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Guinea pigs teeth.

P

PIGGIES FOREVER

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi.

I need some advice please. I have a guinea pig that has got broken teeth, he first broke them about 8 weeks ago but as soon as they start growing back he chips them again and they never get back to their normal length. He seems to eat and drink well, but have heard him grinding his teeth. I did manage to see his back teeth which looked like he has a spur growing but I could be totally wrong, my question is what do normal back teeth look like? Has anyone got photos of normal looking molars? See pictures of my guinea pigs front teeth.
 

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Please have your piggy seen by a vet so the molars can be checked properly with the correct equipment and by professional eyes - only a vet can tell you if your piggy has a problem going on or not
 
Hello again @PIGGIES FOREVER you were here a few weeks ago werent you asking about mite treatments? I hope your vet was able to help with that, and a vet check is really essential for any dental issues too- for dental issues a very experienced vet is needed, as many vets with less experience can in fact make matters worse by performing dental procedures incorrectly.
The only advice we can give really is to go to an experienced dental vet- Simon Maddock in Northampton is a very notable piggy dental expert, but there are others- as we said last time, if you add your county or city to your location we can help find a good local vet! Who is your current vet, that helped with the mite treatment? Maybe if you tell us we can see if anyone has experience of going there for dental issues?
 
Simon or Kim Maddock at the Cat and Rabbit Clinic are the go to vets of choice in the UK for any dental concerns. I am amazed how you have managed to see the back teeth as, as soon as you open the mouth the cheeks hide the molars and pre molars, you usually need a specialist pair of tiny biceps to keep the cheeks open of which very few vets have.
Your piggies incisors don’t look too bad at all to say he had a broken tooth, it can take a little time for the incisors to balance out and wear properly after a break and sometimes an odd bit can chip off sometimes, I’ve experienced this with my piggie Bill who had dreadful incisors after a break but perfect rear teeth. It your piggies is eating well and weight is stable I’d leave well alone or see the Maddock’s in Northampton
 
It’s not possible to see molars with the naked eye. The vets have to use a special scope to so I’d be gobsmacked if anyone could offer you a photo of normal or abnormal molars except from a text book.
 
What a lovely pig! But you will need to see a vet about the tooth issue because what's happening at the front is often an indication of what's happening at the back and that can have a much bigger impact on piggy's eating ability. They sometimes grind teeth if they feel there's a toothy problem but they do also grind teeth as a sign of pain or discomfort somewhere else in the body so your vet will check all over your pig to exclude other factors (like mite infestation for instance!) Then they will use a special instrument to hold back those mighty cheeks and examine the molars - sometimes a little spur causes a sore spot but if left untreated things can become much more serious (and expensive). Keep an eye on piggy's eating and start to weigh a bit more regularly to make sure there is no serious weight loss. It's better to catch these things early than wait until they suddenly stop eating because then it's a race against time x

Does piggy chew at the bars of the cage? Is that how the incisors are breaking? Perhaps if they had something like a carrot cottage, a hay box or a wooden tunnel that they could gnaw at it would be easier on the incisors. Something like these:
box of fluff.webpZara front end.webp
 
PigglePuggle said:
Hello again @PIGGIES FOREVER you were here a few weeks ago werent you asking about mite treatments? I hope your vet was able to help with that, and a vet check is really essential for any dental issues too- for dental issues a very experienced vet is needed, as many vets with less experience can in fact make matters worse by performing dental procedures incorrectly.
The only advice we can give really is to go to an experienced dental vet- Simon Maddock in Northampton is a very notable piggy dental expert, but there are others- as we said last time, if you add your county or city to your location we can help find a good local vet! Who is your current vet, that helped with the mite treatment? Maybe if you tell us we can see if anyone has experience of going there for dental issues?
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Hello.

