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Had A Teeth Burring For The First Time And I'm Concerned

Koinu

Koinu

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Feb 17, 2018
Messages
13
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9
Points
75
Location
Midwest City. Oklahoma, USA
Brand new user here, sorry for any mistakes I may make.

I will preface that I am a first-time guinea pig owner and have had my guinea pig for 4 years now.

So, I went to the vet yesterday, the 16th at 10am, because my male guinea pigs' teeth looked pretty long which I hadn't noticed till then, he also was not eating due to that, had lost weight, but was still interested in food. I had to syringe feed him for two and a half days before I was able to get to the vet. Periodically, my pig would tilt his head and open his mouth like there was discomfort in his mouth and had even squealed for a couple seconds like it hurt. The vet noted that his front bottom teeth were kind of long, as I suspected was the issue. He drilled his teeth told me that the rest of his teeth looked good, nothing abnormal and his jaw felt perfectly fine, but that I may need to keep syringe feeding him. I went on my way back home, hoping that solved the issue.

When I got home he seemed more interested in trying to eat than before but still wasn't able to pick anything up. I took a look at the length of his teeth and they seemed a bit short, so I kept syringe feeding/watering throughout the day and night since he wasn't having any luck with any food I put in front of him, and eventually stopped trying to eat ll together and just lied in spot most of the time. He also won't try to use his water bottle, he should be able to get his mouth around it now but he won't even try to use it.

I read that after a dental procedure like that it's normal if they need to take a few days to recover cause there might be some soreness in the mouth. So I figured it was just that. But, periodically he still does the open-mouth head-tilt thing like he was doing before. His bottom teeth are crooked, they became crooked a while back suddenly so I can't pinpoint or guess why it happened. He bites on his bars sometimes so I thought maybe he bit too hard or too much, but back then it still looked like he was able to keep them trimmed down with all his wood blocks and hay that he has 24/7, so I wasn't alarmed.

I'm also concerned because he is not going potty regularly. I feed him Critical Care and give him water about every 2-3 hours, because I read that their digestive system is delicate. I give him as much CC as he will let me give him at a time (he is stubborn) which is about 3 full 1mL syringes and equal amounts of water. He is more lively after the CC but he still has not produced very much poo. I will notice some on his bottom that has yet to come out but it has been small and has a 'slime' consistency around it. I just fear I have caused damage to his digestive system because I did not notice this all sooner. I am trying my best to feed him as much as I can. The biggest problems are I am not able to be home 24/7, I have a work schedule that varies and has me away from home for more than 2-3 hours. And my guinea pig does not trust anyone else I know nearly as much as he trusts me, he made a huge fuss when my boyfriend was at my house when I wasnt there to feed him and made it very difficult to feed him.

I plan on getting to my vet on Monday if I can for a follow-up and to voice my concerns, since they are closed over the weekend. I just want to know if this can be fixed. If he has malocclusion or something like that, can that be fixed? If his digestive system isn't working to its fullest can that be fixed? Or am I jumping the gun and being too worried too soon? I had a bit of a breakdown with tears to my boyfriend because I felt so stressed. I want my guinea pig to be okay, ive been stressed because of lack of sleep, and I feel so guilty like I'm a bad pig mom.

If you have answers or advice for me, please help. Thank you.
 
Koinu said:
Brand new user here, sorry for any mistakes I may make.

I will preface that I am a first-time guinea pig owner and have had my guinea pig for 4 years now.

So, I went to the vet yesterday, the 16th at 10am, because my male guinea pigs' teeth looked pretty long which I hadn't noticed till then, he also was not eating due to that, had lost weight, but was still interested in food. I had to syringe feed him for two and a half days before I was able to get to the vet. Periodically, my pig would tilt his head and open his mouth like there was discomfort in his mouth and had even squealed for a couple seconds like it hurt. The vet noted that his front bottom teeth were kind of long, as I suspected was the issue. He drilled his teeth told me that the rest of his teeth looked good, nothing abnormal and his jaw felt perfectly fine, but that I may need to keep syringe feeding him. I went on my way back home, hoping that solved the issue.

