My guinea pig Kevin is 5yrs 6months. He has never suffered tooth problems until recently. I noticed one of his top teeth had broken a few weeks back, and it has now grown really thick, crooked and yellow. Kevin has a vet appointment on Wednesday regarding this. He is eating and drinking normally and doesn’t appear to be in any discomfort. However I have no experience with this, has anyone seen anything like this before and what was the outcome? Sorry for the bad photo. Kevin does have 2 skin tags below his nose / on his lip fold, which the vet has previously checked over and confirmed they are just fleshy lesions!
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Big yellow tooth!
- Thread starter Melxava
- Start date
Viennese Furbabies
Forum Buddy
It's a good thing you have got a vet appointment soon. The vet will take away the uneven edges. Maybe your boy will need a bit of help in the first days afterwards. If he can't eat veggies by himself, you need to cut them into stripes. Eating hay isn't a problem for most piggies, but you might need to step in with syringe feeding if he struggles too much at first.
With a little luck, the teeth will grow back in the right way and Kevin won't have any further troubles. But you should check his teeth regularly.
Good luck at the vet's!
With a little luck, the teeth will grow back in the right way and Kevin won't have any further troubles. But you should check his teeth regularly.
Good luck at the vet's!
Thanks for your reply. I have critical care in my store cupboard. I have been keeping a close eye on him. It doesn’t appear to be causing him any problems yet - but I know how things can quickly change with little guineas. I am concerned that he might have an infection which has caused the discolouration. I am also worried about him being sedated for any procedure.
Bill & Ted
Forum Buddy
Kevin has what is known as a ‘fat’ tooth. This can happen when a tooth has been broken and the root has been damaged or a tiny bit of infection has got into the gum. If he is eating ok then it’s more likely trauma that’s caused it. A fat tooth in itself is not a problem, many guinea pigs develop them if they have lost a tooth completely. It takes the place of the missing tooth.
Ask your vet to file the incisors even and also remind him that guinea pigs teeth are naturally long unlike rabbit incisors. One of the main post operative problems is many vets cut their incisors far too short and then your Guinea will have problems picking up food until the teeth have grown longer which usually takes a good few days depending upon how short they have been cut
Good luck, I hope your little man does well
This is my rainbow boy Bill, he broke a tooth at the root and you can see his “fat” tooth in the bottom right
After a tidy up from my amazing vet Simon Maddock at the Cat and Rabbit Clinic in Northampton who is the best and most experienced UK Guinea pig vet when it comes to anything dental related
Hope this helps. Bill needed regular treatments every 6 weeks and lived a good life and never had any problem whatsoever eating hay or veggies.
Ask your vet to file the incisors even and also remind him that guinea pigs teeth are naturally long unlike rabbit incisors. One of the main post operative problems is many vets cut their incisors far too short and then your Guinea will have problems picking up food until the teeth have grown longer which usually takes a good few days depending upon how short they have been cut
Good luck, I hope your little man does well
This is my rainbow boy Bill, he broke a tooth at the root and you can see his “fat” tooth in the bottom right
After a tidy up from my amazing vet Simon Maddock at the Cat and Rabbit Clinic in Northampton who is the best and most experienced UK Guinea pig vet when it comes to anything dental related
Hope this helps. Bill needed regular treatments every 6 weeks and lived a good life and never had any problem whatsoever eating hay or veggies.
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Hi and welcome
Thickened incisors ('fat teeth') are not all that uncommon in older guinea pigs and the can be the result of a break or a root or gum infection. The problem is that they don't wear down as much as the other three incisors.
Those incisors definitely need some attention; make sure that your vet also checks the back teeth for spurs.
Please be aware that over three quarters of the food intake should be hay, which you cannot control by eye. Your normal cheap kitchen scales are your best helper as to when and how much you need to step in with feeding support by weighing daily first thing in the morning before breakfast for best day to day comparison but also so you can plan out the coming 24 hours.
A quick feel around the ribs for the BMI will show you whether he is still in a good place weight-wise or has already lost weight.
This guide here explains the different ways of weight monitoring and what each does and does not, and how you can make them all work for you. And when to step in with feeding support and on which level.
All the best!
Thickened incisors ('fat teeth') are not all that uncommon in older guinea pigs and the can be the result of a break or a root or gum infection. The problem is that they don't wear down as much as the other three incisors.
Those incisors definitely need some attention; make sure that your vet also checks the back teeth for spurs.
Please be aware that over three quarters of the food intake should be hay, which you cannot control by eye. Your normal cheap kitchen scales are your best helper as to when and how much you need to step in with feeding support by weighing daily first thing in the morning before breakfast for best day to day comparison but also so you can plan out the coming 24 hours.
A quick feel around the ribs for the BMI will show you whether he is still in a good place weight-wise or has already lost weight.
This guide here explains the different ways of weight monitoring and what each does and does not, and how you can make them all work for you. And when to step in with feeding support and on which level.
All the best!
Thanks so much everyone. Kevin was at the vet today. The vet said his teeth are all good, except the “fat tooth”. She said that due to his age, they would be apprehensive to put him under anaesthetic to file it down. She said that if it starts to affect his eating and drinking they will look at the options on either filing/removing the tooth. Back teeth also checked and all look good. No sign of infection or abscess anywhere in his mouth. I have been given some Metacam for him (1.6ml once daily) for a week to “trial pain manage”, as guinea pigs hide their pain due to being prey animals. General health check and weight all carried out too and he is a healthy little chonk- minus his hillbilly tooth! I will be monitoring him closely and the vet also showed me how to position him to open his mouth to see his upper and lower gums so I can see if these start to look inflamed etc. x
Bill & Ted
Forum Buddy
Aw, such a cutie 
Claire W
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Glad Kevin is ok. He’s gorgeous 
fluffysal
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Still a handsome boy