Not eating hay even after dental surgery!

[antauris]

Hi! My 7.5 y/o guin pig Nut has been refusing to eat hay for a while - while having a monster appetite for anything that isn't hay (pellets, veg, critical care, joint supplements I feed him). After a visit to the vet we found out that he has overgrown molars trapping his tongue, and today he made it through dental surgery under anaesthesia. Unfortunately he still wouldn't touch any of the hay (high quality orchard) and even when I feed it into his mouth wrapped in lettuce he would sneakily pull the hay out with his paw. If I were to remove all other foods except for hay, he would just starve himself and his weight falls. The only thing that works is if I add fruit juice to each individual hay strand but that isn't sustainable.



Any help/tips would be greatly appreciated! Thanks :]

 

[Siikibam]

I’m sorry to hear your boy is not eating well. They can be scared to eat after a dental. Was he given any painkillers for afterwards? If so, what dose, how many times a day and for how long?

As he’s not eating hay, you will have to step in and syringe feed him to help him maintain his weight. Dipping in fruit juice isn’t a good idea long term because of the amount of sugar in it. It’s not suitable for them.

You will have to switch to weighing him daily and adjust the top up accordingly. You are aiming to help him maintain instead of the constant downward trend. In a 24 hour period, you’re aiming to give him 60ml. Remember you need your sleep so you can do the last feed as late as possible.

If you don’t have any recovery food on hand then you can use mushed pellets. I will link some guides below for you to read through regarding top up feeding.

I hope he turns the corner soon and starts munching on that lovely sounding hay.

Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures
Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links

 

[antauris]

I’m sorry to hear your boy is not eating well. They can be scared to eat after a dental. Was he given any painkillers for afterwards? If so, what dose, how many times a day and for how long?

As he’s not eating hay, you will have to step in and syringe feed him to help him maintain his weight. Dipping in fruit juice isn’t a good idea long term because of the amount of sugar in it. It’s not suitable for them.

You will have to switch to weighing him daily and adjust the top up accordingly. You are aiming to help him maintain instead of the constant downward trend. In a 24 hour period, you’re aiming to give him 60ml. Remember you need your sleep so you can do the last feed as late as possible.

If you don’t have any recovery food on hand then you can use mushed pellets. I will link some guides below for you to read through regarding top up feeding.

I hope he turns the corner soon and starts munching on that lovely sounding hay.

Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures
Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links

Thanks so much for your reply! His weight is not an issue at the moment, he actually gained 70g in the past 2 weeks and he's fully willing to eat pellets and veggies on his own. I do have him on critical care as well, which he's taking from a spoon with no issues. He's currently on metacam and tramadol once & twice a day respectively.
The only big problem is that he wouldn't touch his hay no matter what, which worries me because that means his teeth will overgrow again and it's impossible for me to send him to surgery again with the fees (I'm in Singapore it cost 700 usd). I've offered him both orchard and timothy hay but no change. Should I try 3rd cut timothy hay? Thanks again :')

 

[Siikibam]

How has his weight been since he had his teeth done? You do need to switch to weighing daily as hay intake is what will help him maintain his weight, not veg and pellets. If there’s no improvement then you do unfortunately have to have him checked over by the vet.

Hope he starts improving soon and eating more hay.

 

[antauris]

How has his weight been since he had his teeth done? You do need to switch to weighing daily as hay intake is what will help him maintain his weight, not veg and pellets. If there’s no improvement then you do unfortunately have to have him checked over by the vet.

Hope he starts improving soon and eating more hay.

His weight has been pretty consistent but unfortunately I think it's only because of the pellets and critical care. Visited the vet recently and they confirmed he doesn't have any issues with his teeth, gut etc. I've bought 3rd cut timothy hay so we'll give that a go and see what happens :/ He's never been too keen on hay but to reject it entirely is still very worrying.