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Dental Overgrown back teeth

PerfectPiggyPaws

PerfectPiggyPaws

Junior Guinea Pig
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Rory has had a second GA to have back teeth filed, the first was in June so not long ago. He has had a post-op check up and all ok as far as the vet is concerned but Rory is again taking a long time to get back to eating properly.
Just before Rory's first teeth filing, he stopped eating hay and only really picks at it now but will eat other dried herbs/foods/plants. His poop for 6 months has been like cowpats and fecal analysis has come hack normal so the vets think its just all down to his teeth and that nothing can be done except carry on and wait until his teeth need filing again.
My main worry is the GA and how many times he can be put through the procedure.
Since the last filing, I'm basically keeping Rory going on his 'soup' which is a blended mix of veggies, oats, critical care, pumpkin puree and digestive aids which fortunately, Rory will happily take.
Rory is a good weight and happy to play his games of hide-and-seek with me and pop, pop, pops in excitement so I know he isn't ill as such but it appears that his mouth is still incredibly sore.
Anyone have experience of repeated teeth filings?
I know Rory's teeth will need more attention as the bottom ones point inwards being worse at the front.
Today, I have arriving an otoscope so I can try to keep and eye on his teeth myself.
Thank you for reading :)
 
Claire W said:
Hi, where aboutd are you located? Simon at the cat and rabbit clinic in Northampton can trim teeth without the need for GA. It would therefore save Rory from having constant GA’s if you can get him there @furryfriends (TEAS)
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Thank you Claire. I'm in Devon so unfortunately I can't get to that clinic. I have read before that some piggies have had their teeth trimmed without GA but none of the vets around here will do it as they say it's difficult enough while they are asleep.
 
Please contact the Excellent Adventure Sanctuary for guinea pigs with special needs (i.e. guinea pigs with chronic dental issues). @furryfriends (TEAS) is often too busy to always be able to come on the forum but has given us permission to refer members with specific dental issues to her for the most experienced support.
The Excellent Adventure Sanctuary – Providing life-enhancing care for Guinea Pigs with extra needs

The best way to deal with dental problems is to burr the teeth as soon as they start regrowing again and to eventually rebalance the whole dental system for good. This means conscious dentals or dentals under very light sedation every weeks at first. Unfortunately, the damage that inexpert rodentologists (who are NOT vets) have wreaked with their conscious dentals has resulted in vets being firmly opposed to this concept. This means that they have to start back in square one with a major procedure under full anaesthetics and the problem will never fully be corrected.
The one exception is a vet in Northampton, who is looking after the TEAS piggies. As a result, he is seeing guinea pigs from all over the country as far as Edinburgh and does about 15 guinea pig dentals on average per week - and has an impressive rate of success. He is combining proper vet dental techniques but with as little sedation as necessary depending on the problem.

If you can travel as far as Northampton (you wouldn't be the first piggy owner from your area; my Teggy originally came from Buddleigh Salterton to see Simon Maddock), then that would be best. I know that it is a big ask, but guinea pig dental savvy vets are sadly about as common as gold dust in this country. :(
Simon Maddock is a general vet who specialises in cats, rabbits, guinea pigs and small furries and who sees therefore a lot more of them than most other vets.
The Cat and Rabbit Care Clinic
 
Thank you so much Wiebke for your help and advice. Unfortunately I have a back problem and in constant pain myself so I just wouldn't be able to make the journey. The only time I go out is to take Rory to the local vet when needed. If I had any way of getting Rory there then I would. I wish the clinic were nearer but I appreciate your help.
 
Rory's slave said:
Thank you so much Wiebke for your help and advice. Unfortunately I have a back problem and in constant pain myself so I just wouldn't be able to make the journey. The only time I go out is to take Rory to the local vet when needed. If I had any way of getting Rory there then I would. I wish the clinic were nearer but I appreciate your help.
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I would still strongly recommend speaking to Debbie at TEAS sanctuary!
 
