Dental Unable to eat after surgery (> 2 weeks)

[Mariocj89]

Hello everyone,

Our guinea pig started to have some issues eating around two weeks ago. He started to eat less by days, clearly having issues to chew the food. When we realized how serious it was we took him to the Vet. They did full body anaesthesia and sleep him to cut the molars and front lower teeth.

That was two weeks and two days ago, since then we gave him food with a syringe for a week. After a week, he managed to start to eat some basic veggies like lettuce, corn and chive but for him to be able to eat it, we need to hold it as he clearly is not able to cut it with the front teeth as he used to. The really few occasions where he had eaten on his own, he had to hold the food with the feet to be able to cut it with the mouth. It seems he has lost strength on the front teeth (or they are cut way too short).

Video of him eating:

He keeps needing help to eat after a week and we keep giving him food with the syringe. If he doesn't get better we will take him to a different Vet on Monday. Did anyone go through something like that? Is it normal that it takes so long to recover?

Thanks a lot for any advice really, we are quite worried

Regards,
Mario

 

[Wiebke]

Hello everyone,

Our guinea pig started to have some issues eating around two weeks ago. He started to eat less by days, clearly having issues to chew the food. When we realized how serious it was we took him to the Vet. They did full body anaesthesia and sleep him to cut the molars and front lower teeth.

That was two weeks and two days ago, since then we gave him food with a syringe for a week. After a week, he managed to start to eat some basic veggies like lettuce, corn and chive but for him to be able to eat it, we need to hold it as he clearly is not able to cut it with the front teeth as he used to. The really few occasions where he had eaten on his own, he had to hold the food with the feet to be able to cut it with the mouth. It seems he has lost strength on the front teeth (or they are cut way too short).

Video of him eating:

He keeps needing help to eat after a week and we keep giving him food with the syringe. If he doesn't get better we will take him to a different Vet on Monday. Did anyone go through something like that? Is it normal that it takes so long to recover?

Thanks a lot for any advice really, we are quite worried

Regards,
Mario

Hi! Your experience is not uncommon, especially if your vet is not familiar with the dental system in guinea pigs and it is not properly balanced. Sadly very many vets aren't. They are also often tempted to cut back the bottom incisors unnecessarily because they look longer than expected. As long as they are not uneven, slanted or inward growing, incisors in a balanced dental system are self-sharpening and do not require clipping. If you notice the above signs, they are a good indicator that something is either wrong with back teeth or that there is a potential root abscess in an incisor brewing.

Did you get plenty of painkillers after the dental to help with the sore mouth?

Please have a read of the dental care section in our syringe feeding guide. you will have to continue syringe feeding for as long as your piggy is not able to eat enough hay for itself; this is important to keep the weight stable and to keep the guts balanced. Too much fresh food can cause additional problems as the gut starts fermenting.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

Be also aware that overgrown teeth that are not chewing properly can grow spurs again quickly again. Guinea pigs have the fastest growing teeth of all rodents because they have evolved on a diet of hay/grass which contains very abrasive silica. Unlimites hay should make over 80% of the daily food intake to keep the molars and premolars ground down.

Please see a vet as soon as you notice another loss of appetite as that means that the teeth are overgrowing again.
It usually takes several rounds teeth burring to rebalance the dental system - ideally before teeth start overgrowing badly again, but that requires experience and no/very little anaesthesia, which most vets will refuse to do.

Weigh daily at the same time to monitor the overall food intake so you can adjust how much fibre you have to syringe feed in order to keep the weight stable.

Since we have got members and enquiries from all over the world, we find it very helpful if you please added your country, state/province or Uk county to your details so we can always tailor any advice to what is relevant and available where you are straight away. Click on your username on the top bar, then go to account details and then down to location. This makes it appear with every post you make and saves everybody time. Thank you!

@furryfriends (TEAS)

 

[Mariocj89]

Hello Wiebkie,

First, infinite thanks for answering. We will continue with the syringe and keep an eye if he stops eating and take him to the vet.
Thanks for the link.

We live in London, UK. Updated in the profile now.

We will use the Pet locator of the page to find a better one

Regards,
Mario

 

[Wiebke]

Hello Wiebkie,

First, infinite thanks for answering. We will continue with the syringe and keep an eye if he stops eating and take him to the vet.
Thanks for the link.

We live in London, UK. Updated in the profile now.

