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Teeth rasping, how did your piggies react?

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rose_and_cadbury

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Hi everyone! I'm new around here, I've been browsing as a guest for a while and I decided to join. Anyway.. my guinea pig is having his molars rasped tomorrow, and the vet said he is very healthy, nothing wrong with him and I realise that there is a higher risk with getting put under, and I'm really nervous as I don't want to lose him, and I also want to know what to do after he has come round, is it better to have him in the family living area (he is indoor but he is in our extension), will he need pain relief, will he need to be syringe/hand fed, any dangerous things to watch out for? Thanks so much, I'm sure he'll be fine but you can't help but be nervous :(
 
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Hopefully Debbie will read this and give you the benefit of her experience.
 
Hiya! In the Sanctuary we have a lot of guinea pigs with dental issues, and most of them get their teeth filed regularly. My vet is able to do it with the guinea pig conscious, which is essential as many of the guinea pigs need work doing very frequently.

How long it takes for the piggie to start eating again varies enormously and there is no hard and fast rule. However, if the piggie isn't able to eat anything or indeed very much, then it is important to keep food going through the system and this is going to mean syringe feeding. A piggie who is being fully syringe fed needs roughly 120 mls of syringe food per 24 hours. Pain relief is useful as a piggie in pain is often very reluctant to eat.
 
Thanks! He is having surgery now I think, or sometime soon. We are awaiting the all clear to go and pick him up. Thanks so much for your help Debbie! We have some Recovery Liquid Feed just in case if he needs any help. Even though this morning we had to hide the food from him, he wouldn't stop eating! :))
 
He likes to eat, but it tends to be hand feeding, sorry I should of said that. He occasionally helps himself to his dried dandelion and hay and his dandelions. But he has no grip on things so we have to hook it in his mouth for him. We also syringe feed him 4/5 times a day. We also feed him off a spoon, but when the vet felt around where his molars were. He squealed, he also eats at a slower pace. He shows great interest in food but needs help if he wants to eat it. He rarely helps himself, we also pureed his Gurtey Guinea Pig nuggets and he seemed to really enjoy that, we pureed pepper and cucumber and he enjoys to munch on that aswell (with help of course). Sorry that I was abit vague in my last post :)
 
Ah.. the anticipation is killing me. My moms ringing up if they don't ring by 4.OO. Just trying not to think about him really, it's so hard! I'm not worrying about his eating because I can control that by syringe feeding, it's the anaesthestic(sp?) and how it's going to affect him.

Thanks so much for your help Debbie, your so kind. :))
 
Piggy update!

Just rang up, he was fine, just abit wobbly. He only recentley had it done so I'm not surprised. Picking him up at 3.00, so happy!:<> Just gonna keep an eye on him, I'm sure he'll be fine! These piggies! Bless them but they're worth it.x)
 
Cadbury's home now, he's eating Dandelion leaves like no tomorrow. He seems to be okay, he also had his incisors trimmed & his molars filed + we've also been given some Bio-Lapis and he's had a few injections too :)
 
hi, there are vets and rodentologists around the country who do dentals without anaesthethic and will only take a few minutes if that. None of the piggies that have come into the rescue have ever had an anaesthetic, where abouts do you live? we might be able to point you in the direction of a vet or rodentologist who can do this in the future if needed.

I am glad he is ok but if he does need future dentals dont starve him, its not like a dog or cat who can vomit.
 
I went through this once with my first piggy & it is very worrying when they are anaesthetised. As everyone else has said, if this is an ongoing problem then you need to plan ahead in case his teeth need doing again. If you can tell us roughly where you are then we may be able to let you know of a rodentologist or vet that can trim his teeth in the future, if you can't get to Simon the vet in Northampton.

Did the vet say why they thought his teeth had grown?
 
'I am glad he is ok but if he does need future dentals dont starve him, its not like a dog or cat who can vomit.'

Oh we didn't starve him.

'Did the vet say why they thought his teeth had grown?'

Cadbury is 3&1/2, he said that this is a typical age for overgrown teeth (dunno if this is true or not), he also thinks that it could be lack of hay (even though we give him hay and dried dandelion leaves:{).

He hasn't had it before, only this once.

I feel terrible now as if I could of prevented this. 8...
 
rose_and_cadbury said:
'I am glad he is ok but if he does need future dentals dont starve him, its not like a dog or cat who can vomit.'

Oh we didn't starve him.

'Did the vet say why they thought his teeth had grown?'

Cadbury is 3&1/2, he said that this is a typical age for overgrown teeth (dunno if this is true or not), he also thinks that it could be lack of hay (even though we give him hay and dried dandelion leaves:{).

He hasn't had it before, only this once.

I feel terrible now as if I could of prevented this. 8...
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Oh no don't blame yourself, we all learn things as we go along, piggies need hay on tap basically, it must always be available to them, & changed regularly as they like it fresh. Sometimes they have physical reasons as to why their teeth grow too fast, even sometimes jaw problems, abscesses etc, all sorts! :)
 
Piggies teeth dont grow too long because of their age.
There is usually some kind of underlying problem going on.

Guinea pigs teeth grow continuously and it is the hay in the diet that keeps the teeth worn down. Hay should make up about 80% of their overall diet. With veggies and dry food being only 20%.

Remember the Cadbury's teeth are still growing while he is getting syringe fed and so now he is eating better give him lots of hay, (and grass if you can cut some from the garden) and it helps to offer a variety of different hay to keep his interest up.

If you can let us know if you are in the UK we can also advice you of recommended vets that can do teeth without ga, just for future ref incase Cadbury requires any more treatment.

Just to add, a vet that treats teeth without GA is very much cheaper than a vet that does.
 
Remember the Cadbury's teeth are still growing while he is getting syringe fed and so now he is eating better give him lots of hay, (and grass if you can cut some from the garden) and it helps to offer a variety of different hay to keep his interest up.

If you can let us know if you are in the UK we can also advice you of recommended vets that can do teeth without ga, just for future ref incase Cadbury requires any more treatment.

Just to add, a vet that treats teeth without GA is very much cheaper than a vet that does.
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Yes, I'm in the UK and that would be good if you could find a vet that does it without GA. & We've been giving him grass and he's been helping himself from his bowl. He's also eating Dandelion leaves. However he hates the Bio-Lapis and he always tries to bite us when we give it him.@)

Thanks for your help everyone!xx>>>
 
My Fred does not have any underlying health complaints yet he has had to have spurs removed in 2 separate occasions his teeth themselves did not overgrow and after his dental's he immediately could eat again, this year he's had his teeth done twice with an 8 month gap in between, he however does not have any other condition. He is giving an injection of Valium to relax him during his dental.

Patrick has chronic bladder pain and as a result he does need dental's the right hand molar grows into his gum due to him not eating as much as he should and he gets slight gum ulceration, He has needed his teeth done with a 6 month gap but seems to be eating correctly now we have the pain under control.

These are two very different cases, I think it depends if it is Spurs or Molar overgrowth. Spurs do tend to occur in piggies over the age of 3, my vet who does them conscious said he see's this a lot in older piggies.
 
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