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Dental issues

Amy Westland

Amy Westland

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
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Eddie the skinny pig has developed some dental issues with his back teeth. This first occurred in September and again this month (November) nothing in his diet or life has really changed (he always has lots of hay, veggies toys and treats to chew on) so it was a surprise when he stopped eating and we took him to the vets and they said it was a dental issue. He had his back teeth filed down and seemed fine for about 6 weeks as he was eating veggies, pellets and a little but not a lot of hay (which is probably why the problem occurred again so soon). So he’s now had his second dental but now he is refusing to eat anything other than critical care and I’m worried that he is loosing weight and with him not eating solids his back teeth are going to be over grown again in a matter of weeks.

Has anyone gone through this ? How can I get him eating hay (and his veggies again) which he was eating just fine up until his first dental problems occurred.

I’m desperate, I don’t want him constantly going under anaesthetic for dentals so often or at all with all the risks involved.

*Photo of Eddie for attention*

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Hello,
Eddie is gorgeous by the way :luv:
I'm so sorry that you're going through this with your boy.
I had the same issues with my Rory a few years ago. Coming on here, I discovered there is a vet called Simon in Northampton that does conscious dentals. Unfortunately I couldn't travel that far due to my own health issues but discussed it with my vet and she agreed to contact Simon to learn to do conscious dentals. I was very fortunate to have an open minded vet who was willing to learn this. Rory was struggling with being anaesthetised so I couldn't have put him through it again. As my vet did the conscious dentals, Rory had an extra year of life thanks to her.
If you are able to see Simon for conscious dentals, hopefully Eddie might be able to start eating more again.
Rory was always being fed supplementary food as he was a fussy eater anyway but the conscious dentals allowed him to eat more on his own.
The vet in Northampton is the cat and rabbit vets if you want to look it up.
I hope you can get to see Simon.
There are many people on here that have been through the same with dental issues.
Good luck to you and Eddie xx
 
Simon and Kim Maddock are the go to vets for anything dental related. We used to travel from Cornwall, they are amazing and do conscious dentals which are cheaper and far safer then GA dentals. They are also “the experts”
 
I recently saw Kim in Northampton due to a dental issue when my piggie Sandy stopped eating. Kim did the dental and advised that she needs to learn that eating isn't going to be painful again and she needed to be hungry so to stop the syringe feeding for 24 hours. She advised to push some stalky veg like Kale into the side of her mouth between her teeth towards the back (carefully) so she realises its OK. After a couple of attempts, she did chew it and eat the whole stem and then another later. She wouldn't take hay though. I left hay everywhere in the cage overnight, weighed her in the morning and thankfully she had gained so she had been eating for herself. Might be worth a try for your piggie?
 
After trying to eat with sore and painful gums they often lose confidence. It’s probably best to be seen first by Kim or Simon, have a dental and then see what happens. Sometimes it takes a day or two for them to get the message that they can eat again
 
**UPDATE**

Eddie had a full MOT and we finally have some answers and unfortunately he has a full bag of problems… Eddie has elongated tooth roots on one side of his lower jaw (which can become painful and is what was causing him not wanting to eat and the dental problems and pain) he has arthritis in his knees (although you wouldn’t think it the way he runs and jumps around) and he has an enlarged heart (heart disease) which will eventually cause him to go into heart failure….

But for now Eddie is doing okay, he’s on 2 types of heart meds and is on pain killers which he takes twice a day. He’s started eating and putting on weight so he’s doing pretty well and as long as everything carries on going fine and he’s using his teeth and eating to keep grinding them down he may not need a dental so soon again.

So fingers crossed Eddie has a few more Happy, pain free and fairly healthy years ahead of him ❤️🐹
 
Amy Westland said:
**UPDATE**

Eddie had a full MOT and we finally have some answers and unfortunately he has a full bag of problems… Eddie has elongated tooth roots on one side of his lower jaw (which can become painful and is what was causing him not wanting to eat and the dental problems and pain) he has arthritis in his knees (although you wouldn’t think it the way he runs and jumps around) and he has an enlarged heart (heart disease) which will eventually cause him to go into heart failure….

But for now Eddie is doing okay, he’s on 2 types of heart meds and is on pain killers which he takes twice a day. He’s started eating and putting on weight so he’s doing pretty well and as long as everything carries on going fine and he’s using his teeth and eating to keep grinding them down he may not need a dental so soon again.

So fingers crossed Eddie has a few more Happy, pain free and fairly healthy years ahead of him ❤️🐹
Click to expand...
Aw poor Eddie, 🤞 he continues to keep eating x
 
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