White teeth?

[Shrap]

Hi everyone, I'm new here!

Got my pigs Alfonzo and Cesar about 3 months ago now, off a little girl who hardly spent any time with them, she preferred her girl pigs..............

Well I just noticed that Cesar's teeth have gone white? Like, human white?
They used to be orange, and I thought they were supposed to be?

I feed them Burgess pellets twice a day, tonnes of hay, plenty of water.
They almost always get some peppers, and a couple of times a week they'll get a big buffet of things like, cabbage, kale, broccoli, a bit of carrot, cucumber, romaine lettuce etc.

Is there something wrong with him? Could it be a calcium deficiency? :S

They're 9 months old.

Thanks everyone x

 

[ghostbusterbunny]

White is normal for guinea pigs! Discolouration is not normal in guinea pigs. Orange teeth is quite normal in, say, a hamster, but definitely not pigs.

He sounds perfectly normal to me!

 

[Shrap]

How come they used to be orange then? lol!
And why are Alfonzo's still orange? Although actually not AS orange.
And more importantly, why did people tell me they're supposed to be orange :|

And more importantly again, why did I blindly believe them?

Thanks btw

 

[Abi_nurse]

Who told you they should be orange? lol. It might have been the diet the piggies where on that caused them to discolour. Maybe a guinea pig food with colourants in, usually very cheap and colourful foods have these in? But yep, they should be white.

x.

 

[ghostbusterbunny]

How come they used to be orange then? lol!
And why are Alfonzo's still orange? Although actually not AS orange.
And more importantly, why did people tell me they're supposed to be orange :|

And more importantly again, why did I blindly believe them?

Thanks btw

What Abi said, it may have been a product of a bad diet, or maybe even only being fed something like carrots could have done it (I may be speaking utter crap there, but I honestly can't think of another reason!).

You may have been told that by people that have had mice and hamsters (I think gerbils and degus also go orange, but I'm not totally sure about that) and their teeth do go orange over time. Guinea pigs aren't like that though, they're supposed to stay white.

It's easy to believe something when you've not been told different! Your pigs sound fine to me and I think Alfonzo's will continue to whiten. Don't forget your piggies teeth will be constantly growing, so the colour will grow out too eventually.

 

[Shrap]

Yeah it was people that have loads of other rodents so that will be why

They were fed on PAH nuggets before I got them.

And yeah they were fed lots of carrot! They only ever got broccoli and carrot about once a week maximum.
Also got them in a cage 100cm x 50cm............ Barely ever let out.
Unfortunately I was away lambing so my ex was looking after them while I was away so had to keep them in that cage (his room is small!).
Building their new cage tonight/tomorrow though.
Will be 4' x 2' and on 2 levels for them. So more than doubled their floor space

Thanks for the replies I don't have to worry now x

 

[Freela]

You were probably told that they were supposed to be orange because that is true for most rodents- mice, rats, hamsters, gerbils... lots of orange teeth! Guinea pigs are meant to have white teeth... if they were orange and it's now wearing off, I would wonder if it was staining from something they were eating or drinking (some supplements that dissolve in water can lead to dental staining- was the previous owner supplementing their water with vitamin C or iron or something like that?)

 

[piggiemumma]

I paniced a little when i clicked on this thread thinking...


orange?!?! My piggies nashers are bright white!

Phew!

 

[GuineaPigPuke]

White is normal for guinea pigs! Discolouration is not normal in guinea pigs. Orange teeth is quite normal in, say, a hamster, but definitely not pigs.

He sounds perfectly normal to me!

Yeah