My female guinea pig who is 2yrs and 8 Months old is having dental issues since last 4 Months now. She has got 2 dental surgery and multiple trims as her inner teeth on the right had her tongue pressed. I am syringe feeding her oxbow pellets and oxbow supplement pellets for last 2 months but no change she is still not eating herself. Her vet said ther is no guarantee she will start eating again no matter how many surgeries they do on her inner teeth and it will still keep growing if she will not eat anything hard. She only eats the pasted pellets or cucumber mashes . I don't know what to do how to make her eat hay or anything. All others guinea pigs i have never get dental issues so not able to understand why her as she used to a lot of hay and only hard food. Now her heart beat and breathing has become faster than before. Her weight from last 3 months was 550 and now it has increased to 635 but she is in more bad condition. I am thinking of euthanization as i don't want her to suffer but I am not able to decide and I want her to live as she wants to but now she also looks tired and has stopped communication with her pack.
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Dental issues even after multiple surgeries
- Thread starter Azadi
- Start date
fluffysal
Forum Donator 2024/25
Welcome, I'm afraid I have no advice but I'm bumping your post.
Welcome to the forum.
I’m sorry your piggy is still unwell and not eating for herself. It’s good she has gained weight. Is she on pain killers? As dentals can be painful and pain may be causing her not to eat.
I’m sorry your piggy is still unwell and not eating for herself. It’s good she has gained weight. Is she on pain killers? As dentals can be painful and pain may be causing her not to eat.
Yes she is on painkiller and today her heart has started beating faster than before which is scary fast. That is the reason i am thinking if its best to stop her suffering but i can't let go and will wait few more days as she looks likes she wants to live. I really don't know why her heart is beating so fast everything except that is normal as she is asking me to syringe feed her. And instead of pellets she just wants me to feed her cucumber juice. She was trying to eat solid cucumbers but was not able to so i blended the cucumber and fed her. Now she is only asking for that and eating few ml's of pellet mixer.I can't take her to the vet as i don't think she will be able to go its very far from my place , we don't have exotic pet vet here but i got a vet who did successful surgery both times . It's been 10 days to her 2nd surgery now.
If you have noticed a change in her heart rate or her breathing I’d get her seen by the vet again. I’m sorry she’s not improving. I had to syringe feed a piggy for about 8 weeks once and it was so tiring. I thought he’d never eat for himself again but he did. Good luck
Bill & Ted
Forum Buddy
I am so sorry for you, dental problems are usually an ongoing problem particularly over growing teeth, which will keep over growing and probably need maintenance every couple of months. I think if you feel that her quality of life isn’t good and she isn’t in a better condition than before despite a weight gain and not communicating with her friends then you are making the right decision. It’s such a hard decision but you are thinking of her best interests 
Sorry to hear your piggie isn't improving.
I would definitely take her to the vet if you're noticing issues with heart rate.
If piggie isn't eating the foods it needs to grind down her teeth down you're going to be stuck in a loop of having a dental, not eating the right foods, teeth over growing, having a dental etc.
Have you tried handing feeding some fresh grass?
I had a rabbit with long term dental issues and she would need eat for long periods between each dental and it turned out that she was associating her bowls/bags etc with pain. In the end I bought her new feeding bowls etc each time she had a dental and she started eating quicker. Sometimes there can be a psychological factor involved - might be worth trying perhaps? This could also play into her heart rate if she is getting anxious maybe?
Have you tried sprinking cucumber juice ove hay or pellets etc to entice piggie to entice piggie to eat?
Wishing you the best of luck x
I would definitely take her to the vet if you're noticing issues with heart rate.
If piggie isn't eating the foods it needs to grind down her teeth down you're going to be stuck in a loop of having a dental, not eating the right foods, teeth over growing, having a dental etc.
Have you tried handing feeding some fresh grass?
I had a rabbit with long term dental issues and she would need eat for long periods between each dental and it turned out that she was associating her bowls/bags etc with pain. In the end I bought her new feeding bowls etc each time she had a dental and she started eating quicker. Sometimes there can be a psychological factor involved - might be worth trying perhaps? This could also play into her heart rate if she is getting anxious maybe?
Have you tried sprinking cucumber juice ove hay or pellets etc to entice piggie to entice piggie to eat?
Wishing you the best of luck x
I will keep updating right now she is ok ok but i have been syringe feeding her for last 4 months now and she is really frustrated that she is not able to eat herself so i may have to put her down. Syringe feeding is not an issue as i work from home so i am always ther and i love picking her up for that (she hates it) but she is not communicating or playing with her friends as she used to. She is silent and always sitting in a corner. Her back is looking more and more humped and the spark from her eyes are gone. So i will see for few more months if she gets better or not because she is getting food but pellets are giving her no nutrition hence she is still weak.
I’m sorry to hear this.
If she is sitting hunched in a corner and she doesn’t look happy, I’m sorry to say that giving her a few more months may not be in her best interests and you may need to make a decision now. I’m sorry to say this but she sounds to be very unhappy.
She won’t just get better unless her teeth are properly fixed and she starts eating hay. Pellets are giving her nutrition but without eating hay, her teeth are continuing to overgrow again every day so the issue just gets worse.
This isn’t a nice guide to have to add in, but it might help you to make a decision as to whether she has quality of life right now.
A Practical and Sensitive Guide to Dying, Terminal Illness and Euthanasia in Guinea Pigs
If she is sitting hunched in a corner and she doesn’t look happy, I’m sorry to say that giving her a few more months may not be in her best interests and you may need to make a decision now. I’m sorry to say this but she sounds to be very unhappy.
She won’t just get better unless her teeth are properly fixed and she starts eating hay. Pellets are giving her nutrition but without eating hay, her teeth are continuing to overgrow again every day so the issue just gets worse.
This isn’t a nice guide to have to add in, but it might help you to make a decision as to whether she has quality of life right now.
A Practical and Sensitive Guide to Dying, Terminal Illness and Euthanasia in Guinea Pigs
Bill & Ted
Forum Buddy
I’m so sorry, dental problems are so difficult to cure, sending hugs