight definitely isn't over yet. Problem is, despite his now increased appetite, he still doesn't want to drink from his water bottle or eat dry food. He's more than happy to get both out of a syringe though, but his weight went down to 908g this morning. I'm stuck for ideas on how to bulk him back up again and I'm worried what the vet is going to say on Monday, because other than the problems she's treating, she's now stumped. She did mention there's always a small chance that the shadows could be something more sinister, but she said she's felt around and he has no signs of any growth.

I don't know what else to try :(
 
I have similar issues as you with one of my young piggies - several dental ops over Xmas from out of nowhere, clicky URI, weight loss, not drinking from water bottle and can;t be fed leafy greens because they now cause dairrhoea.
I will PM you
x
 
This is a difficult one as there are lots going on here.

Using things like oats can be helpful with weight gain, if you are able to get it into him.

I would stick with what you are doing for now. It can take some time to recover from a big dental especially if teeth were bad. It may also take some time to fight off any chest infections. Your vet sounds like they've done everything I can think of. Hang in there, your doing a fab job.

Hope he starts to pick up soon.

x
 
Thanks a lot for the replies, I really appreciate it, totally sleep deprived with these feeds haha! @helen105281 she didn't say fluid, she just said originally it looked like the beginning of a chest infection and then showed me the second x-ray and said the shadow had got a lot bigger and she took an x-ray from the top view and it didn't seem as thick, which makes her think its not cancer - i'm assuming thats what she meant by sinister. Sometimes his breathing is totally fine and other times is sounds like his nose is really stuffy. He doesn't have watery eyes and theres no discharge in his nose. I did give his chest a good rub the other night because he sounded really chesty and he coughed 3 times and it disappeared.
 
I'm quite relieved just now as he's just wolfed down another two 15ml syringes of Recovery after just two hours between his last meal, but every time we get a positive like this he seems to get a set back. I forgot to mention she did notice that one tooth has a slightly elongated root but that's on the side thats not causing bother. Could there be something wrong with his cheek where he initially bit himself? I've noticed if I put the 1ml syringe in that side and touch the cheek he puts his paw up to move it away and winces.
 
The most important thing to put your energy into atm is the supportive care i.e. syringe feeding - which is what you are doing toi great effect.
As you've already discovered -it can be exhausting, draining and mind-numbing. Hugs!

The fact he will still eat is a very good sign - hang on in there! He needs 20-30ml syringe food every 4 hours (day and night)
We can discuss the other details/issues on the phone tomorrow after you've had a kip
x
 
Ahhh Bailey's suddenly started tilting his head to the right side after eating. Is that s a sign of an ear infection :( :( :(? He's running about normally though and has no other symptoms but the tilt he's did 3 times today is pretty dramatic. If i pick him up and put him back down it goes away. x
 
It sounds like he might be getting food stuck, as you say it happens after eating, and the tilting head could be due to him trying to dislodge the food. He may also have some ulceration in his mouth, or there could be an abscess brewing. When did he last have a dental? What are the plans longer term for follow up dentals?
 
It sounds like he might be getting food stuck, as you say it happens after eating, and the tilting head could be due to him trying to dislodge the food. He may also have some ulceration in his mouth, or there could be an abscess brewing. When did he last have a dental? What are the plans longer term for follow up dentals?

He's had food stuck before which i've managed to get out and it doesn't look the same. His head just tilts right to the side and stays that way usually after he's finished chewing. The vet said she can't see anything wrong in his mouth but I'm absolutely convinced there is in the right cheek where he'd bit it initially. I put my finger in earlier and had a little feel and sure enough when i touched that area he let out a cry. I've managed to acquire some Daktarin oral gel but i'm nervous about starting it without the vets knowledge - should I? His last dental was Monday but other than a tooth spike she'd somehow missed on the first one, she said theres no growth on the teeth, she didn't have to file any this time. She doesn't think he'll need regular dentals at this moment and is totally stumped as what she can do next as the teeth look normal now :( He's back tomorrow for a check up.
 
He's had food stuck before which i've managed to get out and it doesn't look the same. His head just tilts right to the side and stays that way usually after he's finished chewing. The vet said she can't see anything wrong in his mouth but I'm absolutely convinced there is in the right cheek where he'd bit it initially. I put my finger in earlier and had a little feel and sure enough when i touched that area he let out a cry. I've managed to acquire some Daktarin oral gel but i'm nervous about starting it without the vets knowledge - should I? His last dental was Monday but other than a tooth spike she'd somehow missed on the first one, she said theres no growth on the teeth, she didn't have to file any this time. She doesn't think he'll need regular dentals at this moment and is totally stumped as what she can do next as the teeth look normal now :( He's back tomorrow for a check up.
As he isn't eating well the teeth won't be normal now. I really wish you lived closer so we could get the sanctuary vet, Simon Maddock, to take a look at him. It sounds like he has a badly ulcerated cheek, which could account for the head tilt too. Is he tiling towards the cheek where he appears to have pain? Most dental issues take a few dentals to sort out, and as Simon can do the dentals without the need for GA he can do frequent dentals to start with, whilst the piggy is relearning to eat, and as the eating improves the gap between the dentals can be increased, until hopefully the teeth will come right. Dental issues are rarely a quick fix but good results can be achieved. If you would like a chat my contact details are on the website and the FB page. I will put the links below. There are many videos on the FB page showing how well the piggies are doing. We recently had a guinea pig from Edinburgh, who after a few months here completely cured and is now back with his family doing very well.

