Carrotyd
Junior Guinea Pig
My 8-month-old piggy, Seabass, is giving us cause for concern at the moment, as - over the last month or so - he's become increasingly fussy about what he'll eat,and is slowly shunning everything we give him.
It started with him sniffing round the veggies most morning/evenings, before ignoring them to to eat his pellets instead, and I noticed on quite a few occasions he would sniff the veg pile and try to pick up the food to no avail, which - to me - suggested it might be dental.
This has caused his weight to drop from 1115g at the end of May to 1030g, when we took him to the vet last Wednesday to have his teeth checked, but the vet said his teeth were fine.
He's lively as anything, and seems to have the will to eat, but - for whatever reason - seems disinterested in doing so on his own.
I don't know how thorough his teeth check was, because we couldn't get an appointment with our usual vet and had to see a locum, who asked us to leave Seabass at the practice for a few hours because he couldn't see his back teeth, and wanted their small animal specialist (our usual vet) to give him the once over.
The locum, in particular, said there was too much "green goo" surrounding his back teeth from the syringe feeds we've been giving Seabass since his weight began to drop, and the green veg he's increasingly favouring.
Anyway, the practice nurse phone us a few hours later and said he's in very good condition, and his teeth look fine, but to keep an eye on his weight, and if it drops any more, to call back this week.
Over the weekend, his weight dropped below 1000g, so I stepped up the syringe feeds, and he's back up to his vet weight., and I'm going to call them today to see what our options are, with regard to getting his teeth looked at a little more thoroughly.
When I take him back, does anyone have any tips with regard to what I can do to minimise the amount of "green goo" surrounding his teeth before we go? I'm loath to wind down his syringe feeds before I take him (because he obviously needs it), but keen to ensure we're doing everything we can to get this sorted properly.
It started with him sniffing round the veggies most morning/evenings, before ignoring them to to eat his pellets instead, and I noticed on quite a few occasions he would sniff the veg pile and try to pick up the food to no avail, which - to me - suggested it might be dental.
This has caused his weight to drop from 1115g at the end of May to 1030g, when we took him to the vet last Wednesday to have his teeth checked, but the vet said his teeth were fine.
He's lively as anything, and seems to have the will to eat, but - for whatever reason - seems disinterested in doing so on his own.
I don't know how thorough his teeth check was, because we couldn't get an appointment with our usual vet and had to see a locum, who asked us to leave Seabass at the practice for a few hours because he couldn't see his back teeth, and wanted their small animal specialist (our usual vet) to give him the once over.
The locum, in particular, said there was too much "green goo" surrounding his back teeth from the syringe feeds we've been giving Seabass since his weight began to drop, and the green veg he's increasingly favouring.
Anyway, the practice nurse phone us a few hours later and said he's in very good condition, and his teeth look fine, but to keep an eye on his weight, and if it drops any more, to call back this week.
Over the weekend, his weight dropped below 1000g, so I stepped up the syringe feeds, and he's back up to his vet weight., and I'm going to call them today to see what our options are, with regard to getting his teeth looked at a little more thoroughly.
When I take him back, does anyone have any tips with regard to what I can do to minimise the amount of "green goo" surrounding his teeth before we go? I'm loath to wind down his syringe feeds before I take him (because he obviously needs it), but keen to ensure we're doing everything we can to get this sorted properly.
