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Any ideas? Not sure what’s wrong and I’m worried

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PippaXY123

New Born Pup
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Hi so my 2 y/o GP has been having problems with dribbling over the past 6 months. She never used to but recently she dribbles all over her chin and chest. Took her to vet and at first vet thought maybe teeth but once under anaesthetic the vet said her teeth weren’t actually that bad. They still filed back a little bit. This didn’t seem to help as she was still dribbling so 2 months later took her back and vet found one tiny scab on her chin and thought maybe abscess brewing. So gave put her on an anti inflammatory- loxicom for one month. This didn’t help.
up until now the dribbling has been the only issue. She does also drink a lot more water than my other GP, but she’s always seemed to do this. Otherwise she eats fine, and is still her active playful self.
But I have been away for Christmas and new year so she has been at a pet boarding for 3 weeks. I only got her back 3 days ago and she has lost 110g(she went from about 960g average to 848g). I’ve used this place many times so trust them fully and they have always taken great care of her, but they are kept in sheds (I keep them in my bedroom) the sheds are heated but not as warm as it would be in my house.
I’m very worried about this weight loss. Could it just be the stress of being somewhere new and the cold (we have been having awful weather lately).
She is still eating and drinking fine. But I’m not sure if the weight loss is related to the dribbling or just the stress of being somewhere unfamiliar. I have used this boarders 4 times before and she has never come back with weight loss.
I have a vet appointment on Thursday, but just wondered if anyone has any suggestions? What could be causing the dribbling and weight loss?
 
Hi

Have your vets checked for oral thrush (fungal infection) in the mouth, which can also cause dribbling?

Please step in with feeding support to make up for the hay/grass fibre that makes up over three quarters of the daily food intake asap. Your home care can be crucial: Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures

The increased drinking can be because your girl also eating less veg but it can have a cause somewhere else in the body. I can unfortunately not answer your question about what is going on. The need to drink however comes before the need to eat but after the need to breathe.
Here is our very comprehensive and practical support feeding and medicating guide with all the how-to tips: All About
 
Did the boarding place mention if she was eating whilst she was there? Maybe she was a bit stressed so lost her appetite?
 
Hi, you are doing the right thing going back to the vet. There is definitely something amiss. Teeth can be a 'cause' but also a 'symptom'... so if something else is causing her to eat less hay then over time her teeth can get a bit long. Hay is hard food, veggies are softer, so piggies who have mouth pain or who are developing teeth problems eat less hay round the clock but might still eat their food nuggets, any grass and veggies. If a piggy is gobbling down veggies it's hard to see how they are eating less but that's how my boy lost weight - he just didn't eat so much hay through the day and night as the girls were. I could tell because his poops were smaller and a bit irregular.

If you look at the bottom incisors are they worn evenly? Or do they slant to one side. This can indicate a problem at that side of the mouth. Maybe a spur has grown on a back molar. These can sometimes be felt if the vet is not able to see visually. I've seen a post where a piggy was x-rayed and it showed a huge molar spur! But I don't think you routinely need x-rays to diagnose these.

If she's drooling it does suggest something in the mouth - although I don't know what. I've read somewhere that piggies can sometimes drink more if they are hungry but having problems eating - I don't know how true this is though. How is her weight compared to your other piggy? You can get bigger and smaller body frames and there is always variation but they presumably have access to the same diet? My pigs have generally been quite similar weights and at 2 we'd be looking at 1.1 to 1.2 kilo for a girl.
 
Wiebke said:
Hi

Have your vets checked for oral thrush (fungal infection) in the mouth, which can also cause dribbling?

Please step in with feeding support to make up for the hay/grass fibre that makes up over three quarters of the daily food intake asap. Your home care can be crucial: Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures

The increased drinking can be because your girl also eating less veg but it can have a cause somewhere else in the body. I can unfortunately not answer your question about what is going on. The need to drink however comes before the need to eat but after the need to breathe.
Here is our very comprehensive and practical support feeding and medicating guide with all the how-to tips: All About
Click to expand...
She seems to be eating the same amount of veg as always, they always love their veg
 
Free Ranger said:
Hi, you are doing the right thing going back to the vet. There is definitely something amiss. Teeth can be a 'cause' but also a 'symptom'... so if something else is causing her to eat less hay then over time her teeth can get a bit long. Hay is hard food, veggies are softer, so piggies who have mouth pain or who are developing teeth problems eat less hay round the clock but might still eat their food nuggets, any grass and veggies. If a piggy is gobbling down veggies it's hard to see how they are eating less but that's how my boy lost weight - he just didn't eat so much hay through the day and night as the girls were. I could tell because his poops were smaller and a bit irregular.