My Ted had dental problems earlier this year. He had GA dental with local vet who made matters far worse than before operation as cut his incisors so short he could not pick anything up at all and was on critical care and hand feeding for a mouth. Took him up to Simon Maddock in Northampton and he was eating hay within 10 minutes of conscious dental! We live in West Cornwall and it was a 6.5 hour journey each way and an overnight stay but well worth it. Ted has been great since then.
I wonder where the guinea pig sanctuary at Salash take their dental piggies? I think it’s listed on the Recommended Rehoming Sanctuary’s “Norman Gorman Guinea Pig Sanctuary” it might be worth giving them a ring if they are near you, they may have a good dental piggie vet?

It’s such a shame we live so far away from Northampton in this respect, although we are very lucky in scenery arn’t we.
Hope you can find good treatment for Rory x
 
Bill & Ted said:
My Ted had dental problems earlier this year. He had GA dental with local vet who made matters far worse than before operation as cut his incisors so short he could not pick anything up at all and was on critical care and hand feeding for a mouth. Took him up to Simon Maddock in Northampton and he was eating hay within 10 minutes of conscious dental! We live in West Cornwall and it was a 6.5 hour journey each way and an overnight stay but well worth it. Ted has been great since then.
I wonder where the guinea pig sanctuary at Salash take their dental piggies? I think it’s listed on the Recommended Rehoming Sanctuary’s “Norman Gorman Guinea Pig Sanctuary” it might be worth giving them a ring if they are near you, they may have a good dental piggie vet?

It’s such a shame we live so far away from Northampton in this respect, although we are very lucky in scenery arn’t we.
Hope you can find good treatment for Rory x
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Thank you so much for your reply and I'm so pleased to hear Ted has done so well. I really wish I could get Rory to see that vet too. I wish other vets knew Simon Maddock's technique if it will save piggies from so much discomfort.
You're an amazing piggy guardian for taking such care of your furbaby and travelling all that way.
I'll check out the sanctuary you mentioned, thanks for that. Its not local to me but I will certainly contact them.
Fortunately Rory has today regained his appetite and been wheeking at me loads so I know he is feeling better.
Yes, we are truly blessed to have beautiful scenery. I lived between Looe and Polperro many years ago and it was the most beautiful place I've ever lived.
Wishing your boys good health and happiness xx
 
Many thanks, I hope you can find a piggie savvy vet for Rory who can do conscious dentals, poor little chap. Let me know if you find one! lol
It’s awful when they have GA, Ted was really off it for a couple of days and the weather didn’t help it was so hot. I had no experience of it and struggled with feeding etc. Luckily he is a fighter and pulled through, but wouldn’t want to go through all that stress and worry again. Know how you must be feeling, it’s awful.
Glad to hear he is on the mend and regained his appetite. He’s a little fighter too! Keep well x
 
Bill & Ted said:
Many thanks, I hope you can find a piggie savvy vet for Rory who can do conscious dentals, poor little chap. Let me know if you find one! lol
It’s awful when they have GA, Ted was really off it for a couple of days and the weather didn’t help it was so hot. I had no experience of it and struggled with feeding etc. Luckily he is a fighter and pulled through, but wouldn’t want to go through all that stress and worry again. Know how you must be feeling, it’s awful.
Glad to hear he is on the mend and regained his appetite. He’s a little fighter too! Keep well x
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I will certainly let you know if I find a good vet here.

Poor Ted, you obviously did everything possible for him so I'm glad he did so well and recovered. The weather has been the opposite for Rory, it's been cold so I've been keeping the heating on for him during the night and giving extra cuddles when I get up during the night to feed him his soup.

