Dental Teeth problems/front teeth too long?

[DavidUgle]

Hello!
Last week i took my guinea pig to the vet as he was losing weight and not wanting to eat. The vet said they checked his teeth briefly and didn't see anything wrong so they gave him some fluids and Metacam pain relief for me to give him for a week, some EmerAid syringe food for the next 24 hours and some probiotics to give him the following days. This didn't work as he still didn't really want to eat normally so i took him in again yesterday. They put him under anesthesia and saw that his cheek teeth had grown in over his tongue so they grinded them down and gave me some oxbow critical care to give him until he eats normally again and more Metacam. He does eat some veggies but not very much and he looks like he wants to eat but can't as he only nibbles and only eats a little. Today as i was syringe feeding him i offered him some grass and he ate a little but did it a little slow and it seemed like it was hard for him to chew/grind it up in his mouth and he didn't eat very much of it. I also noticed that he was making some teeth grinding noises i hadn't heard before (not the normal teeth chattering) and called the vet to hear if that was normal and they said it probably was and was probably because he was getting used to his teeth being different now. But it seems like he is making these noises with his front teeth and now i'm wondering if they have gotten too long and the vet somehow missed it. I tried to take some pictures and would be very grateful to hear other people's thoughts about this!

Sorry if this was too long and if the grammar is a little weird, english isn't my first language

 

[DavidUgle]

Sorry for his messy face, i of cause cleaned him up when i was done feeding him

 

[DavidUgle]

I also want to point out that my vet only told me to feed him critical care every 3-4 hours, 7-10 milliliters and noting about also giving him water. He and his cage mate has always gotten their water from what they eat and doesn't want to drink from a bottle or bowl, but of course they have access to water anyways.

 

[Gem789]

I also want to point out that my vet only told me to feed him critical care every 3-4 hours, 7-10 milliliters and noting about also giving him water. He and his cage mate has always gotten their water from what they eat and doesn't want to drink from a bottle or bowl, but of course they have access to water anyways.

I'll tag @furryfriends (TEAS), she's the expert on dental issues. If he's not eating at all, you need to be feeding round the clock. You need to get about 120ml of mushed up food into him x

 

[Gem789]

When I'm syringe feeding, I also give a mil of water after every 3ml of syringe food.

 

[Bill & Ted]

Here is our syringe feeding guide, Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
You can also make the cc quite sloppy if he does like being syringe fed water

 

[Siikibam]

Hvordan går det? Undskyld at han er syg. Unfortunately there aren’t many vets who are experienced with guinea pig dentals. He’s likely not eating too well because he may still be in pain. If he managed a little grass then do try and get him some more if possible. But you have to build up the amount slowly as they have to get used to it.

With regards syringe feeding, I would try for 5ml every 2 hours. That equates to 60ml in a 24 hour period. You’re aiming for that as the minimum.

Hay is the most important thing. Veg is more of a snack and only constitutes 15% of their diet. Weigh him every day at the same time - preferable before you syringe feed in the morning. With the above syringe feed schedule he should hopefully maintain his weight.

Held og lykke!

 

[DavidUgle]

When I'm syringe feeding, I also give a mil of water after every 3ml of syringe food.

Thank you, i will feed him some more and also give him water, but he is already gaining weight and eating a little bit. He has always been a little small for his gender and used to weigh about 1 kilo/2.2 pounds and now weighs about 820 grams/1.8 pounds while his female partner is pretty big (he is castrated)

 

[DavidUgle]

Hvordan går det? Undskyld at han er syg. Unfortunately there aren’t many vets who are experienced with guinea pig dentals. He’s likely not eating too well because he may still be in pain. If he managed a little grass then do try and get him some more if possible. But you have to build up the amount slowly as they have to get used to it.

With regards syringe feeding, I would try for 5ml every 2 hours. That equates to 60ml in a 24 hour period. You’re aiming for that as the minimum.

Hay is the most important thing. Veg is more of a snack and only constitutes 15% of their diet. Weigh him every day at the same time - preferable before you syringe feed in the morning. With the above syringe feed schedule he should hopefully maintain his weight.

Held og lykke!

Hehe mange tak!
5 ml every 2 hours, even at night? Or could i try giving him 10 ml every 2 hours instead (12 hours a day) so we can also get some sleep?

 

[Bill & Ted]

Weigh him everyday and keep a note of his weight. You then have a record which you can then see a trend upward or downward, this will indicate if he’s getting enough food. I would persevere with grass, a little at a time and little bits of veggies, anything he will take at first. My Ted had dental spurs and we used to give him beetroot sticks out of salad bags. Offer him plain porridge oats in a dish, they are great for building up dental/poorly underweight piggies.
Good luck, it’s a hard slog but hopefully he will start eating properly soon x
Hay will probably take some time for him to eat but always have it available to him. You could try a bit of read I grass too

 

[Bill & Ted]

Hehe mange tak!
5 ml every 2 hours, even at night? Or could i try giving him 10 ml every 2 hours instead (12 hours a day) so we can also get some sleep?

