Hi wondering if anyone can shed some light on this. My guinea pig has been doing this sort of chewing action for a while without actually eating anything, and wasnt closing his mouth. I could see there was some celery in his mouth that he hadn't swallowed so managed to get that out, and while he's improved he's still just acting a little odd and occasionally doing this chewing action. If I'm correct they can't vomit but wondering if this is something he can clear on his own? We've had him out of his cage for a little bit so he doesn't eat anything else and jam his mouth up again, and of course has been recieveing a lot of attention. Thanks in advance for any advice.
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Guinae Pig with food stuck in his mouth?
- Thread starter balexbbb
- Start date
Pantalaimon
Junior Guinea Pig
If there is an obstruction in your guinea pigs mouth then he needs to be taken to a vet urgently. Guinea pigs must consume hay fairly continuously and without it their digestive systems will shut down and it is extremely difficult to get them back from that stage.
Zorro1
Adult Guinea Pig
The best thing to do is take him to an exotic vet.Before feeding your guinea pig celery, you have to be carful to remove the strings as these can knot in the pigs system can become a problem.
Piggies can get things caught in their teeth which will cause them to make that action. It is best to have a vet check that out.
Celery can be cut into small chunks but you do not need to remove the strings. Piggies are perfectly able to manage them, they do not knot inside them, it’s a myth. You will see from a quick search of the forum that most long term owners have never removed celery string.
Celery can be cut into small chunks but you do not need to remove the strings. Piggies are perfectly able to manage them, they do not knot inside them, it’s a myth. You will see from a quick search of the forum that most long term owners have never removed celery string.
Zorro1
Adult Guinea Pig
I didn't know that. Thanks for correcting me @Piggies&buns .
Hi and welcome
Please see a vet. Checking the mouth and especially the back teeth for something stuck in the between two teeth is a two people job, as is removing anything gently and safely.
The fact that your piggy is unable to chew a softer veg like celery properly points to a problem. Since the much tougher hay fibre makes over three quarters of what a guinea pig should actually eat in a day is hay, the inability to chew can quickly result in a much more dramatic weight loss than you would expect.
Not eating enough/chewing properly can then result in dental overgrowth and digestive problems as a knock-on effect if the problem is not checked over a longer time. It is the very abrasive silica in grass/hay fibre in which the dental growth rate in guinea pigs has evolved; the gut microbiome and the whole digestive process are also laid out for processing grass/hay and any supplementary wild forage, which we now replace with preferably leafy green veg, pellets and any treats all together lumped under 'supplementary'.
Please switch from weighing once weekly on your normal kitchen scales to weighing daily first thing in the morning when the daily weight swing is at its lowest for best day-to-day comparison. Step in with offering additional feeding support once 50g weight loss has been passed.
But please check first whether your piggy is still a good weight for their size or whether they are already underweight, as that impacts on the urgency of seeing a vet and you stepping in with feeding support - being able to feel single ribs means that there has already been some noticeable weight loss and your piggy is underweight. Ideally you should just feel the ribcage, especially as you are mentioning that you have noticed signs of discomfort in the mouth a while before. You can find advice on how to check for the 'heft' or BMI in chapter 3 of our weight monitoring guide link below.
Please take the time to read these very practical guides with all the how-to advice on how to go about it:
Weight - Monitoring and Management
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
A guide to vets fees, insurance and payment support.
Emergency and Crisis Care as well as Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
PS: I have added the emergency/bridging care link in view of this being a weekend.
All the best.
Please see a vet. Checking the mouth and especially the back teeth for something stuck in the between two teeth is a two people job, as is removing anything gently and safely.
The fact that your piggy is unable to chew a softer veg like celery properly points to a problem. Since the much tougher hay fibre makes over three quarters of what a guinea pig should actually eat in a day is hay, the inability to chew can quickly result in a much more dramatic weight loss than you would expect.
Not eating enough/chewing properly can then result in dental overgrowth and digestive problems as a knock-on effect if the problem is not checked over a longer time. It is the very abrasive silica in grass/hay fibre in which the dental growth rate in guinea pigs has evolved; the gut microbiome and the whole digestive process are also laid out for processing grass/hay and any supplementary wild forage, which we now replace with preferably leafy green veg, pellets and any treats all together lumped under 'supplementary'.
Please switch from weighing once weekly on your normal kitchen scales to weighing daily first thing in the morning when the daily weight swing is at its lowest for best day-to-day comparison. Step in with offering additional feeding support once 50g weight loss has been passed.
But please check first whether your piggy is still a good weight for their size or whether they are already underweight, as that impacts on the urgency of seeing a vet and you stepping in with feeding support - being able to feel single ribs means that there has already been some noticeable weight loss and your piggy is underweight. Ideally you should just feel the ribcage, especially as you are mentioning that you have noticed signs of discomfort in the mouth a while before. You can find advice on how to check for the 'heft' or BMI in chapter 3 of our weight monitoring guide link below.
Please take the time to read these very practical guides with all the how-to advice on how to go about it:
Weight - Monitoring and Management
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
A guide to vets fees, insurance and payment support.
Emergency and Crisis Care as well as Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
PS: I have added the emergency/bridging care link in view of this being a weekend.
All the best.