When I got home he seemed more interested in trying to eat than before but still wasn't able to pick anything up. I took a look at the length of his teeth and they seemed a bit short, so I kept syringe feeding/watering throughout the day and night since he wasn't having any luck with any food I put in front of him, and eventually stopped trying to eat ll together and just lied in spot most of the time. He also won't try to use his water bottle, he should be able to get his mouth around it now but he won't even try to use it.

I read that after a dental procedure like that it's normal if they need to take a few days to recover cause there might be some soreness in the mouth. So I figured it was just that. But, periodically he still does the open-mouth head-tilt thing like he was doing before. His bottom teeth are crooked, they became crooked a while back suddenly so I can't pinpoint or guess why it happened. He bites on his bars sometimes so I thought maybe he bit too hard or too much, but back then it still looked like he was able to keep them trimmed down with all his wood blocks and hay that he has 24/7, so I wasn't alarmed.

I'm also concerned because he is not going potty regularly. I feed him Critical Care and give him water about every 2-3 hours, because I read that their digestive system is delicate. I give him as much CC as he will let me give him at a time (he is stubborn) which is about 3 full 1mL syringes and equal amounts of water. He is more lively after the CC but he still has not produced very much poo. I will notice some on his bottom that has yet to come out but it has been small and has a 'slime' consistency around it. I just fear I have caused damage to his digestive system because I did not notice this all sooner. I am trying my best to feed him as much as I can. The biggest problems are I am not able to be home 24/7, I have a work schedule that varies and has me away from home for more than 2-3 hours. And my guinea pig does not trust anyone else I know nearly as much as he trusts me, he made a huge fuss when my boyfriend was at my house when I wasnt there to feed him and made it very difficult to feed him.

I plan on getting to my vet on Monday if I can for a follow-up and to voice my concerns, since they are closed over the weekend. I just want to know if this can be fixed. If he has malocclusion or something like that, can that be fixed? If his digestive system isn't working to its fullest can that be fixed? Or am I jumping the gun and being too worried too soon? I had a bit of a breakdown with tears to my boyfriend because I felt so stressed. I want my guinea pig to be okay, ive been stressed because of lack of sleep, and I feel so guilty like I'm a bad pig mom.

If you have answers or advice for me, please help. Thank you.
Click to expand...
Where abouts Are you located? Sadly a lot of vets are not very experienced when it comes to Guinea pigs teeth.I'm tagging @furryfriends (TEAS) as she’s our dental expert x
 
@Koinu If their teeth are an issue and is causing a problem with eating then it's usually a problem with back teeth. Any problems with front teeth are usually a symptom of something going on further back in their mouth.

As your vet wasn't able to find anything wrong with them then I'm inclined to think that your vet isn't very experienced with piggy teeth (unfortunately a lot of vets aren't).

If he's still struggling then I'd try to find another vet in the area who has more experience with pig teeth and ask them to look.

In the meantime try to continue with the syringe feeding the best you can.

You can also chop veg onto thin strips and small vibes to see if that helps him pick them up if he's still willing to try to eat himself.

You can also soften his pellet food with hot water, leave to cool and then give him those to see if he wants to try.

Also, dry porridge oats are sometimes a hit with pigs who are struggling to eat.

I've also chopped hay up with scissors into small pieces to see if that helps.

If you've not been given any pain relief, Metacam is the most common one, give your vets a ring today to see if they'll give you some today. If his teeth are sore or hurting then he's not going to want to try to eat. I know I wouldn't!


Good luck, and I hope he feels better soon!
 
I had a guinea pig a few years back with teeth problems. I took him to my regular vet who filed his front teeth down and told me the back teeth were fine. The guinea pig was even worse after this than before so I took him to a vet recommended on here and they found that the back teeth had actually grown over the tongue and were trapping it so he couldn't eat. Also the front teeth had been filed much too short so they thought the guinea pig probably had nerve pain from that which made it painful for him to pick up food. They sorted out the back teeth and I hand fed and syringe fed him until the front teeth grew a bit again and he was able to eat on his own. One thing I did was to grate carrot and cucumber on the smallest holes of the grater and rolled it into little balls that I could pop into the side of his mouth.
 
Gem789 said:
Where abouts Are you located? Sadly a lot of vets are not very experienced when it comes to Guinea pigs teeth.I'm tagging @furryfriends (TEAS) as she’s our dental expert x
Click to expand...

