My guineapig has abscess in his mouth, what to do?

[sennadiyorlar]

Hi, my guineapig has an abscess in his mouth. He tries to eat but get hurt and give up. He still eats his pellet tho. I can’t make him eat vegetables or hay I took him to the vet and he started taking antibiotics and painkillers. It’s his 3rd day on antibiotics today. He still is having difficulty in eating. He got a dental surgery 2 months ago. I fed him by my hands and maybe I hurt his cheek and caused this…I don’t know what to do. We will be leaving the city in two days. I will go back to my hometown and it’s a small town. So there are no vets whose proficiency is rodents. But my vet here said she would help if anything needed. (Like calling and helping the other vet.) There is one vet and he says he operates on guineapigs and rabbits but the risks are too high. And my guinapig has teeth issues annually (because of his irresponsible former owner). I don’t wanna leave him, nobody will understand his problems like me. So I am taking him with me. But I am scared if he couldn’t eat even after the treatment. Have you experienced something like this? Are abscesses easy to treat? What can I do at home? How much does he need to rest before eating again

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m sorry to hear this.

As he isn’t eating hay by himself then you must syringe feed him, either a recovery feed or mushed guinea pig pellets, every two hours or so throughout the day and get at least 40ml of syringe feed into him each day. You must also weigh him at the same time every day so you can be sure he is getting enough food so that he doesn’t lose weight. If he does lose weight at a weight check, then you need to syringe feed him more
You can’t stop syringe feeding him until he is eating enough hay by himself and he is well again.

You will need to be in contact with a vet who can help treat his abscess, and to ensure his pain medication is sufficient and that any antibiotics are helping

All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
Weight - Monitoring and Management

 

[sennadiyorlar]

I’m sorry to hear this.

As he isn’t eating hay by himself then you must syringe feed him, either a recovery feed or mushed guinea pig pellets, every two hours or so throughout the day and get at least 40ml of syringe feed into him each day. You must also weigh him at the same time every day so you can be sure he is getting enough food so that he doesn’t lose weight. If he does lose weight at a weight check, then you need to syringe feed him more
You can’t stop syringe feeding him until he is eating enough hay by himself and he is well again.

You will need to be in contact with a vet who can help treat his abscess, and to ensure his pain medication is sufficient and that any antibiotics are helping

All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
Weight - Monitoring and Management

Thank you so much. I hope he gets better soon

 

[weepweeps]

Hello and welcome to the forum. I have a piggy that has a tooth root abscess at the moment. He was eating a bit of hay, no nuggets, no veg. He had his teeth sorted out under GA and they found the abscess. He is now on pain medication and antibiotics. I weighed him every day in the morning and if he had lost weight I fed him more syringe feed. He slowly started to eat more for himself and I could reduce the amount of syringe feeds. I was also cutting his veg into strips which seemed to help him. I hope your piggy is soon on the mend once the abscess heals.

 

[sennadiyorlar]

Hello and welcome to the forum. I have a piggy that has a tooth root abscess at the moment. He was eating a bit of hay, no nuggets, no veg. He had his teeth sorted out under GA and they found the abscess. He is now on pain medication and antibiotics. I weighed him every day in the morning and if he had lost weight I fed him more syringe feed. He slowly started to eat more for himself and I could reduce the amount of syringe feeds. I was also cutting his veg into strips which seemed to help him. I hope your piggy is soon on the mend once the abscess heals.

Thank you so much. I think his abscess is on the cheek inside. My vet looked at his mouth and did not mention surgery. She gave me painkillers and antibiotics for 5 days. I am scared if he needs surgery? Because I will not be able to provide it in few days. And I hope yours gets better soon!

 

[Piggies&buns]

Thank you so much. I think his abscess is on the cheek inside. My vet looked at his mouth and did not mention surgery. She gave me painkillers and antibiotics for 5 days. I am scared if he needs surgery? Because I will not be able to provide it in few days.

It may be different and that he doesn’t need surgery.
I would see if you can get him back to a vet for a check up though before the antibiotics and painkillers run out, just in case he needs a longer course of antibiotics and more painkillers

 

[weepweeps]

Thank you so much. I think his abscess is on the cheek inside. My vet looked at his mouth and did not mention surgery. She gave me painkillers and antibiotics for 5 days. I am scared if he needs surgery? Because I will not be able to provide it in few days. And I hope yours gets better soon!

If it’s on the side then hopefully the antibiotics will clear it up no problem. Good luck. X

 

[sennadiyorlar]

It may be different and that he doesn’t need surgery.
I would see if you can get him back to a vet for a check up though before the antibiotics and painkillers run out, just in case he needs a longer course of antibiotics and more painkillers

Yes I will do that. Thank you sm.