If you look at the bottom incisors are they worn evenly? Or do they slant to one side. This can indicate a problem at that side of the mouth. Maybe a spur has grown on a back molar. These can sometimes be felt if the vet is not able to see visually. I've seen a post where a piggy was x-rayed and it showed a huge molar spur! But I don't think you routinely need x-rays to diagnose these.

If she's drooling it does suggest something in the mouth - although I don't know what. I've read somewhere that piggies can sometimes drink more if they are hungry but having problems eating - I don't know how true this is though. How is her weight compared to your other piggy? You can get bigger and smaller body frames and there is always variation but they presumably have access to the same diet? My pigs have generally been quite similar weights and at 2 we'd be looking at 1.1 to 1.2 kilo for a girl.
Click to expand...
No her teeth aren’t slanted they are even both sides, it’s hard to see how much hay she eats as they have massive piles, but I see her eating her hay. My other Gp is 1106g they are on the same diet. She has always been around the 950g mark which the vet said she is just a small pig and looks healthy and not thin. However she is now down to 848g. They both have the same diet yes, but I have been trying to get the weight back on so feeding them more veggies and pellets than usual at the moment. She weighted at 860g this morning
 
PippaXY123 said:
She seems to be eating the same amount of veg as always, they always love their veg
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, veg only makes about 15-20% of what a piggy should eat in a day. Together with pellets, veg only fill the supplementary role of wild forage.

The main food for guinea pigs is hay, hay and more hay. If your piggy is losing weight, then you need to step in and fill that crucial gap because it is the silica in the hay fibre which keeps the crucial back teeth ground down and the whole gut going, which is laid out specifically to deal with the tough but very nutritious hay fibre. You cannot judge the hay intake by eye. Only concentrating on your veg is like focussing on a mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack but completely overlooking breakfast, lunch and dinner. That is the reason why stepping in with feeding support is crucial at a major weight loss like yours.

Our very comprehensive feeding guide will take you through everything you need to consider during a piggy's major weight loss and illness. It also helps you working out at which level and in which way you need to top up feed or step in full-on syringe feeding - this should help you to hopefully stabilise or at least slow down the weight loss.
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures

As for drinking issues including potential illnesses: All About Drinking And Bottles
 
Wiebke said:
Unfortunately, veg only makes about 15-20% of what a piggy should eat in a day. Together with pellets, veg only fill the supplementary role of wild forage.

The main food for guinea pigs is hay, hay and more hay. If your piggy is losing weight, then you need to step in and fill that crucial gap because it is the silica in the hay fibre which keeps the crucial back teeth ground down and the whole gut going, which is laid out specifically to deal with the tough but very nutritious hay fibre. You cannot judge the hay intake by eye. Only concentrating on your veg is like focussing on a mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack but completely overlooking breakfast, lunch and dinner. That is the reason why stepping in with feeding support is crucial at a major weight loss like yours.

Our very comprehensive feeding guide will take you through everything you need to consider during a piggy's major weight loss and illness. It also helps you working out at which level and in which way you need to top up feed or step in full-on syringe feeding - this should help you to hopefully stabilise or at least slow down the weight loss.
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures

As for drinking issues including potential illnesses: All About Drinking And Bottles
Click to expand...
Ok thanks for the advice, she does have access to plenty of hay, and I see her eating often but yeah it’s very true that I’m not sure how much hay she is eating all day.
 
Oh dear poor Pip. Hope the specialist can help.
 
Oh my goodness, what a shame for her. Has she lost more weight in the interim or has her eating maybe improved in the past few weeks?
 
Oh poor Pip. Well done for persisting and getting to the bottom of the issue.
 
I wonder if the specialist will examine her and maybe suggest a wait and see approach (with a bit of painkiller) if she's actually managing to increase her weight on her own? I know hairline fractures in people can heal without bracing or anything... Piggies are smaller and their jaw is fragile but they are very hungry and determined little things! I'll be hoping for the best x
 
Free Ranger said:
I wonder if the specialist will examine her and maybe suggest a wait and see approach (with a bit of painkiller) if she's actually managing to increase her weight on her own? I know hairline fractures in people can heal without bracing or anything... Piggies are smaller and their jaw is fragile but they are very hungry and determined little things! I'll be hoping for the best x
Click to expand...
Will have the wait and see my next appointment is Wednesday (with my usual vet for a checkup) but I’m not convinced it will heal on its own as this drooling has been going on since 5 or 6 months ago so I would’ve thought if it would heal on its own it would have done so already though I’m not an expert. We are just waiting for referral for a consult at the specialist at the moment so not sure if surgery is needed (hopefully not!) or something else can be done
 
