Back teeth

[Jadessa1]

Has anyone had any Guinea pig issues with there back teeth?

I have a 2.5 year old, Half blind Guinea pig(head tilt) that is drooling. He is alert and interested in food, but still drops them. Gave him some lettuce but it seem like he gagged on it and spit it out. I walked away for a few minutes and came back to notice the lettuce gone and that he was in a corner. Either him or his roommate ate it. I only realize that today he is slightly lighter then what I am use to when I picked him up. He is a big boy usually weight over 1,870 grams.

I am looking for vets as I write this. So, I wanted anyone that had a similar experience to please tell me what your your vet did and recommend. Such as med or exam.
I’m just worried. I know that anesthesia could have a risk for Guinea pigs. I’m not sure if they would need it.

 

[Piggies&buns]

If he has an issue with his molars, then most vets do need to sedate piggies to have a look at them.
Very few vets will do conscious dental work

Ensure you weigh him daily so you can monitor his hay intake and step in with syringe feeding if he is losing weight

 

[Jadessa1]

If he has an issue with his molars, then most vets do need to sedate piggies to have a look at them.
Very few vets will do conscious dental work

Ensure you weigh him daily so you can monitor his hay intake and step in with syringe feeding if he is losing weight

Is there more then a 75% chance that he will survive the sedate. I had a piggy that needed a cesarean and she didn’t make it once they added the sedate(as I was told)

This is why I am worried. I have called a few exotic vets so far and they are either booked or don’t take Guinea pigs. This is the only forum that I stumbled upon, but it’s for the UK. I’m in the USA. So, I can here for advice to ease my worries.

(I understand that this is a forum and medical info is only given by vets)

Should I separate him for the time being so I can assure that he is indeed eating, peeing and pooping and not his roommate?

 

[Piggies&buns]

Sedation is generally only light but only your vet can confirm their methods and success rates

No please don’t separate him, it causes unnecessary stress. The only way to know he is eating enough is to weigh him daily so there is no benefit in separating him

 

[Jadessa1]

Sedation is generally only light but only your vet can confirm their methods and success rates

No please don’t separate him, it causes unnecessary stress. The only way to know he is eating enough is to weigh him daily so there is no benefit in separating him

Thank you.

He was originally a boar that lived separately for 2 years. Due to not liking 3 different baby roommate I tried to pair him up with and constantly fighting them. I gave up in pairing him since April 2020. In the beginning of November 2021, I added a 7 week old boar piggy to his cage that he took a liking too. It’s been almost 3 months and no issues.

Could this be a possibility that his drooling/teeth issues is a side effect of living with a piggy? In other words, his way of being a rebelling?


He might be a blind piggy but still knows when to grab it from my hand and run with his veggies, but today he didn’t. He grabbed it and dropped it without running off

 

[Piggies&buns]

Thank you.

He was originally a boar that lived separately for 2 years. Due to not liking 3 different baby roommate I tried to pair him up with and constantly fighting them. I gave up in pairing him since April 2020. In the beginning of November 2021, I added a 7 week old boar piggy to his cage that he took a liking too. It’s been almost 3 months and no issues.

Could this be a possibility that his drooling/teeth issues is a side effect of living with a piggy? In other words, his way of being a rebelling?


He might be a blind piggy but still knows when to grab it from my hand and run with his veggies, but today he didn’t. He grabbed it and dropped it without running off

No, drooling/dental issues will have nothing to do with living with another piggy. There can be many causes for dental issues - abscesses, misalignment etc - but it’s certainly not rebellion.

 

[Wiebke]

Has anyone had any Guinea pig issues with there back teeth?

I have a 2.5 year old, Half blind Guinea pig(head tilt) that is drooling. He is alert and interested in food, but still drops them. Gave him some lettuce but it seem like he gagged on it and spit it out. I walked away for a few minutes and came back to notice the lettuce gone and that he was in a corner. Either him or his roommate ate it. I only realize that today he is slightly lighter then what I am use to when I picked him up. He is a big boy usually weight over 1,870 grams.

I am looking for vets as I write this. So, I wanted anyone that had a similar experience to please tell me what your your vet did and recommend. Such as med or exam.
I’m just worried. I know that anesthesia could have a risk for Guinea pigs. I’m not sure if they would need it.