I was trying to find out if my guinea pig had mites or fungus, currently I am trying fungus treatment.
I live in the south east of England. I have tried adding my location before but it doesn't work for some reason. I go to Sandhole but the vet I used to see moved to a different place, the vet that is currently there I haven't seen that much so I am not sure if he can do it. The problem is I recently lost a pig that had surgery for ovarian cysts and their is other issues, that doesn't make me feel comfortable, especially if he does need dental work. My other vet I felt comfortable with doing anything that needed to be done.
 
Free Ranger said:
What a lovely pig! But you will need to see a vet about the tooth issue because what's happening at the front is often an indication of what's happening at the back and that can have a much bigger impact on piggy's eating ability. They sometimes grind teeth if they feel there's a toothy problem but they do also grind teeth as a sign of pain or discomfort somewhere else in the body so your vet will check all over your pig to exclude other factors (like mite infestation for instance!) Then they will use a special instrument to hold back those mighty cheeks and examine the molars - sometimes a little spur causes a sore spot but if left untreated things can become much more serious (and expensive). Keep an eye on piggy's eating and start to weigh a bit more regularly to make sure there is no serious weight loss. It's better to catch these things early than wait until they suddenly stop eating because then it's a race against time x

Does piggy chew at the bars of the cage? Is that how the incisors are breaking? Perhaps if they had something like a carrot cottage, a hay box or a wooden tunnel that they could gnaw at it would be easier on the incisors. Something like these:
View attachment 184288View attachment 184289
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Hello.

Thank you, I think your piggies are gorgeous to. Is one a teddy? Iol🤣 why do guinea pigs always get in the most silly of places?. Mine have got things to chew on and the bars are really closed together but he still chews on them 🙈 he has always done it, I can't get him to stop 🙄 he is a right little🐒I wish he would stop, he is always getting himself into trouble.
 
Has the vet narrowed it down to fungal then? Which fungal treatment has your vet prescribed?

There are other vets in that area listed in our vet locator but it is really worth travelling to Northampton if possible for any dental work.
 
Piggies&buns said:
Has the vet narrowed it down to fungal then? Which fungal treatment has your vet prescribed?

There are other vets in that area listed in our vet locator but it is really worth travelling to Northampton if possible for any dental work.
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It's most likely to be fungus so I have been told, so am doing shampoo and cream treatment.
 
PIGGIES FOREVER said:
It's most likely to be fungus so I have been told, so am doing shampoo and cream treatment.
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Did the vet take a culture? What was prescribed? Although its good to start early with treating fungal skin disease as the cultures take a while to grow, shampoos and creams are not usually prescription strength or effective- especially creams, they are usually home remedy only and rarely cure things completely only temporarily suppress the symptoms. But maybe by cream you mean a prescription lotion or something?
 
PigglePuggle said:
Did the vet take a culture? What was prescribed? Although its good to start early with treating fungal skin disease as the cultures take a while to grow, shampoos and creams are not usually prescription strength or effective- especially creams, they are usually home remedy only and rarely cure things completely only temporarily suppress the symptoms. But maybe by cream you mean a prescrip
PigglePuggle said:
Did the vet take a culture? What was prescribed? Although its good to start early with treating fungal skin disease as the cultures take a while to grow, shampoos and creams are not usually prescription strength or effective- especially creams, they are usually home remedy only and rarely cure things completely only temporarily suppress the symptoms. But maybe by cream you mean a prescription lotion or something?
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No vet didn't take culture. nizoral shampoo is the treatment and the cream is one you use for foot fungus.
Click to expand...
 
PigglePuggle said:
Did the vet take a culture? What was prescribed? Although its good to start early with treating fungal skin disease as the cultures take a while to grow, shampoos and creams are not usually prescription strength or effective- especially creams, they are usually home remedy only and rarely cure things completely only temporarily suppress the symptoms. But maybe by cream you mean a prescription lotion or something?
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The vet didn't take a culture. nizoral shampoo and foot fungus cream is the treatment plan.
 