 

[sennadiyorlar]

If it’s on the side then hopefully the antibiotics will clear it up no problem. Good luck. X

He started to eat some green grass I am happy! Theres just hay left to eat next! I will get in touch with the vet again before I leave. Thanks

 

[Free Ranger]

When you talked about abscess I was thinking maybe something enclosed and buried in the jaw at the root of a tooth - something which was contained and invisible but perhaps can be felt as a lump.... but does your vet think this is an open wound (an ulcer) on the inside of the cheek? Did he recover OK from his original dental surgery and put weight back on or has he been having problems ever since?

Sometimes if an ulcer forms on the inside of the cheek it can be caused by a 'tooth spur'. This is a little pointy or hook-like bit of tooth that digs into the cheek and makes chewing painful, so they eat less - especially the tough stuff like hay that needs hard chewing - then the teeth start to overgrow and the pig finds it even harder to eat. Sometimes little sharp spurs right at the back can be missed during a dental - even under anaesthetic - my vet says there is usually a bit of food in the cheeks all the time so they can be easy to miss. Vets look to file teeth surface down on top to make a good chewing surface and they look to see if the tongue is trapped by the back molars growing inwards - they can file to release the tongue, but they can sometimes miss a little sharp spur on the outside next to the cheek because the mouth is small and the cheek muscles are huge! When piggy comes round and starts trying to eat again they have better teeth for chewing but if a little spur is there it will still rub and the problems begin again.

I have seen x-rays on here showing a tooth spur but only big ones - I don't know how easy or hard they are to find on the teeth with examination or x-ray. There was one on the x-ray in one thread which was massive - almost as big as a tooth and sticking out sideways so it was very easy to spot even for an amateur like me. But if I had a piggy with an open sore on the soft flesh of the cheek inside the mouth that is the first thing I would suspect. Antibiotics will treat the infection and painkiller will help but if there is a spur this problem can come back again. Check with your vet that they had a very careful look for sharp little spurs on the outside of the teeth when they did his dental.

Most of all, really well done for all your effort. Dental pigs are heart breaking sometimes as piggy's favourite thing is to eat all the time and it makes us feel so sad when they struggle. You are such a dedicated owner to make such plans and doing the best for your piggy. He is lucky to have you to care for him during his problems and he must trust you a great deal to help him eat

 

[sennadiyorlar]

When you talked about abscess I was thinking maybe something enclosed and buried in the jaw at the root of a tooth - something which was contained and invisible but perhaps can be felt as a lump.... but does your vet think this is an open wound (an ulcer) on the inside of the cheek? Did he recover OK from his original dental surgery and put weight back on or has he been having problems ever since?

Sometimes if an ulcer forms on the inside of the cheek it can be caused by a 'tooth spur'. This is a little pointy or hook-like bit of tooth that digs into the cheek and makes chewing painful, so they eat less - especially the tough stuff like hay that needs hard chewing - then the teeth start to overgrow and the pig finds it even harder to eat. Sometimes little sharp spurs right at the back can be missed during a dental - even under anaesthetic - my vet says there is usually a bit of food in the cheeks all the time so they can be easy to miss. Vets look to file teeth surface down on top to make a good chewing surface and they look to see if the tongue is trapped by the back molars growing inwards - they can file to release the tongue, but they can sometimes miss a little sharp spur on the outside next to the cheek because the mouth is small and the cheek muscles are huge! When piggy comes round and starts trying to eat again they have better teeth for chewing but if a little spur is there it will still rub and the problems begin again.

I have seen x-rays on here showing a tooth spur but only big ones - I don't know how easy or hard they are to find on the teeth with examination or x-ray. There was one on the x-ray in one thread which was massive - almost as big as a tooth and sticking out sideways so it was very easy to spot even for an amateur like me. But if I had a piggy with an open sore on the soft flesh of the cheek inside the mouth that is the first thing I would suspect. Antibiotics will treat the infection and painkiller will help but if there is a spur this problem can come back again. Check with your vet that they had a very careful look for sharp little spurs on the outside of the teeth when they did his dental.

Most of all, really well done for all your effort. Dental pigs are heart breaking sometimes as piggy's favourite thing is to eat all the time and it makes us feel so sad when they struggle. You are such a dedicated owner to make such plans and doing the best for your piggy. He is lucky to have you to care for him during his problems and he must trust you a great deal to help him eat

Omg thank you, this made me happy. As an owner I try so hard to do my best for him. He couldn’t eat after his surgery which is quite normal. But then I gave him time and he started eating like before. Sadly, last week he started to move his mouth like he was uncomfortable while eating. I suspected a spur too! That’s why I took him to the vet. But she checked his mouth with his fingers and a stick. There was no x-ray. She said everything is fine. There is nothing to worry about his teeth. Actually she made me look at it too. I spotted his cheek which was swallowen. I hope it is not about his teeth becuase it will be difficult for him. I will go to vet again asap.