Hi

It sounds like he should be vet checked for dental issues with potentially overgrowing back teeth as soon as possible. There are only very few vets worldwide who are able to do dental work in guinea pig without sedation; and even then it depends on the severity of the issue.

Please keep in mind that if your piggy has overgrowing teeth, they will certainly die very slowly and agonisingly from being unable to eat if you choose to NOT have them treated because you are worried about the risk of anaesthesia, which does by far not affect all piggies (I have certainly had plenty of piggies - even older ones - come through their operations). Sometimes there are no easy choices.

Please switch from weighing once weekly on your kitchen scales to weighing daily at the same time. Please also be aware if your piggy is drooling they are struggling with swallowing. And that the food group you really have to replace is hay/grass fibre, which makes around 80% of the daily food intake, so you may need to step in with ideally timothy based syringe feeding support.

Drooling (i.e. swallowing problems) and dental issues have nothing to do with companionship aspects.

 

[Freela]

It definitely sounds like his back teeth should be checked by an exotics vet with experience with teeth. Generally vets who have experience with other rodents and rabbits bill themselves as exotics vets in North America. It is definitely worth booking an appointment with a vet who has experience here... it can make all the difference in the world. Most vets in North America will not do dental work without sedation, but the risks of sedation are minimized when vets used to small animals use minimal gas anesthesia to sedate the animals. For what it's worth, I've had three guinea pigs undergo gas anesthesia for dental surgery or abscess drainage or abscess removal... none had problems with the anesthesia. I even had an elderly hamster who was sedated for dental work about three times before she finally passed of old age... she also did fine with anesthesia. There are never any guarantees that things will go well when animals (and even humans) need to be anesthetized, but overgrown teeth that made it impossible to eat or swallow are a death sentence, so anesthesia is very much the lesser risk. I agree with switching to weighing daily, and check out the sticky at the top on syringe feeding to tide him over until you can get an appointment with an experienced vet (I know it's not always easy in North America!) Also, please leave him with his friend. This isn't behavioral and guinea pigs and the last thing he needs is more stress from being alone or being removed from a companion. Hope this helps a bit, and best of luck to you and your piggie!

 

[Swissgreys]

Many of us have had dental piggies on here with similar issues.
The first step is to have him seen by a vet and have his teeth checked.
This will allow you to come up with a plan of action.

Once you have seen a vet if you report back we can offer ongoing support - it's not an uncommon issue so hopefully you can find a vet who can treat it successfully.
At 2 years old he has a long life ahead of him, and it is wonderful that he will now get to share it with a piggy companion too.

 

[Jadessa1]

Hi

It sounds like he should be vet checked for dental issues with potentially overgrowing back teeth as soon as possible. There are only very few vets worldwide who are able to do dental work in guinea pig without sedation; and even then it depends on the severity of the issue.

Please keep in mind that if your piggy has overgrowing teeth, they will certainly die very slowly and agonisingly from being unable to eat if you choose to NOT have them treated because you are worried about the risk of anaesthesia, which does by far not affect all piggies (I have certainly had plenty of piggies - even older ones - come through their operations). Sometimes there are no easy choices.

Please switch from weighing once weekly on your kitchen scales to weighing daily at the same time. Please also be aware if your piggy is drooling they are struggling with swallowing. And that the food group you really have to replace is hay/grass fibre, which makes around 80% of the daily food intake, so you may need to step in with ideally timothy based syringe feeding support.

Drooling (i.e. swallowing problems) and dental issues have nothing to do with companionship aspects.

Yes, thank you. I was not going to chose not to take him to a vet.

I had spend all day looking for a exotic vet. I only came to find four that will deal with molars. office hours are now close therefore I can’t call till tomorrow. Hopefully, one of them are will to take him in the same day even if they are 2 hours away.

 

[Jadessa1]

Many of us have had dental piggies on here with similar issues.
The first step is to have him seen by a vet and have his teeth checked.
This will allow you to come up with a plan of action.

Once you have seen a vet if you report back we can offer ongoing support - it's not an uncommon issue so hopefully you can find a vet who can treat it successfully.
At 2 years old he has a long life ahead of him, and it is wonderful that he will now get to share it with a piggy companion too.