If your vet recommended you use a cream and shampoo then I would try for a second opinion elsewhere. How long has piggy been on the treatment and has it improved? Below is the vet locator if you don’t feel confident with your current one. But I would try and get an appointment in Northampton for the teeth. As far as I’m aware, there are no vets experienced in treating dental piggies down south east way. For a good exotic I recommend Putlands in Paddock Wood.
Recommended Guinea Pig Vets
 
Siikibam said:
If your vet recommended you use a cream and shampoo then I would try for a second opinion elsewhere. How long has piggy been on the treatment and has it improved? Below is the vet locator if you don’t feel confident with your current one. But I would try and get an appointment in Northampton for the teeth. As far as I’m aware, there are no vets experienced in treating dental piggies down south east way. For a good exotic I recommend Putlands in Paddock Wood.
Recommended Guinea Pig Vets
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Hi.

Been on it for a week and am not sure at the moment if it's looking better. Yes I have been to putlands she is good, but one of my pigs had to see another vet once their because she was off and my poor piggy was mishandled and ended up dieing from lack of care. I have probably been to all the exotics around my area, to seek the best treatment, but I have had bad experiences with some of them and the others for other reasons, so I have already done the rounds, but I do thank you for recommending, I am currently having problems trying to get settled again with a vet that I trust and can deal with my piggies problems, it's not easy. I'm not sure I can travel to Nouthamton, but I think I know of a vet that might be able to do my little ones teeth if it comes to it.
 
Which vet do you think could do the teeth? Please be aware that things could be worse.

Are you sure that the handling is what caused the death? What was piggy there for and what happened?
 
Siikibam said:
Which vet do you think could do the teeth? Please be aware that things could be worse.

Are you sure that the handling is what caused the death? What was piggy there for and what happened?
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The vets are in Rochester and it's my old vet that I used to see before he moved from my current place, to this place in Rochester.

It wasn't the handling that killed her, I didn't like the way he was handling my piggie, it just isn't the way to treat an animal and he should have know this. I can't remember it all, it was a long time ago now. I recall she had something causing her pain and she wasn't eating well so they where trying to find out what was the problem, anyway to cut a long story short they wasn't syringe feeding her and she ended up being transferred to trinity vets and it was all to late to save her.😔
 
I'm so sorry for this experience - it is traumatising for the owner when things like this happen and I can quite understand if it puts you off. I've had some difficult experiences myself at my practice as well as some good ones, and so I just politely ask not to see those vets again. They can be great for dogs but can't transfer that compassion to piggies and so I just avoid. One lady is lovely and so knowledgeable about theory, but in practice has worked a lot with massive farm animals and I get the impression she just struggles to scale down! I still see this one if she turns up but I will sometimes say that I'm not comfortable with what she is proposing and ask if there is an alternative so she will check with another vet before moving forward. She is pretty flexible!

Find one that you can get to and feel comfortable with though, for piggy's sake. It might not be a bad idea to send an e-mail to your old vet and explain your situation, asking if there is anyone else in your area he might recommend. I always feel safest with a vet who has kept piggies themselves x
 
Free Ranger said:
I'm so sorry for this experience - it is traumatising for the owner when things like this happen and I can quite understand if it puts you off. I've had some difficult experiences myself at my practice as well as some good ones, and so I just politely ask not to see those vets again. They can be great for dogs but can't transfer that compassion to piggies and so I just avoid. One lady is lovely and so knowledgeable about theory, but in practice has worked a lot with massive farm animals and I get the impression she just struggles to scale down! I still see this one if she turns up but I will sometimes say that I'm not comfortable with what she is proposing and ask if there is an alternative so she will check with another vet before moving forward. She is pretty flexible!

Find one that you can get to and feel comfortable with though, for piggy's sake. It might not be a bad idea to send an e-mail to your old vet and explain your situation, asking if there is anyone else in your area he might recommend. I always feel safest with a vet who has kept piggies themselves x
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I will be emailing my old vet over the teeth situation with my other piggy, to see if he can take a look at them. I am seriously considering changing vets so I can carry on seeing the vet we have got to know and trust, the trouble is it isn't the easiest to get to and it is slightly further away from me that's the only problem.
 
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