Anyone seen this before?

[Spookyskinnies]

Hello all

Thank you so much for all the information in this forum. I’ve had my piggies since October and your forum has really helped me to learn more about their welfare. I have noticed that after eating one of my piggies (Goblin) has two little lumps on his cheeks. They are not always there and most noticeable after eating. Hard to get pictures as he’s black but I have tried to get before and after shots. I can’t find anything online about piggies storing food in their cheeks like a hamster but that’s what it looks like! He eats well and is the same weight as his brother (around 900g at 6 months). Thanks for any help.

 

[Wiebke]

Hello all

Thank you so much for all the information in this forum. I’ve had my piggies since October and your forum has really helped me to learn more about their welfare. I have noticed that after eating one of my piggies (Goblin) has two little lumps on his cheeks. They are not always there and most noticeable after eating. Hard to get pictures as he’s black but I have tried to get before and after shots. I can’t find anything online about piggies storing food in their cheeks like a hamster but that’s what it looks like! He eats well and is the same weight as his brother (around 900g at 6 months). Thanks for any help.

Piggies always have some gunk in their mouths. It may be more obvious in skinnies, and of course there are always individual variations and quirks from greedy face stuffers to dainty nibblers.

A good way to keep a general eye out (it's not totally fool-proof though) is to check a piggy's incisors from time to time; they should have a nice even edge if they are set nicely parallel and close. This means that the dental system with the grass fibre grinding back teeth is perfectly balanced as the incisors are wearing down against each other and are self-sharpening. Any slant is usually a sign that a piggy is chewing less on one side (often a developing pain issue) and a jagged edge indicates irregular chewing/limited mobility, often from over growing premolars (spurs). If the incisors are pointing inwards and are no longer meeting, then the back teeth have overgrown. Any marked discolouration in just one incisor could point to an issue further back at the roots (which are set just before the back teeth). You can generally not see the back teeth because of the gunk in the mouth.
It is the highly abrasive silica in hay/grass fibre against with the growth rate of guinea pig teeth has evolved; that is why offering unlimited hay and - if you have access to - fresh growing dog pee-free grass, carefully introduced - are so important; as is not over-feeding pellets, which are more calorific but a lot more lower in crucial silica-rich fibre than hay.

 

[Spookyskinnies]

Piggies always have some gunk in their mouths. It may be more obvious in skinnies, and of course there are always individual variations and quirks from greedy face stuffers to dainty nibblers.

A good way to keep a general eye out (it's not totally fool-proof though) is to check a piggy's incisors from time to time; they should have a nice even edge if they are set nicely parallel and close. This means that the dental system with the grass fibre grinding back teeth is perfectly balanced as the incisors are wearing down against each other and are self-sharpening. Any slant is usually a sign that a piggy is chewing less on one side (often a developing pain issue) and a jagged edge indicates irregular chewing/limited mobility, often from over growing premolars (spurs). If the incisors are pointing inwards and are no longer meeting, then the back teeth have overgrown. Any marked discolouration in just one incisor could point to an issue further back at the roots (which are set just before the back teeth). You can generally not see the back teeth because of the gunk in the mouth.
It is the highly abrasive silica in hay/grass fibre against with the growth rate of guinea pig teeth has evolved; that is why offering unlimited hay and - if you have access to - fresh growing dog pee-free grass, carefully introduced - are so important; as is not over-feeding pellets, which are more calorific but a lot more lower in crucial silica-rich fibre than hay.

A reply from Wiebke- I am starstruck!
Thank you for your reply, I think I have a greedy face stuffer! I will definitely start checking his incisors which I haven’t done yet. They have unlimited access to hay and I will start introducing grass once I find a spot the dog doesn’t pee on!

 

[Wiebke]

A reply from Wiebke- I am starstruck!
Thank you for your reply, I think I have a greedy face stuffer! I will definitely start checking his incisors which I haven’t done yet. They have unlimited access to hay and I will start introducing grass once I find a spot the dog doesn’t pee on!

Most piggies on a good diet are just fine but it is always worth keeping an eye on the teeth, especially when you worry about something in the mouth.

In our extended modding team all take turns answering posts as and when we can around our paying jobs and real life demands. I am often around in the afternoons and evenings while other equally valid and often medically more experienced members of the team answer any new posts from overnight or the early mornings. If a thread is already in good hands, I won't necessarily post and vice versa so we can cover as many new threads as promptly as possible. We are too lively a place for us to post on every single thread and still have a long term sustainable work/life balance - including having time for our own piggies.