We will use the Pet locator of the page to find a better one

Regards,
Mario

The most experienced dental vet in the country who sees guinea pigs from all over the country as far as Edinburgh (which is an 8 hour trip each way) is Simon Maddock at the Cat&Rabbit Care Clinic in Northampton - I have met them there. If you can get there by whatever means, please do!

He is doing more guinea pig dentals in a week that most vets in their whole career and has saved an impressive number of dental piggies that had been given up by their treating vets.
The Cat and Rabbit Care Clinic

PS: My Hywel (incisor root abscess that went into the bone) would not have had that extra last year of his life to nearly reach his 7th birthday if it hadn't been for Simon. I can vouch that Hywel was tucking pretty straight away after every dental treatment; and the same has been the case with the piggies of mine he has operated on, even my elderlies!

 

[Gem789]

Hello Wiebkie,

First, infinite thanks for answering. We will continue with the syringe and keep an eye if he stops eating and take him to the vet.
Thanks for the link.

We live in London, UK. Updated in the profile now.

We will use the Pet locator of the page to find a better one

Regards,
Mario

I second @Wiebke’s advice about getting to the cat and rabbit clinic in Northampton.It really is worth the trip.I have met people from Yorkshire and Liverpool while I was there.

 

[anyar.dris]

We're from North Wales and we travel to Northampton to go to The Cat & Rabbit Care Clinic, especially when the problem is anything teeth related. I could not recommend them enough. Simon and Kim Maddock are the best.

 

[furryfriends (TEAS)]

Definitely worth a trip to Northampton. However, Simon is away next week, so you would need to look at getting an appointment week beginning 2nd July.

 

[Mariocj89]

Thanks a lot to everyone.

We are going to take him to Beaumont Sainsbury Animal Hospital in London on Monday then, as we don't want to wait a full week for someone to see him.
He keeps eating only if we give him the food, he cannot really "cut" the leaves as he used to, is like if he lacks strength on the front teeth.

Additionally, he has started to make a weird noise whilst eating (see second 26), like hitting teeth against each other is that normal?
Video of him eating:

Also attached a picture of the front teeth. Thanks a lot, really!

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks a lot to everyone.

We are going to take him to Beaumont Sainsbury Animal Hospital in London on Monday then, as we don't want to wait a full week for someone to see him.
He keeps eating only if we give him the food, he cannot really "cut" the leaves as he used to, is like if he lacks strength on the front teeth.

Additionally, he has started to make a weird noise whilst eating (see second 26), like hitting teeth against each other is that normal?
Video of him eating:

Also attached a picture of the front teeth. Thanks a lot, really!

If his incisors have been shortened incorrectly, then he will not be able to pick up veg or hay and cut it. If the tongue is trapped, then the food is often coming back out again.
If he is painful there or if you can feel a tiny lump on the jaw, then he may have a developing root abscess and is using one side more than the other. Usually a slant (as opposed to an even end on both sets of incisors.

Teeth grinding or clacking can indicate pain.

@furryfriends (TEAS)

 

[furryfriends (TEAS)]

Aww, he wants to eat so badly but those teeth are very wrong. Guinea pig teeth have to be exactly right for them to work properly. It looks like he has barely any side to side movement of the jaw, which would suggest that the back teeth are very overgrown, which will stop his jaw from moving correctly and cause the slanted wear to his incisors. Brewing abscesses can also cause this slanted wear too. I really wish Simon was available next week, but agree that you can't really wait that long.

 

[Mariocj89]

Thanks a lot. We'll keep feeding him like that and with the syringe till Monday when the previous Vet gives us a referral to the specialist in Candem (They asked for it).

 

[Merab]

Hope all works out for Mordis

 

[Mariocj89]

We went to Beaumont Sainsbury Hospital (recommended one in this forum) and it was the best thing we could do.

They had to keep Mordís for a full day as he needed surgery, X-ray and others.

The X-ray showed that the problem was probably just the molars and incisors and they got the surgery right this time. The vet said that there was one of the molar not cut in the previous one in the other vet (totally unprofessional) and today... we have him back! He even ate some melon.

We couldn’t be happier


It also seems he has “gasses” so he is taking some guts meds. Beaumont hospital is absolutely amazing compared to the midlands one we went.

He is recovering at the moment at bed with us though his but smells awful! Is some kind of a little bit acid really intense smell, not sure how to describe it...

Anyway, thanks a lot everyone !

Also the vet said she never do a guinea pig so attached to their fellow humans :p she said she was quite surprised.

Thanks thanks thanks. Really.

 

[Mariocj89]

We have also noticed that he seems not able to control the pee anymore. Should we be worried about it?