Teeth/tummy

[Katiedid]

i posted a while ago about one of my piggies that was bothering another to eat its poop and was himself producibg small poops.

We had him checked by the vet who couldn't find anything wrong. So we changed his hay (as the bale we had I didn't think was great) we gave a little redigrass and for a month or over he has been fine until this week. He has had another bout so back to the vets.

Again they can't find anything wrong and have suggested it may be one of two things. With age (he is at least 4) he may not be able to tolerate some of the green veg (cabbage, spinach etc) that he is getting so cut him down to a couple of veg and slowly introduce others (we were also give probiotics too) or the other issue may be his back teeth. He has always been a pig that has his mouth full, constant chew and munch and chew and chew but apparently he had a lot of vegetative matter around his back teeth. The vet says this can be normal in some pigs but can be a sign of teeth problems but he couldn't see due to the food.

If the diet doesn't work the next step is to talk to one of the other vets who specialises in piggies, however it may be that the only way they can tell about the teeth is by putting him under a GA. I worry he is too old for a GA now...... so

1) does anyone have any experience with issues with molars and if so what happens? What can be done? Is there any way to stop chompie pants having a mouthful of gubbins when examined?

2) is there any way to naturally wear down the back teeth?

Thanks

Kate

 

[Guineapigfeet]

I think hay should wear down his back teeth unless they are misaligned or something?

My vet checked my girl's back teeth when she had a weight loss problem. Used a hollow tool that kept her mouth open and the vet could look down. Pig wasn't all that impressed but it worked!

 

[Katiedid]

Thanks - He used the hollow tool, the boy had his mouth stuffed with gubbins so despite 4 attempts he couldn't see the teeth.....Jet is extremely tame so I held him while the vet looked and although he strutted off and told the vet what he thought after he behaved when the vet was looking.

I am hoping it isn't teeth......I may need to see the other vet but he isn't really difficult to get in to see.

 

[Wiebke]

i posted a while ago about one of my piggies that was bothering another to eat its poop and was himself producibg small poops.

We had him checked by the vet who couldn't find anything wrong. So we changed his hay (as the bale we had I didn't think was great) we gave a little redigrass and for a month or over he has been fine until this week. He has had another bout so back to the vets.

Again they can't find anything wrong and have suggested it may be one of two things. With age (he is at least 4) he may not be able to tolerate some of the green veg (cabbage, spinach etc) that he is getting so cut him down to a couple of veg and slowly introduce others (we were also give probiotics too) or the other issue may be his back teeth. He has always been a pig that has his mouth full, constant chew and munch and chew and chew but apparently he had a lot of vegetative matter around his back teeth. The vet says this can be normal in some pigs but can be a sign of teeth problems but he couldn't see due to the food.

If the diet doesn't work the next step is to talk to one of the other vets who specialises in piggies, however it may be that the only way they can tell about the teeth is by putting him under a GA. I worry he is too old for a GA now...... so

1) does anyone have any experience with issues with molars and if so what happens? What can be done? Is there any way to stop chompie pants having a mouthful of gubbins when examined?

2) is there any way to naturally wear down the back teeth?

Thanks

Kate

hi! Please have his back teeth examined by your vet. It is usually the premolars that grow spurs that form a bridge over the tongue and trap it, so chewing and then swallowing becomes very difficult and then impossible.
Your vet can gently clean out the gunk with the help of a cotton bud. A side-on x-ray may also help.

Molars are being kept grown down by the silica in hay and grass. Guinea pigs have evolved to be the fastest growing or amongst the fastest growing of all rodents because silica is so abrasive. That is why dental problems can become such a problem so quickly if a guinea pig for some reason stops chewing evenly. The incisors at the front are usually self-sharpening and should have nice, even edges. If the edges of the incisors are slanted, jagged or if the incisors curl inwards and do no longer meet well, it is usually the sign of a problem at the back, often pain from elongated roots or a dental abscess. Please note that the lower incisors ALWAYS look too long to any vet or person who has never had to deal with dental problems in guinea pigs.

Please encourage your boy to eat as much hay as possible. A good diet should consist of 80% or more of the daily food intake being hay for long term dental and gut health. If he is losing weight, please start topping up with syringe feed, either recovery formula, mushed pellets or a mix; whatever you have handy and what goes down best.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

A guinea pig with dental issues will typically:
- chew more slowly
- be picky about veg; pick veg up but then let them drop again if it is unable to chew them or convey them to the back of the mouth for chewing with a trapped tongue
- salivate and have a wet chin, again caused by problems with swallowing
- lose weight as it cannot eat well/enough
- develop knock-on digestive issues if it is not getting enough food when being left untreated for longer

If it is not a dental problem, you vet may consider whether worming with panacur may be a way forward; it is not always worms, but it can also address an overgrow of microbes and bacteria that can prevent full gut function. I would also recommend ordering fibreplex to help rebalance the guts. It often does the trick.

If your vet would like to contact a vet that is experienced with dental issues in guinea pigs, please ask him to contact Simon Maddock at the Cat&Rabbit Care Clinic in Northampton. He does about 15 piggy dentals a week and sees guinea pigs from all over the country including as far as Scotland that have often been given up by their vets - and often being able to pull off a seeming miracle over a round of regular dentals. He is also treating the guinea pigs at TEAS sanctuary that specialises in looking after guinea pigs with chronic dental problems and is currently the most experienced dental guinea pig vet in the country.
The Cat and Rabbit Care Clinic

 

[Katiedid]

Hi

Thank you. Jet has a good diet it is predominantly hay as you say - they get a small amount of redigrass, pellets and a rationed amount of veg.

From what you have said the issue isn't dental. He isnt displaying any of the signs you have said - he isn't having trouble eating, he isn't losing weight, he isn't trying and dropping veg, he isn't dribbling and his chewing is the same as always.

At the moment I have a pig that 99% of the time is fine (indeed better than fine he looks healthy is active and eats well) and then has these short lived bouts where he isn't quite right but I wouldn't call him ill (if he wasn't in the living room I probably wouldn't notice it). I want to be perfectly clear about that, i am the sort of pet owner who goes to the vet sooner rather than later - often before it becomes apparent what the issue is. If there is any deterioration, if he at all shows signs of being ill he will be back at the vets straight away. At the moment he is in his cage beside me with Dozy munching away.

The probiotics almost instantly stopped the pestering of Dozy for poop. It may be worth worming him as you say and I will look for the fibreplex.

At the moment I am happy to try the change of diet but if it happens again or he just isn't right I will take him and get his teeth looked at.

Kate