Help with overgrown tooth

[MichelleM]

Ganon broke a tooth a couple of weeks ago. It's grown back, but now his other tooth is overgrown after not having been worn down properly. I have a vet appointment Friday, but I can't get an appointment for any sooner. (I've been calling all over, but a guinea pig vet is hard to find here, especially on a weekend.)

Is there anything I can do to help encourage his tooth to wear down more before then? I'm so worried about him. He's still eating, but he has a lot of trouble with bigger foods like peppers unless they're broken down into tiny pieces. He's also six and a half years old and the thought of sedating him for a tooth trim is really worrying me.

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m sorry to hear this.

The wearing of teeth is down to eating hay and grass. They chew with the molars which keeps them in shape but also in turn wears the incisors. When one incisor breaks there is obviously nothing for it to wear against.

It’s important you keep up with routine weekly weight checks, switching to daily so you can keep a close eye that he is consuming enough hay (in case he is also struggling to pick that up also). Stepping in with syringe feeding if there is weight loss occurring (means he isn’t able to eat enough hay also).

Cut veg into match sticks to help him, perhaps hand feed his veg also. (Hay is the most important part of the diet though

Let us know how you get on with the vet

All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures

 

[MichelleM]

UPDATE: So, when I got home from work today, Ganon still had the overgrown incisor. But now I just looked and it's...just gone? I saw him chewing some wood off the hutch in his pen earlier, so I looked around, but I can't find the tooth on the floor anywhere (possible he swallowed it?)

He's having a little trouble grasping food, but not as bad as before, so maybe his tooth just broke off from chewing, I guess? He still has a vet appointment on Friday, but I'm hoping now it's less of an issue of him having an overgrown tooth and more just letting it grow back and even out with the other incisor that he previously broke and regrew. We just moved to our current town, so I'm hoping worst case scenario Friday becomes his routine health check and gets him established at this new office.

We're still not sure how he broke the first one to begin with. He otherwise seems perfectly healthy, eating consistently, drinking his water, and being his usual active, silly self. I've been cutting up his veggies small enough that he has no issue eating them, and he's been inhaling those, so his appetite is still completely there.

His bottom incisors have not broken or chipped, and they're not overgrown. He has no problem chewing so it doesn't seem like there's any issue with his back teeth. I'm not sure if guinea pig teeth can become more breakable in older age, but I'm hoping this is a good turn for him.

 

[Bill & Ted]

Hope this really good link helps you and explains how a broken incisor grows back and balances out after a number if weeks
Guinea Lynx :: Broken Teeth.

 

[MichelleM]

Thank you so much for the link! Kale, coriander, parsely, and bell pepper are regular veggies for them along with greenleaf lettuce, so we think the original broken tooth was from some sort of injury. He does like to chomp at the pen bars when he wants treats a lot.

Thanks everyone for all the help! I'm feeling immensely relieved today, and I'll update after Ganon's vet appointment onf Friday!

 

[Piggies&buns]

Thank you so much for the link! Kale, coriander, parsely, and bell pepper are regular veggies for them along with greenleaf lettuce, so we think the original broken tooth was from some sort of injury. He does like to chomp at the pen bars when he wants treats a lot.

Thanks everyone for all the help! I'm feeling immensely relieved today, and I'll update after Ganon's vet appointment onf Friday!

i hope his appointment goes well.

As an aside, make sure you don’t feed kale and parsley regularly. Both are high in calcium and can contribute to bladder stone formation. Feed one of them just once a week.