I live in Midwest City, Oklahoma, USA. There aren't a whole heap of vets that specialize in guinea pigs around and I dont know anyone else with guinea pigs who could recommend one to me. I have to drive about 15 miles (24 kilometers) just to get to the closest one that I found through Google. It's not so far away that I refuse to go, I'm very willing to drive that distance or even further. It just makes it harder because I really have to plan when I go there since it's a bit out of the way for me.
 
Jaycey said:
@Koinu If their teeth are an issue and is causing a problem with eating then it's usually a problem with back teeth. Any problems with front teeth are usually a symptom of something going on further back in their mouth.

As your vet wasn't able to find anything wrong with them then I'm inclined to think that your vet isn't very experienced with piggy teeth (unfortunately a lot of vets aren't).

If he's still struggling then I'd try to find another vet in the area who has more experience with pig teeth and ask them to look.

In the meantime try to continue with the syringe feeding the best you can.

You can also chop veg onto thin strips and small vibes to see if that helps him pick them up if he's still willing to try to eat himself.

You can also soften his pellet food with hot water, leave to cool and then give him those to see if he wants to try.

Also, dry porridge oats are sometimes a hit with pigs who are struggling to eat.

I've also chopped hay up with scissors into small pieces to see if that helps.

If you've not been given any pain relief, Metacam is the most common one, give your vets a ring today to see if they'll give you some today. If his teeth are sore or hurting then he's not going to want to try to eat. I know I wouldn't!


Good luck, and I hope he feels better soon!
Click to expand...


Thats what I was maybe thinking. I wonder of maybe my vet trimmed them down too short, because Sherlock (my piggy) has trouble just picking things up, I wonder if maybe his teeth arent long enough or sharp enough right now to do that.

I might inquire about some pain relief. But do you think I should go the the vet that did this procedure or try going to a different one to see if they recognize something my vet didnt? I have only gone to this vet twice now, I'm not quite attached. He's a nice man but if he doesn't have the experience I need my vet to have I don't have a problem going to someone else about this and seeing if all this stuff is normal. Making sure Sherlock is okay and will be okay and back to his old self.
 
wind1 said:
I had a guinea pig a few years back with teeth problems. I took him to my regular vet who filed his front teeth down and told me the back teeth were fine. The guinea pig was even worse after this than before so I took him to a vet recommended on here and they found that the back teeth had actually grown over the tongue and were trapping it so he couldn't eat. Also the front teeth had been filed much too short so they thought the guinea pig probably had nerve pain from that which made it painful for him to pick up food. They sorted out the back teeth and I hand fed and syringe fed him until the front teeth grew a bit again and he was able to eat on his own. One thing I did was to grate carrot and cucumber on the smallest holes of the grater and rolled it into little balls that I could pop into the side of his mouth.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say that Sherlock is worse. He still has great interest in food and trying to eat. But maybe what you said, about the nerve pain is what he is going through. I'm no expert, but the teeth do look kinda short. I'm considering going to a different vet if Sherlock doesn't improve in the next day. He still is not able to eat on his own. I'm pretty exhausted and I'm sure he is too. Thank you for your insight and advice.
 
@Koinu Pig's front teeth are pretty long so some vets think they're overgrown. If Sherlock is struggling to pick things up then they have definitely been cut too short. But they'll grow back soon and he shouldn't have a problem anymore.

Personally I'd try to find a vet with more experience with pig teeth. Your current vet should be okay to give you pain relief but it sounds like Sherlock needs his back teeth checked properly. Most vets need to sedate them to do it but some good pig vets who are experienced with dental issues can check them without sedation.
 
Jaycey said:
@Koinu Pig's front teeth are pretty long so some vets think they're overgrown. If Sherlock is struggling to pick things up then they have definitely been cut too short. But they'll grow back soon and he shouldn't have a problem anymore.

Personally I'd try to find a vet with more experience with pig teeth. Your current vet should be okay to give you pain relief but it sounds like Sherlock needs his back teeth checked properly. Most vets need to sedate them to do it but some good pig vets who are experienced with dental issues can check them without sedation.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for the advice! I will find a different vet for a second opinion like you suggest. I just want to be absolutely sure Sherlock is okay.
 