Thank you. I will certainly keep the forum updated once I hear back from one of the 4 vets that deal in molars. Hopefully once office hours are open tomorrow they could take him in

 

[Wiebke]

All the best.

Please be aware that exotics vets are quite over-subscribed, especially in the USA and Canada in our experience; so you may be looking at quite a few days' waiting time.

Please step in with syringe feeding support asap - the fitter your piggy the better they will get through any treatment and bounce back. Tips on how to support your piggy and keeping them going until you can access vet care and until they have recovered (which is usually not instant) can be found in these two links here:
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

Fingers crossed!

 

[Jadessa1]

Update: I have called the last of 4 different exotic vets in two different states. Sadly the vet with the most exotic experience won’t be available till Monday.

The other 2 are fully booked and not taking new patients. They were only able to give me some advice on what his issue might be based on what I have said, which isn’t much different then what everyone said on the form. They also mentioned, that if my Guinea pig allowed me to look inside his month Beyond the “GAPS” to see his molars without his putting up a fight. Lucky, my piggy was completely calm when I did, as my grandfather held the flashlight and my grandmother held my piggy, I used my pinky to hold his tongue down and my two pointer fingers to separate his “gaps” I was able to only see his “left molar”. I was shocked! This molar looked completely black or dark green. They told me that he needed to be seen and recommended I call the hospital university of Pennsylvania to see if they had a exotic vet. I looked it up just it case, I was glad that I did because it was the 4th vet I was going to call, just under a different hospital name which is washington ave animal/Exotic Animal Hospital of Philadelphia.

I was able to called. I was told that they were also fully booked today but free tomorrow. I ensure them that it was a urgent and I suspected he had a black molar after checking his mouth. They said to bring him in before 8pm, the cost would be $128 for emergencies exams and $85 if I come in tomorrow.

I am waiting on my grandmother to come home so I can take him to the vet today since she currently has the car.

My fingers are crossed and hopefully this vet will be able to save him in time unlike two previous vet that couldn’t save my pigggys

 

[Wiebke]

Update: I have called the last of 4 different exotic vets in two different states. Sadly the vet with the most exotic experience won’t be available till Monday.

The other 2 are fully booked and not taking new patients. They were only able to give me some advice on what his issue might be based on what I have said, which isn’t much different then what everyone said on the form. They also mentioned, that if my Guinea pig allowed me to look inside his month Beyond the “GAPS” to see his molars without his putting up a fight. Lucky, my piggy was completely calm when I did, as my grandfather held the flashlight and my grandmother held my piggy, I used my pinky to hold his tongue down and my two pointer fingers to separate his “gaps” I was able to only see his “left molar”. I was shocked! This molar looked completely black or dark green. They told me that he needed to be seen and recommended I call the hospital university of Pennsylvania to see if they had a exotic vet. I looked it up just it case, I was glad that I did because it was the 4th vet I was going to call, just under a different hospital name which is washington ave animal/Exotic Animal Hospital of Philadelphia.

I was able to called. I was told that they were also fully booked today but free tomorrow. I ensure them that it was a urgent and I suspected he had a black molar after checking his mouth. They said to bring him in before 8pm, the cost would be $128 for emergencies exams and $85 if I come in tomorrow.

I am waiting on my grandmother to come home so I can take him to the vet today since she currently has the car.

My fingers are crossed and hopefully this vet will be able to save him in time unlike two previous vet that couldn’t save my pigggys

Fingers firmly crossed for your piggy. Please be aware that guinea pigs always have gunk in their mouths (the green/brown stuff).

 

[Swissgreys]

Update: I have called the last of 4 different exotic vets in two different states. Sadly the vet with the most exotic experience won’t be available till Monday.

The other 2 are fully booked and not taking new patients. They were only able to give me some advice on what his issue might be based on what I have said, which isn’t much different then what everyone said on the form. They also mentioned, that if my Guinea pig allowed me to look inside his month Beyond the “GAPS” to see his molars without his putting up a fight. Lucky, my piggy was completely calm when I did, as my grandfather held the flashlight and my grandmother held my piggy, I used my pinky to hold his tongue down and my two pointer fingers to separate his “gaps” I was able to only see his “left molar”. I was shocked! This molar looked completely black or dark green. They told me that he needed to be seen and recommended I call the hospital university of Pennsylvania to see if they had a exotic vet. I looked it up just it case, I was glad that I did because it was the 4th vet I was going to call, just under a different hospital name which is washington ave animal/Exotic Animal Hospital of Philadelphia.