Yes try get the most into him from 6.00 am to 11.00 pm as you have to look after yourself too and get some sleep x

 

[DavidUgle]

Weigh him everyday and keep a note of his weight. You then have a record which you can then see a trend upward or downward, this will indicate if he’s getting enough food. I would persevere with grass, a little at a time and little bits of veggies, anything he will take at first. My Ted had dental spurs and we used to give him beetroot sticks out of salad bags. Offer him plain porridge oats in a dish, they are great for building up dental/poorly underweight piggies.
Good luck, it’s a hard slog but hopefully he will start eating properly soon x
Hay will probably take some time for him to eat but always have it available to him. You could try a bit of read I grass too

Thank you, i will continue to feed him more and offer him veggies and try the porridge. It's sad seeing him wanting to eat but just cant, he even tries with pellets but cant bite into it but at least he still tries he thankfully still has a lot of energy when he's awake

 

[Wiebke]

Please take the time to carefully read our syringe feeding guide.

In a balanced dental system the incisors are self-sharpening as they grind against each other when a guinea pig chews. They are used for picking up and cutting food. The crucial teeth are the molars and premolars at the back, which can grow spurs that trap the tongue or - more rarely - grow into the tongue if they are not evenly ground down by the very abrasive silica in hay and grass, against which they have evolved and which should make around 80% of the daily food intake. A long term diet too high in veg and pellets can contribute to dental overgrowth.
All About Drinking And Bottles
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

A good quick check during the weekly weigh-in and body onceover is to see whether the incisor edge is even and not slanted (one-sided pain issue causing overgrowth, whether the pain sits in one incisor, a back tooth or in the jaw/jaw joint), jagged (irregular chewing) or with inward pointing tips (i.e. the incisors do no longer meet and abrade against each other; this is usually a sign of some major overgrowth at the back. Discolouration of an incisor can point to a problem with that particular tooth. This is not a sure-fire way of eliminating a potential dental issue but it works well enough as a quick general check.

Incisors tend to look too long to anybody who has a closer look at them for the first time. Yours still seem to have even edges, do meet, are not badly discoloured, jagged or slanted. They are also not misaligned. This means that there is most likely nothing wrong with the back - as your vet has confirmed. It can be that there is a developing source of pain in or around the mouth (like a dental root abscess) but in my own experience this tends to manifest in slanted incisors as the pain is one-sided a while before the abscess is coming up visibly.

Be aware that the weight loss problem may be located elsewhere in the body. Mystery weight loss can have a large range of causes; it is usually either caused by a pain issue somewhere in the body or by a problem with the processing of food/nutrition. Dental overgrowth is only one of the many potential culprits. I feel for you; it is my least favourite symptom. Please keep an open mind and don't get stuck on teeth, just because this is an angle that is often overlooked and that we are mentioning a lot because of this.

 

[DavidUgle]

Please take the time to carefully read our syringe feeding guide.

In a balanced dental system the incisors are self-sharpening as they grind against each other when a guinea pig chews. They are used for picking up and cutting food. The crucial teeth are the molars and premolars at the back, which can grow spurs that trap the tongue or - more rarely - grow into the tongue if they are not evenly ground down by the very abrasive silica in hay and grass, against which they have evolved and which should make around 80% of the daily food intake. A long term diet too high in veg and pellets can contribute to dental overgrowth.
All About Drinking And Bottles
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

A good quick check during the weekly weigh-in and body onceover is to see whether the incisor edge is even and not slanted (one-sided pain issue causing overgrowth, whether the pain sits in one incisor, a back tooth or in the jaw/jaw joint), jagged (irregular chewing) or with inward pointing tips (i.e. the incisors do no longer meet and abrade against each other; this is usually a sign of some major overgrowth at the back. Discolouration of an incisor can point to a problem with that particular tooth. This is not a sure-fire way of eliminating a potential dental issue but it works well enough as a quick general check.

Incisors tend to look too long to anybody who has a closer look at them for the first time. Yours still seem to have even edges, do meet, are not badly discoloured, jagged or slanted. They are also not misaligned. This means that there is most likely nothing wrong with the back - as your vet has confirmed. It can be that there is a developing source of pain in or around the mouth (like a dental root abscess) but in my own experience this tends to manifest in slanted incisors as the pain is one-sided a while before the abscess is coming up visibly.

Be aware that the weight loss problem may be located elsewhere in the body. Mystery weight loss can have a large range of causes; it is usually either caused by a pain issue somewhere in the body or by a problem with the processing of food/nutrition. Dental overgrowth is only one of the many potential culprits. I feel for you; it is my least favourite symptom. Please keep an open mind and don't get stuck on teeth, just because this is an angle that is often overlooked and that we are mentioning a lot because of this.

Thank you for the information and for taking a look at my pictures!
I will continue to syringe feed him for some time and keep track of his weight and check his teeth. The vet said it could take up to 8-10 days before he might start eating normally again because of mouth sores after the teeth grinding and his stomach getting used to more food. If he doesn't get better i will take him back to the vet. He already seems better as he seems to eat the critical care much faster now but i will go at his pace.

