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Dental Dental Piggy Recovery

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Roxi&Leyla

Roxi&Leyla

Junior Guinea Pig
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Location
Derby
Hey guys
What is your experience with post op recovery after dental surgeries?
My eldest Roxi had hers on Friday. Vets told me she should hopefully start eating pretty quickly. She is showing interest in food but can't bite into it. Of course it's very painful for her still, I know it's going take some time to get used to her new teeth but I'm worried for her. At the moment I syringe fed her with critical care with extra vit C, I've made up some curly kale smoothie( she loved it yesterday but today shows no interest), I've mushed up some apple and she seems to like that too. I've got her some baby food as a alternative for when she will show no interest in everything else. I'm by her side making sure she is getting her food and that she is ok. Problem is that I'm back to work tomorrow and I can't afford any more time off.
I'm worried she won't be getting enough food when I'm at work. I can feed her before I leave and when I come back. I won't be home for 9 hours. What should I do? I don't want her to starve.
 
I run a sanctuary for dental piggies so have a lot of experience. There really is no standard time for when they will start to eat again. However, what you need to remember is, whilst your piggy isn't eating, the teeth will be regrowing very quickly Our vet can carry out dental work without the need for GA which means he can tidy up the mouth again, sometimes as little as one week after the first dental, therefore keeping the mouth in a good position for the guinea pig to start eating for themselves. We get excellent results using this method. Most vets will only carry out dental work under GA.

Where about do you live? Would your vet be able to take your guinea pig in for syringe feeding during the time you're at work, as it really is so important to keep their strength up and their gut moving during this critical time?

What exactly did the dental involve? Was there sort tissue trauma to the mouth, as that can take a while to heal? Will she eat softened food on a plate? That can often tide them over when you're unable to syringe feed for a few hours.
 
Hey, thanks for your reply. We are in Derby.
Roxi had a problem with her inner bottom teeth and incisors. Her (molars) bottom teeth were badly overgrown and trapped her tongue, they curved towards the middle.
Her front teeth were curved as well. There were few ulcers in her mouth too.
Vet advised me that she will need repated dentals in the future.
Roxi is showing interest in food and she is able to drink herself from the drinking bottle. However she is unable still to chew anything. I've noticed that vet clipped her front teeth very short so she is struggling to bite into food. She has tried soft foods, banana, cucumber...I've syringe feed her to make sure she gets her vits as she is not eating hey or pallets yet. I've grated some veg this evening and she nibbled on some but not much.
I'd love to take her to vet and keep her there for time I am at work but we have already forked out 300.00 on vet visits. I have another sickly pig with a bleeding lump on her side.
We just simply can't afford to pay for her stay at vets during the time we are at work.
I'm worried sick but I have no choice but to make sure she if fed before I leave, leave some grated veg and mushed up pieces and leave to work tomorrow.
I've started a new job 2 weeks ago and already had 2 days off to look after her. Suffice to say they won't allow me any more time off.
I'm stumped.
 
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Thanks! She slowly is getting better but still struggling to eat on her own. No luck with dry food or hey. Her weight worries me. I'm recording it twice a day. She is flatulating between 668 - 680.
Despite the weight, she has perked up and shows a lot of interest in food. She tries really hard to eat on her own. I quite literally sit next her with a cucumber slice going
"Go on Roxi, you can do this...bite! Bite!"
My neighbours probably think I'm mental but hey...Roxi loves the attention :o) X
 
Hi,

I am so sorry to hear about the dental problems you are having with Roxi. I send my love and hugs to you both. I cannot give any other advice
but was wondering if any family or friends might be able to take over the care of her while you are at work. I would certainly do that for you but
unfortunately I live in Scotland. I am not sure if any experienced members on the forum would be local that may be able to help?
 