www.teasnorthampton.co.uk
https://www.facebook.com/teasnorthampton
Here is the website for the vets we use
www.catandrabbit.co.uk
 
As he isn't eating well the teeth won't be normal now. I really wish you lived closer so we could get the sanctuary vet, Simon Maddock, to take a look at him. It sounds like he has a badly ulcerated cheek, which could account for the head tilt too. Is he tiling towards the cheek where he appears to have pain? Most dental issues take a few dentals to sort out, and as Simon can do the dentals without the need for GA he can do frequent dentals to start with, whilst the piggy is relearning to eat, and as the eating improves the gap between the dentals can be increased, until hopefully the teeth will come right. Dental issues are rarely a quick fix but good results can be achieved. If you would like a chat my contact details are on the website and the FB page. I will put the links below. There are many videos on the FB page showing how well the piggies are doing. We recently had a guinea pig from Edinburgh, who after a few months here completely cured and is now back with his family doing very well.

www.teasnorthampton.co.uk
https://www.facebook.com/teasnorthampton
Here is the website for the vets we use
www.catandrabbit.co.uk
I really do wish we did as well :(! Yep the same cheek he's had a problem with since the 22nd December. According to the vet the tooth overgrowth wasn't severe but his bite/jaw was very unusual. She explained that if she drew a line through the top jaw and one through the bottom jaw of his x-ray, the lines wouldn't meet anywhere near where a normal guinea pigs would. She buffed down the teeth so that he had a even bite and said that the cut she had seen in his cheek had healed up. She thought that the problem was his jaw muscles being sore. If only we didn't live 5 hours away, I really do hope he picks up soon. Thanks for the advice x
 
Welcome to the forum! I'm so sorry you have a poorly piggy! Sending healing vibes your way!
 
I offer temporary places at TEAS for those who want to get treatment for their piggies, from Simon Maddock. I currently have a place available if you wanted to consider getting your piggy here. There is a FB group called The Piggy Train who can arrange to TEAS. @Stewybus is the person who organises this service.
 
I offer temporary places at TEAS for those who want to get treatment for their piggies, from Simon Maddock. I currently have a place available if you wanted to consider getting your piggy here. There is a FB group called The Piggy Train who can arrange to TEAS. @Stewybus is the person who organises this service.
Thanks so much for the offer but I genuinely don't think little Bailey would last long away from home :(! He's really attached to me just now and even gets really depressed when i've had to leave him at the vets for a few hours. Good news is he's just been to our cavy savy vet and his ears are fine, his teeth look fine, his chest sounds better and his mouth feels okay apart from possible scar tissue where the cut was. She agrees that he may not be eating through fear. I've to continue syringe feeding and she's going to see him on Friday for a double appointment and do a conscious chest x-ray free of charge. She's upped his metacam to 1ml twice daily from 0.6ml. He's perked up a good bit today so i'm hoping he'll maybe just start eating solids on his own accord. You're all stars! x
 
Hi I went through near enough similar problems with Scruffy my 6 month old - he had dental issues from 26th December and I syringe fed him for over two weeks! After that he still wouldn't take dry food so I stopped crushing pellets and just added hot water to them he then hand fed for a further 2 weeks. He refused all veg & hay during this time. He went down to 465g which was very worrying! He had two dentals - our vet said he had problems with his back molars which was affecting his bite and also a spike of tooth on one side and a very deep root. Anyway a couple of weeks ago we were at the end of our tether and so worried we would lose him - he had one final chance at vets or he was taking the Piggy Train to visit Debbie & Simon! Up until then our older dentist had not wanted to give him any pain relief! Luckily we got the younger get out in an emergency call and he gave him two shots of anti-bs and some painkillers - the difference in two days was amazing! I continued offering him both wet & dry food as well as hay and veg and over the last couple of weeks I have taken away the wet food and he is back to normal! No painkillers for a week and his weight is now up to a positively chunky 746g!

I just wanted to tell you my story to show you what you're doing will help Bailey even when you feel you are near giving up with tiredness and despair! I hope he picks up soon and starts gaining weight again xx
 
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