Fortunately, I had Rory used to what I call 'soup' which contains critical care, pureed pumpkin, oats, veggies, water and some of his nuggets all blended well.
I got him used to this as an occasional treat thinking that if ever he needed it, it would be welcomed... and he sure does go crazy for it :love::drool::love: If Rory has lost a little weight I make it with more CC and oats but generally he does very well on it. I get pumpkin in cans and decant into plastic tubs, I freeze in portions enough for one day which I defrost and use as needed. I'd recommend everyone to get their piggies used to CC and pumpkin as it makes it so much easier to get them to eat it if they already associate it as a treat. Although a sickly piggy would need a syringe, Rory takes it greedily so I feed to him in the plastic bottles used for home-made sauces as these have wider ends which is easier for thicker soup.

Wishing you and your little ones well x
 
Yes it’s been quite cold through the night and early morning here too. Fantastic weather today, really hot, almost like summer. I think “Rory’s soup” is a fantastic idea, and he obviously loves it. Ted hated the critical care at first it took two of us to syringe feed him it. One to hold him down and the other with the syringe! Bill, his brother loves it, will lick it off the spoon! I might try them with something like yours, so if either are poorly they will be familiar with it as a treat. Such a good idea! And freezing daily amounts, I wasted so much cc with Ted, most of it down me, In the end I used to put a little bit of honey in it, just to make it a bit more palatable for him (I’ll be getting pilloried!) lol

Do you have any other piggies at home or just Rory? Really hoping you can get him sorted, trouble is their teeth never stop growing, I’m quite paranoid with weighing every day, the slightest fail in Weight and I’m wondering how much hay he’s had, he’s always been a bit of a pellet and veg junky, unlike his brother who can’t get enough hay!

Best wishes to you and Rory x
 
Bill & Ted said:
Yes it’s been quite cold through the night and early morning here too. Fantastic weather today, really hot, almost like summer. I think “Rory’s soup” is a fantastic idea, and he obviously loves it. Ted hated the critical care at first it took two of us to syringe feed him it. One to hold him down and the other with the syringe! Bill, his brother loves it, will lick it off the spoon! I might try them with something like yours, so if either are poorly they will be familiar with it as a treat. Such a good idea! And freezing daily amounts, I wasted so much cc with Ted, most of it down me, In the end I used to put a little bit of honey in it, just to make it a bit more palatable for him (I’ll be getting pilloried!) lol

Do you have any other piggies at home or just Rory? Really hoping you can get him sorted, trouble is their teeth never stop growing, I’m quite paranoid with weighing every day, the slightest fail in Weight and I’m wondering how much hay he’s had, he’s always been a bit of a pellet and veg junky, unlike his brother who can’t get enough hay!

Best wishes to you and Rory x
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I've had a few rough days with Rory where he hadn't eaten much. I've managed to get him eating again and trying to wean him off soup a bit and he's pecking at veggies and dried foods sometimes. Sometimes I feel like it's getting towards the end for him and I get so upset but then he has a good day and leaps around the floor like a mad thing and really enjoys himself. He is free to roam the floor or go up to his pen for most of the day so he gets plenty of freedom and I'm with him all day every day.

Trouble is that his poops are squishy so he needs to eat more solid foods but he just wont eat much hay.

I don't freeze the whole soup, just the pumpkin...not sure how CC would work if frozen. I just make a few days worth, put the soup in plastic sauce bottles and put them in the fridge until needed. He has one bottle a day.

Have you been publicly spanked yet for giving Ted honey? :D I know how you feel though, I had Rory's brother (Dexter) too and he was very difficult to feed when he was ill. Even though Rory loves his soup, I still get covered as he likes to rest his head against me and wipe his mouth when he dribbles... :drool: They certainly love to share!

Sadly I lost Dexter earlier this year. Rory seemed to bloom into a confident piggy once he was alone and really had a great time. I have thought on and off about getting another piglet but I just didn't want to upset Rory when he was so happy. I still think about it especially now that Rory is struggling with food. Perhaps the competitive nature if piggies might do Rory good as they always want what the other one has. Don't think it's fair though while Rory is like this.

If I'd had them from babies I think I'd have got three or four together but they were rescues so it wasn't so easy to add more at that time.

