• DONATIONS NOW OPEN! TGPF relies on donations to run. If you'd like to donate towards running costs you can find out more HERE
  • Fresh grass and lawn tips to avoid springtime deaths Click here for details
  • Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Vet Cut Incisors Too Short?! :(

Status
Not open for further replies.
WonkyEyedPig

WonkyEyedPig

New Born Pup
Joined
Jun 14, 2014
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Arkansas, USA
Hello everyone! I am new to this forum.
I got the piggy I have about a year ago and I rescued him from an animal shelter. Today, I took him to the vet for a check up (he had a little lump that turned out to be just a fatty cyst), but then the vet looked at his teeth and said they were too long so she said she needed to cut them. It all happened so fast and I was not really comfortable with doing that but it was done before I knew it. Anyway, tonight he is having trouble eating. Its hard for him to pick up food on his own (especially hay). I am wondering how soon his teeth will feel better. He is able to eat if I pick up food and feed it to him, so he is still hungry and seems normal otherwise. Except that he keeps rubbing his face like his little teeth hurt. I feel so bad! I wasn't prepared for this to happen. I live in a place with no good exotic vets (Northwest Arkansas-let me know if you do know of a good one).
Please help! I feel so bad for my boy!
 
Hi and welcome to the forum. Don't feel guilty for what happened, vets can be rather quick in their decisions to act before seeking permission. Can you get a photo of his teeth to show us? Guinea pigs teeth grow very quickly, so his teeth should be back to normal within a couple of weeks.
 
Hi @WonkyEyedPig welcome to the forum ..

If your piggie is struggling to eat, it may be a good idea to supplement his diet with some hand feeding. Please have a look at our guide.. http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/complete-hand-feeding-guide.115359/

Cutting his veggies into small strips will also help, as it sounds like he's struggling at the moment with large pieces of food.

We have tagged @furryfriends Excellent Adventure Sanctuary and @Wiebke for you who have more experience in this..

In the meantime can you please add your location to your profile as it helps fellow members give any answers to questions you may have that may be area/country specific. This can be done by clicking on your username, then personal details, then add location......

Healing vibes to your wee boy..

Lisa & Ali..
 
Hi and welcome!

Did the vet cut only the front teeth or did he cut the back teeth, too? The real problem usually lies with the pre-molars that form spurs since the front teeth are usually self sharpening and only overgrow if the back teeth can't do their job anymore. A vet who doesn't know what he is doing can do more damage than he is repairing. Sadly, many vets haven't got much experience. Did you get some metacam, as piggies are often sore after overgrown teeth? Not eating is very normal after dental treatment. It usually takes more than one round to file down the teeth so they are evenly ground down again. Until then, please hand feed.

I agree with the feeding tips and links that lisaali has given you. Hopefully, furryfriends can help you with more advice. She runs a sanctuary for lethal and dental piggies.

Please add your country, state or (for the UK) your country to your details. That way, we can help you straight away with recommendations that are suitable for your part of the globe. Click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details/location. Thanks!
 
Thank you all for your responses! I was not given any pain relief for him. I am concerned to call back the same vet as I don't really trust her anymore.
She only cut his front teeth, not the molars. How long do you think he will have trouble eating? And @Wiebke, you mentioned he might need to cut down again? That makes me even more nervous! :(
I apologize for not adding my location. I live in Arkansas, USA (which may be the worst place for cavy vets in the world ha!)
 
Just cutting down the front teeth doesn't solve the problem of overgrown back teeth/trapped tongue/spurs burrowing into the cheeks at all! It only makes it worse. :( :( :(

If you haven't access to a piggy savvy vet, then would your vet be prepared to contact one of the best (and few) guinea pig dental vets in this country for advice on what to do? Simon is willing to help other vets that haven't got any experience with guinea pig dentals.
Here are the contact details for Simon Maddock: http://www.catandrabbit.co.uk/contact_us.html

Until then, please continue to hand feed your piggy; he won't be able to chew at all. Trying to keep up his weight and making sure that he is in good nick otherwise is very important.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/complete-hand-feeding-guide.115359/
 
I have replied to your private message. I am thinking there wasn't a problem to start with, although the vet has now made a problem. I have seen this many times before, where due to the vet not being experienced in what guinea pig teeth are supposed to look like, has thought them too long and cut them too short. x
 
I had this issue with an inexperienced vet - I took Tod for another issue and she said his teeth were too long and to bring him back so she could GA him and cut them. Luckily I knew they were fine so I didn't go back. Their teeth do grow amazingly quickly though. Hopefully everything will be back to normal soon.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top