Not eating, teeth issue?

[Dollyx]

So this morning I noticed that my girl Pigeon, was slower than normal eating her lettuce. I didn't think anything of it until just now, when I gave the pigs their bell peppers, that Pigeon wouldn't eat any of it. I inspect her front teeth immediately and they're all fine, so I test it again with trying to give her a carrot, which she didn't eat either. The real test was giving her more lettuce, which again she didn't eat. I tried giving her the lettuce in smaller bits, which she would eat, but then stopped eating the smaller bits. Pigeon is still interested in eating, she wanted to eat all that I offered her, but just didn't, which makes me believe it's a problem with the teeth.

Now, it's Sunday so I unfortunately can not call any vets at the moment, I will try to get her in as soon as I can sometime in the week and I will be monitoring her weight very closely. I only noticed her slower eating this morning, and all other days she happily ate, so I'm not sure how fast a problem can occur like this? Could it be possible that a piece of hay got stuck in the inside of her mouth? And if it's a problem with the back teeth, how easy is it to be fixed? I also have critical care, so at what point if she loses weight should I give it to her?

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m sorry to hear this.

You need to syringe feed her if she loses 50g of weight. Losing weight means she is not eating enough hay, and you need to replace thad hay intake with syringe feed.

How easy to fix depends on what the problem is - it’s not something we can answer.

Let us know how you get on at the vet

 

[Rinoa]

One of my guinea pigs stopped eating on a saturday. Her eyes were half open/half closing which i never seen before. I put her next to pellets. She doesnt eat it. I now give her treats which she never refuses. She walked over to it but did not eat it. I took her in my room and she began drooling.

I called vet but they were closed by this point. For hours i googled guinea pig not eating and drooling and got no help. Just vague posts like
"it could be teeth, it could be bloat,blockage,it could be GI stasis....etc". I tried everything. She wanted to eat but couldnt eat as if her mouth was shut but it clearly wasnt. I thought and hoped she would make it till monday where i could finally get a hold of a vet. She lasted 17 hours.

I recorded her behavior to know what to look out for in the future. She would regurgiate,then drool, then move teeth very fast all in order. I initially thought it was meds she was on (anti-bacterial) as ive heard they can affect appetite. But now after stumbling by pure luck on the only video on all of the internet of another guinea pig regurgitating, drooling, then chattering teeth very fast exactly as my guinea pig....it seems it was GDV (twisted stomach).

None of my guinea pigs since have stopped eating randomly but if they do id treat it as an emergency. Its not worth waiting 1-2 days when the vet is open as i learned a guinea has mere hours to live if they stop eating. I take a risk if i wait at home and hope she makes it (for a day my regular vet is open), i also take a risk taking her to an emergency vet but at least the ER will have several heads that can come up with more solutions than i can. They have breathing devices and medication i certainly dont.

 

[Wiebke]

One of my guinea pigs stopped eating on a saturday. Her eyes were half open/half closing which i never seen before. I put her next to pellets. She doesnt eat it. I now give her treats which she never refuses. She walked over to it but did not eat it. I took her in my room and she began drooling.

I called vet but they were closed by this point. For hours i googled guinea pig not eating and drooling and got no help. Just vague posts like
"it could be teeth, it could be bloat,blockage,it could be GI stasis....etc". I tried everything. She wanted to eat but couldnt eat as if her mouth was shut but it clearly wasnt. I thought and hoped she would make it till monday where i could finally get a hold of a vet. She lasted 17 hours.

I recorded her behavior to know what to look out for in the future. She would regurgiate,then drool, then move teeth very fast all in order. I initially thought it was meds she was on (anti-bacterial) as ive heard they can affect appetite. But now after stumbling by pure luck on the only video on all of the internet of another guinea pig regurgitating, drooling, then chattering teeth very fast exactly as my guinea pig....it seems it was GDV (twisted stomach).

None of my guinea pigs since have stopped eating randomly but if they do id treat it as an emergency. Its not worth waiting 1-2 days when the vet is open as i learned a guinea has mere hours to live if they stop eating. I take a risk if i wait at home and hope she makes it (for a day my regular vet is open), i also take a risk taking her to an emergency vet but at least the ER will have several heads that can come up with more solutions than i can. They have breathing devices and medication i certainly dont.

Heaving regurgitating is usually a telltale symptom of a twisted gut. I am very sorry that you didn't have vet access.

Drooling is something different; that is simply constantly produced saliva that can either not be swallowed well (trapped tongue, blocked throat/esophagus or oral thrush in the mouth (fungal mouth infection with bad sores) or there is a blockage somewhere in the digestive tract. Advanced heat stroke or pregnancy toxaemia can also come with drooling.

I lost three piggies once within the space of just 6 weeks; two of them just days apart who all presented with drooling.
The first had to be pts/euthanised for a blockage in the gut; the second I had to race to the out of hours vets late in the evening; eventually the emergecy vet consented to check her mouth and large swelling at the back of her throat that didn't show on the outside but which made swallowing impossible. The third quite simply lost the ability to swallow (neurologically); any syringe food was coming straight back out again.
Bloat (gassing) and GI stasis (the gut not moving either fully or partially) don't cause salivation in my own several experience with either issue.

 

[Wiebke]

PS: A wet chin (occasional salivation while eating) can be a sign of developing dental issues, like premolar spurs increasingly interfering with the chewing and swallowing - and keeping the mouth closed when they are doing it.

The other issues mentioned are very much the extreme end. A deadly twisted gut is a severe shock but it is thankfully rare.

 

[Dollyx]

Home from the vet and all seems to be going well so far. It wasn't a issue with her teeth thank goodness, but rather a gut upset I guess. After a round of medications at the vet, Pigeon is finally eating something at home Now I'll just have to see how she does during the week with the medicine