Wheek wheek to Bill and Ted from Rory xx
 
Rory's slave said:
I've had a few rough days with Rory where he hadn't eaten much. I've managed to get him eating again and trying to wean him off soup a bit and he's pecking at veggies and dried foods sometimes. Sometimes I feel like it's getting towards the end for him and I get so upset but then he has a good day and leaps around the floor like a mad thing and really enjoys himself. He is free to roam the floor or go up to his pen for most of the day so he gets plenty of freedom and I'm with him all day every day.

Trouble is that his poops are squishy so he needs to eat more solid foods but he just wont eat much hay.

I don't freeze the whole soup, just the pumpkin...not sure how CC would work if frozen. I just make a few days worth, put the soup in plastic sauce bottles and put them in the fridge until needed. He has one bottle a day.

Have you been publicly spanked yet for giving Ted honey? :D I know how you feel though, I had Rory's brother (Dexter) too and he was very difficult to feed when he was ill. Even though Rory loves his soup, I still get covered as he likes to rest his head against me and wipe his mouth when he dribbles... :drool: They certainly love to share!

Sadly I lost Dexter earlier this year. Rory seemed to bloom into a confident piggy once he was alone and really had a great time. I have thought on and off about getting another piglet but I just didn't want to upset Rory when he was so happy. I still think about it especially now that Rory is struggling with food. Perhaps the competitive nature if piggies might do Rory good as they always want what the other one has. Don't think it's fair though while Rory is like this.

If I'd had them from babies I think I'd have got three or four together but they were rescues so it wasn't so easy to add more at that time.

Wheek wheek to Bill and Ted from Rory xx
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Hi! Have you spoken to @furryfriends (TEAS)? And are you topping him up with syringe feed.

While a companion is always a boon, I wouldn't do it with struggling piggy until the health problem has been solved and is under control.
 
Wiebke said:
Hi! Have you spoken to @furryfriends (TEAS)? And are you topping him up with syringe feed.

While a companion is always a boon, I wouldn't do it with struggling piggy until the health problem has been solved and is under control.
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I have sent a couple of e-mails to Debbie, she asked if I'd like to speak to her which I really would, I have send my number to her for whenever is convenient and just waiting now.

Rory has critical care and loves it....fortunately. CC is the only thing keeping him going. He eats regularly through the day and night and I syringe water too as he seems to struggle with his water bottles and wont drink from a dish. Rory comes and asks for CC when he needs it and I encourage foraging too with his dried foods.

Thank you for your advice, If Rory makes it through this I will think about a new friend for him.
 
Wiebke said:
Hi! Have you spoken to @furryfriends (TEAS)? And are you topping him up with syringe feed.

While a companion is always a boon, I wouldn't do it with struggling piggy until the health problem has been solved and is under control.
Click to expand...
I have sent a couple of e-mails to Debbie, she asked if I'd like to speak to her which I really would, I have send my number to her for whenever is convenient and just waiting now.

Rory has critical care and loves it....fortunately. CC is the only thing keeping him going. He eats regularly through the day and night and I syringe water too as he seems to struggle with his water bottles and wont drink from a dish. Rory comes and asks for CC when he needs it and I encourage foraging too with his dried foods.

Thank you for your advice, If Rory makes it through this I will think about a new friend for him.
 
Rory's slave said:
I have sent a couple of e-mails to Debbie, she asked if I'd like to speak to her which I really would, I have send my number to her for whenever is convenient and just waiting now.

Rory has critical care and loves it....fortunately. CC is the only thing keeping him going. He eats regularly through the day and night and I syringe water too as he seems to struggle with his water bottles and wont drink from a dish. Rory comes and asks for CC when he needs it and I encourage foraging too with his dried foods.

Thank you for your advice, If Rory makes it through this I will think about a new friend for him.
Click to expand...

If you can get the teeth sorted, either take him to Little Pip's Rehoming in Buddleigh Salterton or Norman Gorman's Guinea Pig Sanctuary in St Austell. