Guinea pig teeth trimmed too short?

[oliviagroenier]

I recently noticed one of my boars had crooked top incisors, so I took him to a vet (that supposedly works with small animals) to have his teeth trimmed. Unfortunately, I was not able to go with to this vet appointment, so my mom had to take him. They told us he suffered from malocclusion (what I was expecting) and that his entire jaw was crooked, not just his teeth. They also only trimmed his front incisors.
As soon as he got back I noticed something was wrong. I went in the cavy room to feed them their daily lettuce (I have 7 pigs, they have their own room and I noticed he was trying to bite into the lettuce, but couldn't. He couldn't bite through or drag it into his hide. I took him out and saw that they trimmed his incisors so short they don't even touch! Knowing that his teeth are NOT supposed to be that short, we called the vet and they said that he would never be able to eat normally again due to his "crooked jaw" (he's only 1.5 years old) Since then I have been feeding him pureed vegetables and baby food every day, and closely monitoring his pellet intake (he can eat those just fine.)
My question is, did the vet make a mistake and trim them too short, and will he actually have to be syringe fed the rest of his entire life?

 

[Siikibam]

Unfortunately not many vets are experienced with treating guinea pig teeth. If they’ve been trimmed too short he’ll have trouble grabbing food. Could you perhaps cut any veg into smaller strips and feed him?

Hay is the biggest part of their diet and is what keeps their teeth worn down. They need fibre so please switch to syringe feeding him nudged pellets (or probiotic). You shouldn’t give him puréed veg or baby food. You’re aiming for 60ml in a 24 hour period. Start weighing him daily and adjust the amount accordingly. For now you can start topping him up every two hours.

Have a read of the guide I’ve linked below. What did they say about his molars? Was his tongue trapped or okay?
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

 

[Wiebke]

I recently noticed one of my boars had crooked top incisors, so I took him to a vet (that supposedly works with small animals) to have his teeth trimmed. Unfortunately, I was not able to go with to this vet appointment, so my mom had to take him. They told us he suffered from malocclusion (what I was expecting) and that his entire jaw was crooked, not just his teeth. They also only trimmed his front incisors.
As soon as he got back I noticed something was wrong. I went in the cavy room to feed them their daily lettuce (I have 7 pigs, they have their own room and I noticed he was trying to bite into the lettuce, but couldn't. He couldn't bite through or drag it into his hide. I took him out and saw that they trimmed his incisors so short they don't even touch! Knowing that his teeth are NOT supposed to be that short, we called the vet and they said that he would never be able to eat normally again due to his "crooked jaw" (he's only 1.5 years old) Since then I have been feeding him pureed vegetables and baby food every day, and closely monitoring his pellet intake (he can eat those just fine.)
My question is, did the vet make a mistake and trim them too short, and will he actually have to be syringe fed the rest of his entire life?

Hi and welcome!

Please do not use this vet again. they have obviously not the first idea of guinea pig dentals. Unfortunately guinea pig dentals don't feature on any vet's curriculum but some vets have even less of an idea how the dental system is working than others.

The front teeth are self-sharpening if the back teeth which are being ground down by the very abrasive silica in hay and grass, against with they have evolved.

However, I cannot comment on whether there is something wrong with the jaw or not, so I cannot answer that question.

But it is important for longer term health that you please change the diet. What your boy needs is hay fibre for long term and not vegetable. Unlimited hay should make around 80% of the daily food intake to keep the back teeth ground down evenly and the gut microbiome balanced. That is about a human breakfast, lunch and dinner. The top up feed should be based on hay fibre (timothy) if you want to avoid secondary gut problems like diarrhea or bloating in the longer term due to dysbiosis (overgrowth of the wrong gut bacteria).
Veg and and fresh herbs make about 15% of what a piggy eats in a day - about the equivalent of an afternoon lunch. You can see whether your boy can eat fresh dog pee free grass, herbs like coriander/cilantro or parsley or greens cut into fine strips. You may need to place the strips in the mouth while your boy cannot use his incisors for picking up and cutting.
1 tablespoon of pellets makes about 5% of the daily food intake and is more in the way of a dessert because even the best quality is rather low on fibre but high on fillers and higher in calcium than the most calcium rich veg.

Please take the time to carefully read these guides here:
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide (includes a chapter on looking after a dental piggy)

Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets (looks at all food groups as part of a complementary diet and in practical detail at each food group)


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