I was able to called. I was told that they were also fully booked today but free tomorrow. I ensure them that it was a urgent and I suspected he had a black molar after checking his mouth. They said to bring him in before 8pm, the cost would be $128 for emergencies exams and $85 if I come in tomorrow.

I am waiting on my grandmother to come home so I can take him to the vet today since she currently has the car.

My fingers are crossed and hopefully this vet will be able to save him in time unlike two previous vet that couldn’t save my pigggys

It is fantastic you are trying to get him to see an experienced vet today, and I am super impressed at the cost too.
For an out of hours emergency with an exotics vet that is very reasonable!

I do agree with @Wiebke though - the back teeth often look green and gunky - my exotics vet always lets me have a quick peak when Ruby has been sedated for dental work.
I am slightly in awe that you managed this with a conscious guinea pig and no specialist tools though - getting to those back molars is no easy feat.
Maybe you should consider a career as a vet yourself.

 

[Jadessa1]

It is fantastic you are trying to get him to see an experienced vet today, and I am super impressed at the cost too.
For an out of hours emergency with an exotics vet that is very reasonable!

I do agree with @Wiebke though - the back teeth often look green and gunky - my exotics vet always lets me have a quick peak when Ruby has been sedated for dental work.
I am slightly in awe that you managed this with a conscious guinea pig and no specialist tools though - getting to those back molars is no easy feat.
Maybe you should consider a career as a vet yourself.

Thank you. He usually a head pusher, so I was also surprised he was calm

 

[Jadessa1]

Update: i arrived at the vet at 5:00pm. They took him in the back as soon as I arrived. Once they were done with the examination, they explained what was wrong. They were worried about his head tilt (I mention he always had it as a baby due to his blindness), the bad mouth smell, that he hasn’t pee or poop since I noticed his issues and that his tongue was indeed trapped. His temperature was low when I arrived 99.5. They gave him an IV/shot to give him a bit of energy.

Seeing how they couldn’t leave him overnight, they sent him home at 6:28pm. Along with critical care feed (I didn’t have any), to give 0.18ml of chloramphenicol 200mg/ml every 12 hours for 14 days, to give 0.08ml of gabapentin 100mg/ml every 12 hour when needed for pain, and to give 0.12ml of meloxicam 1.5mg/ml every 12 hours for 5-7 days.

The urgent visit was $128 and the exam and medicine was $300. A total of $428

I was told to come back in the morning at 8:00am to get him into surgery for his molar trim, if he makes it over night.

His weight:
-12:08am he was 868 grams
-3:28pm he was 852 grams
-9:47pm (33mins after critical feed) 927grams
-right before his 2nd feed he finally pee and did two tiny poops!!
-2:19am (33mins after critical feed) 940grams

The cost of the molar surgery for tomorrow is estimated to be $826. He is a photo of what I might be charged with.

Hopefully, he will make it threw the night and his surgery will be successful

 

[Piggies&buns]

Please ensure you only weigh him once every 24 hours. You then compare that weight to the one 24 hours prior. This is how you gauge how much critical care to give - if the weight has dropped from previous 24 hours then it means he hasn’t eaten enough.

If you weigh him every few hours then you will pick up too much fluctuation for the weight checks to be as useful.

You can mush his normal pellets with water and syringe that to him as an emergency measure if you don’t have critical care. Its important to start support feeding as soon as you notice any eating problems (as well as switching from weekly to daily weight checks) as if you stop seeing poops by that time it already means a piggy hadn’t eaten enough for a couple of days (poop output is behind by 1-2 days).

i hope he is ok

 

[Jadessa1]

Please ensure you only weigh him once every 24 hours. You then compare that weight to the one 24 hours prior. This is how you gauge how much critical care to give - if the weight has dropped from previous 24 hours then it means he hasn’t eaten enough.

If you weigh him every few hours then you will pick up too much fluctuation for the weight checks to be as useful.

