Bottom teeth broken

[AnnaHeartsGuineaPigs]

Hello

I recently got a new guinea pig and straight off the bat I could see that he had some dental issues. When we got him he had a cracked tooth, but otherwise seemed okay and could eat completely fine. I upped the vitamin C in his diet since he was barely getting any in his diet at his old home.

Today I checked again and saw that he has cracked both his bottom teeth quite far down (see picture attached) and I got worried.

I have given him his normal pellets a bit moistened and sludgy and he seems to be enjoying/eating those just fine. I have also syringe fed him a bit of critical care which he really loved since he was constantly latching on to the syringe wanting more When I give them their veggies later today I will also be trying the whole "matchstick" technique with him.

I don't know if he's eating hay, but I'll keep a close eye on him. I think the critical care has hay in it though so should I just up that if he doesn't seem to be able to eat hay?

Any tips on how to deal with this are greatly appreciated and if there is anything I should start or stop doing please tell me!

Thanks

 

[Wiebke]

Hello

I recently got a new guinea pig and straight off the bat I could see that he had some dental issues. When we got him he had a cracked tooth, but otherwise seemed okay and could eat completely fine. I upped the vitamin C in his diet since he was barely getting any in his diet at his old home.

Today I checked again and saw that he has cracked both his bottom teeth quite far down (see picture attached) and I got worried.

I have given him his normal pellets a bit moistened and sludgy and he seems to be enjoying/eating those just fine. I have also syringe fed him a bit of critical care which he really loved since he was constantly latching on to the syringe wanting more When I give them their veggies later today I will also be trying the whole "matchstick" technique with him.

I don't know if he's eating hay, but I'll keep a close eye on him. I think the critical care has hay in it though so should I just up that if he doesn't seem to be able to eat hay?

Any tips on how to deal with this are greatly appreciated and if there is anything I should start or stop doing please tell me!

Thanks

Hi!

I am very sorry. Critical Care is hay based. He is likely very hungry, not having been able to eat much for the last few days. If he likes Critical Care, then see whether he can eat it from a bowl by himself or whether he struggles and needs to get it from a syringe 2-4 times a day (depending on how much he is able to eat by himself and how hungry he is). It is enriched with vitamin.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

Because you cannot control the food intake by eye, you need to weigh your piggy once daily at the same time in the feeding cycle instead of the once weekly normal health monitoring weigh-in. I find it useful to do that first thing in the morning when the weight is lowest as it swings around 30-40g over the course of 24 hours, depending on how full the belly and bladder are. Normal kitchen scales are perfectly fine for the job.
The daily weighing gives you up to day information on whether your boy is eating enough to hold his weight, is still losing weight and needs more support or is putting on weight. You can then tailor your support feeding for the day accordingly.
Weight - Monitoring and Management
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pigs Safely


See whether he has just problems/pain with picking up hay strands (picking up and cutting is the job of the incisors) or whether is also straggling with chewing hay (overgrown molars). You can place hay in his mouth and see how he is getting on with the chewing; whether he is chewing fine, whether it is very slow or whether the hay comes back out again in the case the molars are overgrown and cannot grind anymore.

The incisors are a little misaligned but it is is not easy to see whether they are a little bit slanted because of that or because there is a potential developing problem at the back. It is the molars and premolars that are the crucial teeth which you cannot see. The bottom incisors will grow back and should start to abrade and sharpen against the top incisors; but because yours are not quite neatly arranged, you have to wait and see how well they meet and settle over the next week or two.

 

[Bill & Ted]

The Guinea Pig Lynx has quite a good article on broken incisors and how they regrow, fingers crossed they should grow back ok again. the top teeth will look long atm but as the bottom teeth grow upwards they should wear the top down and meet evenly. it will take a few weeks and then there should be no more problems. keep a close eye on what he eats over the next few weeks and also keep a record of his weight
Guinea Lynx :: Broken Teeth

 

[AnnaHeartsGuineaPigs]

Hi!

I am very sorry. Critical Care is hay based. He is likely very hungry, not having been able to eat much for the last few days. If he likes Critical Care, then see whether he can eat it from a bowl by himself or whether he struggles and needs to get it from a syringe 2-4 times a day (depending on how much he is able to eat by himself and how hungry he is). It is enriched with vitamin.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

Because you cannot control the food intake by eye, you need to weigh your piggy once daily at the same time in the feeding cycle instead of the once weekly normal health monitoring weigh-in. I find it useful to do that first thing in the morning when the weight is lowest as it swings around 30-40g over the course of 24 hours, depending on how full the belly and bladder are. Normal kitchen scales are perfectly fine for the job.
The daily weighing gives you up to day information on whether your boy is eating enough to hold his weight, is still losing weight and needs more support or is putting on weight. You can then tailor your support feeding for the day accordingly.
Weight - Monitoring and Management
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pigs Safely


See whether he has just problems/pain with picking up hay strands (picking up and cutting is the job of the incisors) or whether is also straggling with chewing hay (overgrown molars). You can place hay in his mouth and see how he is getting on with the chewing; whether he is chewing fine, whether it is very slow or whether the hay comes back out again in the case the molars are overgrown and cannot grind anymore.

The incisors are a little misaligned but it is is not easy to see whether they are a little bit slanted because of that or because there is a potential developing problem at the back. It is the molars and premolars that are the crucial teeth which you cannot see. The bottom incisors will grow back and should start to abrade and sharpen against the top incisors; but because yours are not quite neatly arranged, you have to wait and see how well they meet and settle over the next week or two.

After a day of observations, I'm thinking he looks pretty good which is a huge weight off my shoulders (emotionally)

I weighed him yesterday and I will do it again the rest of the week to check. How big of a weight drop would be worrying?
He doesn't have any pain with picking up hay strands, but he found it harder with the very long and large strands that he normally gets so I mixed in some thinner/shorter hay that was easier to pick up (their "treat hay") and he seemed to really enjoy that and be able to eat the hay with minimal issues.

He can eat CC from the bowl, but he has a pal with him that also happens to really enjoy Critical Care so I try to make sure to take him aside for a few minutes while he eats until he's full. I also syringe feed 2-3 times a day though. How much critical care (in ml) should he be getting in the span of a day considering he's eating a bit of hay and the same veggies as usual?

I'll monitor over the next week or 2 how his teeth are growing back.

Thank you for your response

 

[Piggies&buns]

After a day of observations, I'm thinking he looks pretty good which is a huge weight off my shoulders (emotionally)

I weighed him yesterday and I will do it again the rest of the week to check. How big of a weight drop would be worrying?
He doesn't have any pain with picking up hay strands, but he found it harder with the very long and large strands that he normally gets so I mixed in some thinner/shorter hay that was easier to pick up (their "treat hay") and he seemed to really enjoy that and be able to eat the hay with minimal issues.

He can eat CC from the bowl, but he has a pal with him that also happens to really enjoy Critical Care so I try to make sure to take him aside for a few minutes while he eats until he's full. I also syringe feed 2-3 times a day though. How much critical care (in ml) should he be getting in the span of a day considering he's eating a bit of hay and the same veggies as usual?

I'll monitor over the next week or 2 how his teeth are growing back.

Thank you for your response

The weight management wiebke linked in above explains at what point weight loss is concerning.

In terms of how much critical care, it all depends on what is going on with his weight at each daily weight check - stable weight means your balance is right. Weight loss means he isn’t eating enough independently and needs more syringe feeding