 

[Bill & Ted]

You can give mushed pellets too, see if he can eat his pellet mushed up, soaking in warm water for half an hour first x

 

[DavidUgle]

He also seems to be grooming himself more often, is that normal? It could also just be because he gets some of the critical care around his mouth and wants to clean it. Otherwise he is already doing better than before he got his teeth fixed he also started to poop more but they are very small but solid

 

[Bill & Ted]

He also seems to be grooming himself more often, is that normal? It could also just be because he gets some of the critical care around his mouth and wants to clean it. Otherwise he is already doing better than before he got his teeth fixed he also started to poop more but they are very small but solid

he really sounds like he is making good progress, if he is grooming then he must be feeling better. The more he eats the the more normal his poops will be

 

[DavidUgle]

I was sitting and syringe feeding him just now and he just made some stringy poop? He was trying to eat it but i got some of it so i could look closer at it. What does this mean? I cant really find anyting about it he also keeps going backwards which he usually does when he's gonna pee but doesn't pee but more poop comes out. He poops very little so i think this is good and might be because his stomach is getting more food. I can attach an image of it

 

[Roselina]

Hello and good luck with feeding your little man - you have been given great advice from the forum members - I am not an expert but I do know that guinea pig poops are 2 days behind and he is trying to eat the first poops with the nutrients etc in . It does sound as if he is improving - critical care and weighing are the most important. You are a great guinea pig carer

 

[DavidUgle]

Hello and good luck with feeding your little man - you have been given great advice from the forum members - I am not an expert but I do know that guinea pig poops are 2 days behind and he is trying to eat the first poops with the nutrients etc in . It does sound as if he is improving - critical care and weighing are the most important. You are a great guinea pig carer

Thank you so much

 

[Siikibam]

Poo output is 1-2 days behind. So small ones now mean he hasn’t/wasn’t eating enough a couple of days ago.

 

[Bill & Ted]

I think his poops will get bigger the more he eats and are always a few days behind. These stringy poos are the results of not getting enough food and possibly the day of the anaesthetic when he was not eating. As his gut starts working on food his will come good, you could give some pro biotic to help the gut bacteria.

 

[DavidUgle]

Hey everyone
He is doing alot better now but still won't eat hay and most veggies. I feed him about 50-60 ml of critical care everyday because he eats a bit of food himself along with about 15 ml of water. He has been enjoying grass and parsley and some other veggies and eats more solid food every day. He has gained about 50 grams and and keeps gaining weight and feels less skinny. He poops a lot more now but they're pretty uneven and droplet shaped. I have noticed that his teeth has begun making weird noises when chewing on his left side i think, kinda like they're rubbing against each other and i don't know how to explain the sound but its kinda like nails on a blackboard and he also makes clicking noises often when not eating. Is this normal? The vet told me to come back in 2 months for a checkup but if he begins to get worse in any way i will get him checked by the vet again.
Hope you're all enjoying your weekend

 

[DavidUgle]

I just noticed that his front teeth has become uneven so he's not chewing normally i presume?

 

[Piggies&buns]

I just noticed that his front teeth has become uneven so he's not chewing normally i presume?

that can be the case yes - uneven front teeth can be a sign of a problem at the back, along with the sound you are reporting, then I would go back to the vet to have them checked

 

[DavidUgle]

that can be the case yes - uneven front teeth can be a sign of a problem at the back, along with the sound you are reporting, then I would go back to the vet to have them checked

Yes ok i will call the vet monday, so he has the weekend to hopefully get better but that's probably unlikely. Thank you

 

[Merab]

Just seen this thread.
I can’t add to the advice you have been given but I did want to offer support.
Welcome to the forum

 

[Bill & Ted]

It does sound like the back teeth surface might be a bit uneven. Normally when piggies eat properly the upper and lower surface is constantly worn nice a smooth. When a piggie stops eating/cannot manage hay then the surface starts to become uneven and that’s when you here this noise, I think it’s a bit like walking on gravel

 

[DavidUgle]

It does sound like the back teeth surface might be a bit uneven. Normally when piggies eat properly the upper and lower surface is constantly worn nice a smooth. When a piggie stops eating/cannot manage hay then the surface starts to become uneven and that’s when you here this noise, I think it’s a bit like walking on gravel

I didn't think of that but that makes sense, thanks! Maybe the vet filed them down unevenly or do you have an idea to why this is happening? It's hard to find a vet who has experience with guinea pigs in my area unfortunately but i think the one i found is the best near me, as they claim to specialise mostly in rabbits but also other rodents.

 

[Bill & Ted]

I didn't think of that but that makes sense, thanks! Maybe the vet filed them down unevenly or do you have an idea to why this is happening? It's hard to find a vet who has experience with guinea pigs in my area unfortunately but i think the one i found is the best near me, as they claim to specialise mostly in rabbits but also other rodents.

Teeth are a difficult one, it’s a viscous circle really. If you find a good vet that knows what they are doing then it’s manageable. Because the teeth are constantly growing they really need to be eating hay/grass to keep the teeth worn down.