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Weasel dental problems

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Cindy

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Hi! Weasel is a 4 year old male guinea pig a week post dental surgery (back molars grown up in back, unable to close his mouth due to muscles, one broken premolar kind of loose near the front). He has been on Critical Care for Herbivores, liquified oats plus vitamin C, and veggie "juice" for a week but shows no signs of wanting to eat on his own. How long does it take for such problems to resolve? The vet wants to let him go a couple of weeks then reassess him. He never did lose any weight; just didn't look right. He is on antibiotics and pain meds.--Cindy
 
Hi Cindy, Sorry to hear about Weasel. :(

I'll point Furryfriends in the direction of this thread, Debbie runs a piggie Dental Santuary and is very knowledgable :)
 
Hi Cindy! I have a lot of experience of working with piggies with dental issues, and the time it takes for the piggie to start eating again can vary enormously. I have had pigs start to eat within days of dental treatment and some within weeks and in one case it was 5 1/2 months.

Was the dental work undertaken with the piggie conscious or under GA?
Does the mouth close properly now?
Was Weasel able to eat before the dental work was done?
Will Weasel eat softened guinea pig food from a plate or does he need to be fed by syringe?

Sorry for all the questions but I just need to know what the current situation is so I can advise you properly.
 
Furryfriends wrote,

"Was the dental work undertaken with the piggie conscious or under GA?
Does the mouth close properly now?
Was Weasel able to eat before the dental work was done?
Will Weasel eat softened guinea pig food from a plate or does he need to be fed by syringe?"

Furryfriends, Weasel had a GA. His mouth still is open too far (vet said muscles weren't used to closing). He couldn't eat before the dental work and has to be fed by a syringe (Critical Care for Herbivores, ground up instant oats + vit c., and veggie juice ground in a mixer--given separately, until he acts "full"). He picks up small pieces of lettuce but won't try to eat them. Am trying to keep him going for a couple of weeks until his broken 3rd right upper premolar grows out (was broken and loose, the vet said). Am trying to avoid any extracting of teeth (would be disastrous I think). X-rays didn't show any abscess or overgrown roots. But how long does it take for a premolar to grow? Vet said all his teeth seemed "soft" (vit C deficiency?).--Cindy
 
p.s. eats feces

Furryfriends,
I forgot to mention, that it takes over an hour at a time to feed Weasel with a syringe. He always eats some of his feces which I guess all guinea pigs do, for the vitamins. He manages to eat that! I try not to take it personally that he prefers this to some of his semi-liquid foods. Will try to steer him to small bits of veggies also.--Cindy
 
As your guinea pig hasn't eaten for himself since the dental work, the teeth will already have started to grow again. You really need to find a vet who can undertake the work without GA. In the early stages it is best if little and often dental work can be done, ideally weekly. It can take a while before a guinea pig starts to eat again and all the time the teeth will continue to grow.

The point about him not being able to close his mouth has got me wondering. I had a guinea pig come to me with the same problem. He had been seen by many vets and also Vedra at the CCT. My vet immediately spotted the reason. It wasn't due to poor muscle, but to the fact that everyone had missed the very back teeth which had overgrown so badly they were forcing his jaw apart. There was no way he could close his mouth. As soon as these teeth were filed down properly he was able to eat.

Where do you live? My vet is probably the best in the UK for doing dental work and people travel a long way to see him. If there is anyway you could get to him it would be well worth the trip I am sure.

His details are:

Simon Maddock
The Cat and Rabbit Care Clinic
1 Limehurst Square
Duston
Northampton

Telephone 01604 478888
 
Furryfriends and all,
Weasel has been taking about 4 hours plus per day for feedings. He seemed to get much better, but yesterday, his eye on the left side away from his broken tooth (which is on the right side) started seeming "runny." I have Cipro eye drops but discontinued them several days ago as he had been taking them for over 2 weeks. Tonight, when feeding him with a syringe, I noticed that his eye on the left side is swollen and feels hard at the top. The eye seems slightly displaced upwards. Will try to get off work tomorrow AM to take him back to the vet. I live in Central California so wish I could visit your vet but can't. I am going ask the vet to check out his eye but leave his tooth alone on the left side as his face is no longer swollen there and the tooth is probably growing out (was broken). Weasel has Meloxicam and buprenorphine for pain but seems in pain tonight so he has to be seen right away. He is taking orbafloxacin (has been on it for over two weeks now) to reduce any swelling from the broken tooth. He is getting CriticaL Care for herbivores, instant oatmeal gruel with lots of vit. C in it, and ground up lettuce juice (his favorite, to keep him hydrated). I tried stuffing some carrot top pieces in his mouth; he tried to eat them but has done worse ever since. I think the broken tooth is growing out better now, but something else is going on. I hate to subject him to more GA but the vet may want to look really far back into his mouth again. I will ask him if he does to check out the back molars as he does still seem to have his mouth open slightly all the time. Thank you so much for your help! I hope Weasel is going to be OK as he is a really lovable piggy.--Cindy
 