You can mush his normal pellets with water and syringe that to him as an emergency measure if you don’t have critical care. Its important to start support feeding as soon as you notice any problems (as well as switching from weekly to daily weight checks) as if you stop seeing poops by that time it already means a piggy hadn’t eaten enough for a couple of days (poop output is behind by 1-2 days).

i hope he is ok

Yes, when I noticed something was off on Wednesday around 11:30pm. I saw Smosh poop still stuck in his “back end”.

At midnight, I weighed him (868grams) then I weighed him (16hrs later) before I left for the vet (852g). Then to make sure that he did eat the critical care because the vet was worried that he wouldn’t swallow due to how bad his molars were blocking his throat. I weighed(927) him again 33 minutes after I feed him the critical care (6hrs laters from vet). Then again 4hr and 33 minutes later(940g).

-During midnight 12:08am to 3:28pm he had loss 16grams.
-From 3:28pm to 9:47pm he had gained 75grams.
-From 9:47pm to 2:19am he gain 13grams.

This was my last weight. I won’t be weighing him again. He will be going in for surgery in less then 7hours(hopefully). I only wanted to make sure the feed was in his stomach and weighting him was the only way I could tell, since he had hardly pooped (as in the photo).

Ever since coming from the vet, his drooling went from soaking wet fur to it being only damp. This vet seem to know what she was doing and hopefully the different doctor for the surgery, will help my piggy get better

 

[weepweeps]

Good luck at the vets today.

 

[Bill & Ted]

Oh bless you and your piggie, I hope the operation is a success for your little fella x

 

[VickiA]

I hope the surgery is successful.

 

[Jadessa1]

Update: at 7:30am, When I went to give him his critical care, I noticed a stringy Air shaped poop with mucus. But no actual poop, only clear air. I didn’t want to pull it, just in case. I looked in his cage and didn’t see any poop, his bedding did feel wet, so he most likely peed or it was his water bottle. But the wetness seem alittle about 4inch from the bottle. The only time I saw physical poop was at 2:18am (photo in last update)

He was extremely alert and more happy then he was yesterday before going to the vet. As I syringed feed him, he kept on pulling it trying to stop me from taking it out his mouth. I was told to give him 10ml of critical feed every 4hours.

My mother took him to the vet at 8:30am for his surgery and hopefully she explained everything I said to them.

Should I be worried about the air poop? Hopefully, No news is good news and at 4:30pm he will be coming home from the vet

 

[Swissgreys]

It sounds like you have done everything possible to give him the best chance.
Fingers crossed for a successful surgery and a good recovery for your boy.

 

[Bill & Ted]

Fingers crossed for the little man x

 

[Jadessa1]

Update: 6:20pm! He has come home. So far, he seems fine besides breathing Alittle to quickly or it could be that it’s because they had to remove a the first right molar. As I suspected when I checked his mouth, his right molar was indeed black!

They gave me his tooth for saving. I was only charged $708 for the surgery and $428 for yesterday visit.

Here, is a detailed paper on what was wrong.

 

[Jadessa1]

At 7:30pm, He has only eaten about 2ml of critical care. Is it possible that he didn’t want to eat anymore due to the gabapentin and other two meds?

I tried again at 9:30pm, but his mouth was still slightly open and breathing fast, eyes were watery. When I tried to feed him, he didn’t take the critical care down. It just stayed in his mouth and the rest dripped down. I tried to syringe him some water but same thing happen.

Is this normal after dental surgery? I can’t call the vet because they are closed and emergency hospitals near me don’t have exotic vets.

 

[weepweeps]

Hello. How is he now? The anaesthetic will make him sleepy. I hope once that wears off and the meds kick in he will perk up a bit. If you’re worried definitely call the vets as soon as possible.

 

[Jadessa1]

Hello. How is he now? The anaesthetic will make him sleepy. I hope once that wears off and the meds kick in he will perk up a bit. If you’re worried definitely call the vets as soon as possible.

Sadly, he has passed. He still fine around 1:35am, when I went to check him again at 2:00am, he was no longer moving.

No vets were answering. My parents weren’t home I wasn’t able to take him to an hospital.

 

[weepweeps]

I’m so sorry he didn’t make it. You did all you could for him. Take care.