Hello Everyone, it’s me again 😅 the saga continues… as the exotic specialists don’t think it’s a hairline fracture, but perhaps just a malformation of her jaw (just through genetics). They have suggested a CT scan to diagnose further, but have advised that in reality not much treatment can be done except give her long term pain relief. This is slightly worrying and I’m still debating what to do. The specialist is a 3 hours drive from me, so I have to consider that. I would do it it’s just poor Pip gets very stressed at the vets as it is let alone driving 3 hours to go to a vets again. We have another appointment on Friday to discuss with our usual vets, but we’re back to not knowing what is wrong unfortunately!
 
Is Northampton a do-able drive for you?
There is a clinic there called Cat&Rabbit run by some very experienced vets CAT AND RABBIT CARE CLINIC | Northlands Vets and tbh I'd be thinking about getting their opinion. They are dental specialists so they seen a lot of piggy mouths and jaws. They're a normally-priced vet but with tons of experience. One of the forum members runs a sanctuary for special-needs piggies who need regular dental work in that area (and she does piggy boarding if you need it) so you can imagine they've seen some remarkable variations from the norm! We can advise on getting a referral (necessary nowadays because of the demand).

I'd be in 2 minds myself about he CT scan. It's not just putting piggy through it (which is significant - especially from her point of view!), or even the cost (though that is always going to factor), it's whether you can learn anything useful because - as you're no doubt thinking yourself - what's the point if it doesn't really help her. Is it just to satisfy our own need to 'know' what's happening. But that's beyond my ken I'm afraid.

I've seen other posts where vets have suggested jaw malformation in an adult pig and I generally end up wondering why this sort of thing didn't show up sooner. Hence my first suggestion of the C&R. If something has been missed these are the guys that have the best chance of spotting it. If you need to know more about boarding have a look on the forum front page for The Excellent Adventure Sanctuary :)
 
PippaXY123 said:
Hello Everyone, it’s me again 😅 the saga continues… as the exotic specialists don’t think it’s a hairline fracture, but perhaps just a malformation of her jaw (just through genetics). They have suggested a CT scan to diagnose further, but have advised that in reality not much treatment can be done except give her long term pain relief. This is slightly worrying and I’m still debating what to do. The specialist is a 3 hours drive from me, so I have to consider that. I would do it it’s just poor Pip gets very stressed at the vets as it is let alone driving 3 hours to go to a vets again. We have another appointment on Friday to discuss with our usual vets, but we’re back to not knowing what is wrong unfortunately!
Click to expand...

I'm so sorry to hear this. I had a piggy with a malformed jaw too (amongst a host of other issues that were presenting at the time). Could it be an option, if all you choose is long term pain relief, to get the initial prescription at the specialist and then transfer the notes to a local vet if they agree to monitor weight and prescribe the same pain relief as necessary?
 
Free Ranger said:
Is Northampton a do-able drive for you?
There is a clinic there called Cat&Rabbit run by some very experienced vets CAT AND RABBIT CARE CLINIC | Northlands Vets and tbh I'd be thinking about getting their opinion. They are dental specialists so they seen a lot of piggy mouths and jaws. They're a normally-priced vet but with tons of experience. One of the forum members runs a sanctuary for special-needs piggies who need regular dental work in that area (and she does piggy boarding if you need it) so you can imagine they've seen some remarkable variations from the norm! We can advise on getting a referral (necessary nowadays because of the demand).

I'd be in 2 minds myself about he CT scan. It's not just putting piggy through it (which is significant - especially from her point of view!), or even the cost (though that is always going to factor), it's whether you can learn anything useful because - as you're no doubt thinking yourself - what's the point if it doesn't really help her. Is it just to satisfy our own need to 'know' what's happening. But that's beyond my ken I'm afraid.

I've seen other posts where vets have suggested jaw malformation in an adult pig and I generally end up wondering why this sort of thing didn't show up sooner. Hence my first suggestion of the C&R. If something has been missed these are the guys that have the best chance of spotting it. If you need to know more about boarding have a look on the forum front page for The Excellent Adventure Sanctuary :)
Click to expand...
Unfortunately they are an 8 hour drive for me! But I have heard about their great work and would definitely consider it, especially as I may be relocating to London in a few months.
I think you hit the nail on the head with my thoughts, as I’m not sure if a CT scan will be beneficial when the outcome is the same. I’d only opt for it if an issue can be found/ resolved.
But it’s very reassuring to hear lots of guinea pigs on long term pain relief with no real issues
 
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