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Fear of Hay

Ellsie1

Ellsie1

New Born Pup
Joined
Oct 12, 2018
Messages
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Location
Eyemouth, Scottish Border
My 4 year old GP went for a dental about 2 weeks ago and has done great, he was eating fine after the surgery. (Veg and pellets).
However, from him having a sore mouth, I think he still thinks the hay is gonna hurt his mouth, and it’s quite worrying that he’s completely off his hay.
He will eat anything but hay!
I’ve tried everything to get him to eat it, but he pulls it off my hand and then drops it immediately. What is going on?
 
They can lose confidence in eating hay after a dental, or it can be that the dental hasnt been done quite properly and the ability to chew hay properly is still impeded.
Have you tried giving fresh grass? It wears the teeth down just the same as hay does and a lot of piggies readily accept it. If he won’t chew grass or hay, then I would go back to the vet to have him checked again.

Was he given pain relief after the surgery?
Have you been syringe feeding him to replace the hay he isn’t eating for himself?
Are you weighing him daily so you can monitor syringe feed/food intake?
 
After Meg had a dental she had a really sore mouth caused by one of her teeth lacerating her cheek. It took about 4 months of her eating lots of grass before she had the confidence to eat hay again. Luckily, I have a Heath just up the road so I have an endless supply of grass. I washed it well before I gave it to her to wash off any dog/fox wee.
 
I agree with addressing pain relief - what is he currently being given?

I also find that with a reluctant hay eater offering several different types in several different ways can help.
Make sure to have large hays piles to burrow in, maybe some stuffed in toilet rolls, and some in a box with a doorway or two.
It will hopefully only take a few tries fo him to realise that hay is actually ok and start eating again.
 
I'm having the same trouble with my cuchito 3yr old, the first time he had surgery he started eating at 5 days and not so much, now I'm at 4days and super scared, with critical care he was having normal poops but now he made one watery (I don't know if would be possible cause I gave him a lot of water today with syringe, as he didn't drink too much yesterday) :( the vet told us to give him the critical care each 12 hours instead of 8 to make him more likely to eat :c
 
Agostinhoromao said:
:( the vet told us to give him the critical care each 12 hours instead of 8 to make him more likely to eat :c
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If your piggy is not eating enough for himself, then please don’t reduce syringe feedings. Syringe feeding does not stop a piggy from eating for themselves - a piggy who can eat, will eat. And you must continue to syringe feed regularly until he is eating plenty for himself - you only stop syringe feeding once he is maintaining his weight by himself. In a piggy who is not eating enough hay, you could need to feed every two hours throughout the day and once at night. Only feeding once every 8 or 12 hours if he isn’t eating for himself will likely make him very unwell.
Please weigh your guinea every day so you can know he is not losing weight.
 
He is losing just 10 grams per day, he was at 1320gr and now 1270, Is the same amount of critical care but with more time in between, but the first time he was 5 days without even looking at the hay and this vet was so much better than the first one
 
Agostinhoromao said:
He is losing just 10 grams per day, he was at 1320gr and now 1270, Is the same amount of critical care but with more time in between, but the first time he was 5 days without even looking at the hay and this vet was so much better than the first one
Click to expand...

Is he eating any hay for himself?
You need to monitor his weight loss closely. If he is continually losing weight daily, then that will soon add up (he has already lost 50g) and show he isn’t getting enough to eat.
 
Piggies&buns said:
They can lose confidence in eating hay after a dental, or it can be that the dental hasnt been done quite properly and the ability to chew hay properly is still impeded.
Have you tried giving fresh grass? It wears the teeth down just the same as hay does and a lot of piggies readily accept it. If he won’t chew grass or hay, then I would go back to the vet to have him checked again.

Was he given pain relief after the surgery?
Have you been syringe feeding him to replace the hay he isn’t eating for himself?
Are you weighing him daily so you can monitor syringe feed/food intake?
Click to expand...
I took him back to the vet but they said it’s typical. (Approved guinea pig vet)
He can eat everything else that’s tough, but when he smells hay he will take it off me and throw it to the side, he’s gaining weight just not eating his hay . I’m honestly confused on what he’s doing :(
 
Ellsie1 said:
I took him back to the vet but they said it’s typical. (Approved guinea pig vet)
He can eat everything else that’s tough, but when he smells hay he will take it off me and throw it to the side, he’s gaining weight just not eating his hay . I’m honestly confused on what he’s doing :(
Click to expand...

Have you tried fresh grass? The problem with not eating hay is that without the abrasive action of either hay or fresh grass there is a risk his teeth may overgrow.
 
Betsy said:
After Meg had a dental she had a really sore mouth caused by one of her teeth lacerating her cheek. It took about 4 months of her eating lots of grass before she had the confidence to eat hay again. Luckily, I have a Heath just up the road so I have an endless supply of grass. I washed it well before I gave it to her to wash off any dog/fox wee.
Click to expand...
Things we do for theses little loves
 
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