Koinu said:
Oh, okay. I didn’t know that. Thank you.
Click to expand...

Sadly no Guinea Lynx recommendations for Oklahoma. The US Midwest is sadly pretty much a desert when it comes to exotics vet care or good rescues... :(

If you are living within reach of one of these good standard guinea pig rescues, you might want to contact them for what vet they are using; at least theirs should be seeing guinea pigs on a fairly regular basis!
A vet clipping front teeth without looking what is going on at the back is usually a surefire sign that the vet is not familiar with rodents or rabbits. :(
Guinea Lynx :: US Guinea Pig Rescue and Shelter Organizations
 
Wiebke said:
Sadly no Guinea Lynx recommendations for Oklahoma. The US Midwest is sadly pretty much a desert when it comes to exotics vet care or good rescues... :(

If you are living within reach of one of these good standard guinea pig rescues, you might want to contact them for what vet they are using; at least theirs should be seeing guinea pigs on a fairly regular basis!
A vet clipping front teeth without looking what is going on at the back is usually a surefire sign that the vet is not familiar with rodents or rabbits. :(
Guinea Lynx :: US Guinea Pig Rescue and Shelter Organizations
Click to expand...

I did book an appointment for another vet who handles exotics that is just a bit further away than the one I went to, and the website specifically mentioned guinea pigs. So I’m going there today.
 
Update: I booked an appt for a different vet at 3 today. That appt went fantastic! It turns out Sherlocks back teeth are growing over his tongue, and thats why he’s not been able to eat on his own and it’s been causing him some pain. The vet noticed it right away (while the previous I went to told me the rest of his teeth looked perfectly fine). He let me see for myself, he told me exactly what was happening and what they could do to fix it, he even owns his own guinea pigs so he’s knowledgable and experienced. He also gave me some anti-inflammatory medicine to help with the pain, so it doesnt hurt him so much.

So I’m taking him back up there at 10am tomorrow morning and dropping him off so they can do the procedure of getting those back teeth trimmed back down so they don’t trap his tongue. They are also going to remove a benign cyst that Sherlock has had for several months.

I feel immensly relieved :) Thank you all for your advice and telling me to see a different vet. I’ll try to remember to update after I bring him back home after all this has been done.
 
Koinu said:
Update: I booked an appt for a different vet at 3 today. That appt went fantastic! It turns out Sherlocks back teeth are growing over his tongue, and thats why he’s not been able to eat on his own and it’s been causing him some pain. The vet noticed it right away (while the previous I went to told me the rest of his teeth looked perfectly fine). He let me see for myself, he told me exactly what was happening and what they could do to fix it, he even owns his own guinea pigs so he’s knowledgable and experienced. He also gave me some anti-inflammatory medicine to help with the pain, so it doesnt hurt him so much.

So I’m taking him back up there at 10am tomorrow morning and dropping him off so they can do the procedure of getting those back teeth trimmed back down so they don’t trap his tongue. They are also going to remove a benign cyst that Sherlock has had for several months.

I feel immensly relieved :) Thank you all for your advice and telling me to see a different vet. I’ll try to remember to update after I bring him back home after all this has been done.
Click to expand...

Hi! Please be aware that he won't be eating straight away in most cases, so have please syringe feed ready and do not expect your boy to be able to pick up asap. He may need adjustment burring in a few weeks again a few times until the dental system is fully rebalanced again.

Our syringe feeding guide has a section devoted to it. @furryfriend runs a sanctuary for guinea pigs with chronic dental problems, so she can help you further with tips past that.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Tips For Post-operative Care
 
Wiebke said:
Hi! Please be aware that he won't be eating straight away in most cases, so have please syringe feed ready and do not expect your boy to be able to pick up asap. He may need adjustment burring in a few weeks again a few times until the dental system is fully rebalanced again.

Our syringe feeding guide has a section devoted to it. @furryfriend runs a sanctuary for guinea pigs with chronic dental problems, so she can help you further with tips past that.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Tips For Post-operative Care
Click to expand...

Yeah, the vet let me know what to expect that I might have to go back again for another trimming if they dont correct themselves and keep growing back crooked. I’m prepared to still syinge feed him. Thank you.
 
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