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Dental after care advice

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danielsk300

New Born Pup
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Hello my name is kerry and I am new to this forum. I have got 2 boars called Nathan and George and they are 3 years old. Recently George had stopped eating,we took him to the vet on Friday and they said that his back molars are over lapping and need filing down,so we booked him in for Monday morning. In the meantime we were feeding him select recovery plus. He had the operation and they said he was recovering well,we picked him up Monday evening. Tuesday he didn't really eat anything only little nibbles of cucumber but we continued with the critical care feed. Today he tried a little bit of cucumber then nothing. We rang the vets this morning and they gave him some metacam and emeprid and he has had only 1 dose of each today. He is still not eating and obviously being syringe fed food,which he is taking it but its messy work lol. I was just wondering what peoples thoughts are on this and your experiences. We have never experienced this before so abit scared and nervous of what's happening. He is usually a shouty guinea pig always wanted food and sociable. Thank you for reading and look forward to your replies.
 
Having recently had a piggy who needed dental care it took her a few days to get over the anaesthetic.
Try shredding lettuce or grating carrot to make it easier to eat.
Carrot helps with weight.
Mine all love Oxbow Aniseed Critical Care, especially if a bit of banana is mixed in.
My girl‘s cagemates were all eager to help with that!

I discussed pain relief with my vet and she agreed to prescribe twice daily as piggies metabolise the painkiller fast.

I have also tended to put a ramekin dish of Critical Care and one with a mix of raw oats and grated carrot in the cage - often eaten by the others as well!

Yes - syringe feeding is messy. It goes everywhere.

Hope George recovers quickly. If you are still concerned go back to the vet.
 
Ok thank you for the reply. I'm thinking the same about the anasetic because he is so sleepy,but I have to admit I'm enjoying the cuddles at the moment.

That is helpful as I didnt know they was allowed oats,I will buy some of them.

I will give it the course and if I'm still not happy then I will go back to the vets.
 
Hello and welcome. After an operation it can take them a little while to get over the anaesthetic. Also his teeth/jaw may be sore so he doesn’t want to eat. Make sure you have enough pain medication for him. They do need it twice a day but some vets only prescribe it once a day. Keep syringe feeding for as long as he’s not eating for himself. I hope he starts to eat again soon. Weigh him every morning and that will tell you how much you need to syringe. If he loses weight overnight you need to feed more the next day. He should perk up soon. If he doesn’t I’d call the vets for their opinion. Also try cutting cucumber and pepper into strips. Good luck
 
If you can find a few strands of fresh grass too, or a young dandelion leaf, it is softer than hay but very tempting for them.
When mine had a dental we got twice daily metacam for a week as the mouth can be very tender. It's important to keep up with the syringe food until they can eat for themselves - you won't make them too 'full' to eat - as soon as they can eat for themselves they will. Weigh every day on the kitchen scales - just once a day is fine but at the same time each day. There will be a bit of up-and-down but if he's losing day on day on day he's not getting enough. You want to keep his guts moving so monitor those poops, shape and size and quantity (they run a little bit behind input). Some painkillers used in surgeries are opioids and these can stop them eating even if there's nothing wrong with the teeth. They can hang around a while but you're a few days in now so that shouldn't be a problem. They often give you Recovery food with a giant 20ml syringe and this can be an issue with a tender mouth. We are often better making the slop a bit thinner and using a 1ml syringe with the tip cut off. These usually have a little rubber bit that you have to be careful not to pop into the mouth - you'll not see it again if you do! So I use a Stanley knife and slice off most of the tip so the rubber bit can't poke through. I'll post this and then add a link to the forum's tips for syringing.

The final thing is the slightly depressing bit. Not every dental is a good one and sometimes a spur is missed or there is an abscess in the gum that has not been spotted so piggy's overgrown teeth are sorted but the cause of the problem is still there. Sometimes teeth are the problem but sometimes they are a 'symptom' if you see what I mean. However, you are still in your recovery period - you need to keep up with the metacam and emeprid. Emeprid is a funny one: we've had it prescribed once every twelve hours for one pig and every 6 to 8 for another. I think there's quite a range of active doses too. As long as he's still pooping it's working. If he stops pooping or eating it's serious and you'll need to get him back into the vet as a matter of urgency.

If you're no further forward by the end of the week I think it's going to be a bit more complicated and you might need a second opinion. There is a very highly rated piggy dental vet in Northampton - keep that idea in your back pocket in case you need it. Good luck little George - if you're anything like my George (my pic on the left) you're quite the character x
 
So sorry your piggie is still not eating after his dental. If things do not improve I recommend you to go to see Simon or Kim Maddock at the Cat and Rabbit Clinic, they are the best in the country for guinea pig oral/dental problems. They will give him a thorough assessment and any work needed will be done there and then. They are amazing and the most experienced in the Uk when it comes to dental problems, people travel from all over the UK
Good luck, I’ve been there and I know how scary it is

CAT AND RABBIT CARE CLINIC | Northlands Vets
 
We are so far away from that clinic,I am in southend. I had a good cry this morning but I've got my big girl pants on now and he had a good syringe feed of 23ml and a nice cuddle after. I'm going to try and do a feed every 2 -3 hours hopefully this will give him some energy.

I tried giving some hay during the feed but he was having none of it.

I added a banana into the mix which he seems to like,abit tricky do the feed on my own but I wrapped him up in a towel and that seemed to help.
 
I'm not happy,no improvement at all. Have booked to go back to the vets later on today.
 
I’m so sorry. You did all you could. Sometimes the call to the bridge is just too strong. Popcorn high gorgeous George. Take care ❤️
 
I am so sorry to read that you lost George.
He couldn’t ask for a better end being help by you, enfolded in your love.
Now take time to grieve and be gentle with yourself
 
I am so sorry poor George drifted off to the bridge, he will have known just how much you cared and loved him, take care x

Sleep tight little man 🌈
 
Thank you for all the lovely messages. As you can guess we are heartbroken and cannot wait till our boy is back home where he belongs. I take comfort in knowing I was cuddling him and was there when he went to sleep. I hope he heard how loved he was. I told him it was ok to go and then he went xx
 
He would have known how much you loved him. I'm so sorry for your loss. Try to spend time together with your remaining piggy, it will help you both x
He may well have had something systemic making him decline, and his teeth were just the part we can see of whatever was happening to him. It might not help, but you did everything you possibly could. Sometimes it's just not meant to be...
Rest In Peace little George 💕
You will be remembered always x
 
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