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teeth problems

Gemm24

Gemm24

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi everyone

I took my pig (Alvin) to the vet today because over the past few days he has become lethargic and not his usual bright self. He is also struggling to eat and has lost about 60g in past couple of weeks. The vet checked him over and said he couldn’t find anything obvious but it sounds like he has a problem with his teeth. The vet gave him a gut stimulant injection and metacam to give daily and advised syringe feeding. If there is no improvement by tomorrow I am to take him to be put under so they can check his teeth thoroughly.

I have recently been in this situation before with another guinea pig who does not live with Alvin. She had a problem with her teeth, was not eating, lost weight etc. She got her teeth ground down and now is better than ever.

Is there something I am doing wrong or could do better to prevent this from happening? I currently feed my 6 guinea pigs asda pellets, unlimited oxbow blends hay and b&m dandelion hay, fresh veg twice daily.

I would greatly appreciate any advice!

Thank you
 
Ps are there any toys/specific hay or food that can help prevent teeth problems? Thanks again
 
Gemm said:
Hi everyone

I took my pig (Alvin) to the vet today because over the past few days he has become lethargic and not his usual bright self. He is also struggling to eat and has lost about 60g in past couple of weeks. The vet checked him over and said he couldn’t find anything obvious but it sounds like he has a problem with his teeth. The vet gave him a gut stimulant injection and metacam to give daily and advised syringe feeding. If there is no improvement by tomorrow I am to take him to be put under so they can check his teeth thoroughly.

I have recently been in this situation before with another guinea pig who does not live with Alvin. She had a problem with her teeth, was not eating, lost weight etc. She got her teeth ground down and now is better than ever.

Is there something I am doing wrong or could do better to prevent this from happening? I currently feed my 6 guinea pigs asda pellets, unlimited oxbow blends hay and b&m dandelion hay, fresh veg twice daily.

I would greatly appreciate any advice!

Thank you
Click to expand...

Hi!

Pellets should make the smallest part of the diet - about 1 tablespoon per piggy per day for adults.
Too many pellets will prevent them from eating more hay, which should make over 80% of the daily food intake. Too much veg is also not good; please check whether you are feeding too much. A guinea pig basically needs to eat hay, hay and hay for a long and healthy life. It is the silica in the hay which grinds down the back teeth and keeps the guts healthy and from developing fermentation problems in the lower gut due to too much veg.
If you want to vary the diet, rather invest in the odd speciality hay for treats (never alfalfa, which is a legume not a grass hay).
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
Our syringe feeding guide also has a section about care for dental guinea pigs: Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

Otherwise, sunlight can also help with dental health, but always give your piggies the option to get into shade and do not leave them out in the open unprotected and unsupervised.

Once you have checked your diet and found it OK it is very difficult to work out whether it is just an unlucky coincidence or whether there is a particular reason. I have have certainly had my share of coincidences!

It may yet be something else. Pain somewhere in the body can cause diminished appetite.
You can usually judge whether the back teeth are overgrowing by looking at the incisors. If they are slanted, jagged or growing inwards and no longer self-sharpening, then that is pointing to a problem with overgrowing back teeth. Slanted front teeth mean that the problem is usually sitting one side (often a root abscess which can cause pain long before it becomes noticeable), which is leading to one-sided chewing. The root abscess can also sit in one of the incisors. A discoloured tooth is usually an abscessed tooth.
If the incisors are looking neat and even, then there is usually nothing wrong with the back teeth. ;)
Signs of developing dental issues are:
- increasingly slow eating and chewing
- struggling with hard and long foods
- picking up food, but dropping it
- salivating and wet chin when the tongue is becoming increasingly trapped by arching premolar spurs
- increasing weight loss; please start offering additional top-up feed once your piggy has lost more than 50g in less than a week and switch to weighing daily at the same time to monitoring the food intake more closely. You can't judge the hay intake or even the veg intake just by eye; and that means that weighing is the only way to monitor most of the daily food intake.
 
Last edited:
Cheshire Pet
Kristina Hunter or Emily Hardacre
Manor Lane Holmes
Chapel
Cheshire
CW4 8AB
 
Thank you for all your replies.

He is 2 and 1/2 years old. He is eating slower then normal and is over masticating I think (making strange movements with his mouth when eating hay). He is picking food up but dropping it, particularly cucumber and carrot, he is eating gem lettuce leaves and has eaten some pellets and hay. He is losing weight, he is usually around 1200g and now is about 1130g.
I am giving too many pellets so I’m going to change that immediatly. I’m going to only give little per day as stated and tons of hay. I usually give about 150g of veg per cage (two pigs per cage). The hay I give is a mix of Timothy and orchard and I have some oat hay as a treat a few times a week as well.
 
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