I am a bit concerned that it could be the start of a tooth root abscess that is causing the swelling behind the eye. The best antibiotic to use for abscesses is Zithromax (azithromycin), but as it's not a licenced drug for guinea pigs, and most vets don't really know anything about it, then you could have problems getting it. Maybe speak to your vet about it, and I can send you details of dosage etc.
 
Sorry to hear about Weasel :(

whee are all sending........

LOTS OF HEALING WHEEEEEEEEEKS XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hope your vet can sort out something love........he may even be able to consult with Debbie's vet too? i know vets do consult all over the world at times which is great!
 
Zithromax and Weasel dental/eye problems

Furryfriends and Glynis,
Thank you for your posts! Am taking Weasel to the vet i(who treats cats and exotics) in an hour and will ask about Zithromax. He is shivering despite the buprenorphine so hope the vet can find what is causing the eye and/or tooth problem. In web browsing, I noticed the articles about "lethals." Weasel is white with orange "roan" coloring on a large patch. Don't know if this is contributing to his problems (genetics?). He is a very sweet piggy.--Cindy
 
guinea pig vet

Furryfriends,
Does your vet have an email address? Will give the address/phone to my vet (who is in Pismo Beach, CA). Don't kow if he'll be willing to call overseas.--Cindy
 
Doesn't look good for Weasel

Furryfriends,
Just got back from the vet and fed Weasel his liquid foods. He seems to have orbital cellulitis, an infection probably from a cheek tooth, pushing his eye outward and upward slightly. The vet renewed the Cipro eyedrops and called in an Rx. which a compounding pharmacy is making for metronidazole. I asked him about Zithromax and said it is highly recommended; he said he didn't think it was right for "anaerobic" bacteria but would look it up. He looked at the xrays from 2 weeks ago and could find nothing that suggested an abscess but agreed to do more x-rays tomorrow morning. He said the prognosis is very bad, that the infection might require pulling the tooth and removing Weasel's eye, and that euthanasia might be kinder. So am feeling sad but hoping for the best. Will pick up the metronidazole in a while and try to figure out what to do. I don't want Weasel to suffer but also hate to have him put to sleep because of a tooth.--Cindy
 
Weasel update

Hi! Weasel's eye looks a little better. Still very large though. Is not as displaced upward or outward but still looks red. Just finished more syringe feedings and cuddling times with him. He is on metronidazole and Orbax as well as Cipro eye drops.--Cindy
 
Weasel is gone...

Hate to have to report bad news, but had to have Weasel put to sleep. His eye abscessed probably due to a tooth root behind it, and he was in such constant pain despite 2 pain meds, I let the vet put him down. The eye abscess responded only a little to metronidazole, baytril, and gentamycin drops and the vet suggested that euthanasia was the kindest thing we could do. We really miss Weasel, who was the sweetest boy piggy. Thank you all for your suggestions and wishes. Our other piggy, Pee Wee (a giant) was so out of sorts with Weasel gone that we have adopted a very young cinnamon agouti male, who Pee Wee is treating very paternally. But the new piggy will never replace Weasel in our hearts.
 
I'm so sad to see this, but it sounds similar to the abscess my very special boy Wilfie had earlier this year. He had battled so many things, but eventually the abscess spread into his nasal cavity too making it difficult for him to breathe. I too had to make the sad decision to let him go, but couldn't let him suffer.

I am glad Pee Wee has a new little friend to love.

Sending you love and hugs xx
 
:'(
This thread made me tear up, Poor lil Weasel, I bet he was a lovely piggy.
I'm sure he will be munching away on grass and hay over the rainbow bridge

Have some hugs from me, x
 
Very sad to read this, sorry for your loss. You did everything you could have for him. *hugs*

RIP Weasel
x x
 
Thank you for the love and support!

Thank you to all who sent good wishes for Weasel. He is truly missed. It is amazing how much these little guys "weasel" their way into our hearts!--Cindy
 
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