Thank you! We are sending hugs back :-) Sadly I haven't got anyone local that would be able to look after her.
I've got a weekend off now so Roxi will be getting extra spoiled. To my surprise Vet recommend to slowly get her off critical care. I'm afraid I would be starving her if I do that...I'm giving her solid 10 ml in the morning and another 10 ml before bed on a weekday. I'm leaving her lots of soft food, veg all specially made for her poorly chops. I'm hoping that this will encourage her to be more independent.
That's her on the picture eating curly kale off smoothie :-)

PicsArt_1439067861117.webp
 
hi there , persoaly l keep there syringe paste as close to there normal day to day feed,
changing there food , espesialy ading lots of veg , ma not be the way to go , it is a tummy problem
weighing to happen .

l mill there dried food in a coffie grinder and add water till it is fluid inough to come freely out of your syringe

best syinge is a 15ml fibraplex , if you have not got one of those, then cut the top off a 1ml and ream out the remender
so that the plunger dosent come out of the top when you fully extend the plunger

though the best by far is a 15ml fibraplex type syringe , it has a mesuring ring at the back so that you
dont over feed ,

Amount to feed ? it depends on the size of the pig , but 3 to 4 15ml syringes over a 24 hour period
will usualy sefice , even for long term feeding ., and forcing to much will make them syring shy, and
also posibaly damage the tummy , (the intestine is large, but the first port of call is the tummy , and that is
small in comparison ,

l had a little sow that lived happily for 3 years on syinge feeds .

Finaly , it is very important that you cleen the lips with a peice of kitchen towl , as if the food is left
on the lips , it could make the lips soft and uncomfortable and even be the start of cold sores
 
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Thanks! I have Fibreplex and have been using it since the op. That's a good tip to grind the pallets but I've chosen very fine pallets so they don't need to be refined. I soaked them to make it easy for her to eat. As for veg. To be honest I'm keen on keeping her interested in food so I will stick to introducing some veg. Mostly got her favourite spinach, kale and (grated)carrots, broccoli. As I've mentioned she is not eating on her own very well, when she does it is very little. What she eats is too little to give her upset tummy.
I'd love to give her small portions every hour or so but I've got a full time job (which I need to pay for her vets and lavish lifestyle lol) so it's not an option. Basically I'm doing best I can with whatever I can!
Time will tell now.
Sorry to hear about your piggy. I sincerely hope Roxi won't take as much as 3 years on syringe. I want to see her getting better. She will need few more dental ops for sure but I've got lots of faith in my little girl! :-)
 
Sending lots of healing vibes, i hope she started eating properly on her own soon!
 
Roxi&Leyla said:
Thanks! I have Fibreplex and have been using it since the op. That's a good tip to grind the pallets but I've chosen very fine pallets so they don't need to be refined. I soaked them to make it easy for her to eat. As for veg. To be honest I'm keen on keeping her interested in food so I will stick to introducing some veg. Mostly got her favourite spinach, kale and (grated)carrots, broccoli. As I've mentioned she is not eating on her own very well, when she does it is very little. What she eats is too little to give her upset tummy.
I'd love to give her small portions every hour or so but I've got a full time job (which I need to pay for her vets and lavish lifestyle lol) so it's not an option. Basically I'm doing best I can with whatever I can!
Time will tell now.
Sorry to hear about your piggy. I sincerely hope Roxi won't take as much as 3 years on syringe. I want to see her getting better. She will need few more dental ops for sure but I've got lots of faith in my little girl! :-)
Click to expand...

Glad to hear that you are still managing to get her to eat. I certainly agree with you that to keep her interested in food and eating at the moment is the most
important thing. A bit like when us humans get ill and don't really feel like eating - sometimes a bit of what you fancy can just keep you going until you are
able to get back to your normal eating routine.

Like having children no-body knows them better than you so yes you must use knowledge but also your gut instinct when it comes looking after your baby girl.

Please let us know how she gets on. She is just gorgeous by the way and a very lucky girl to have you :nod::love:
 
Hi guys, just want to say a huge thank you for all your support. I'm absolutely heartbroken as Roxi had to be put to sleep today. She had a turn for worse over night and when I took her in, the prognosis was that she was slowly dying. My feeds were just keeping her alive but she was not going to recover. I can't belive she is gone from my life. I loved her more then anything or anyone. She was incredible and my life will never be the same without her in it.
 
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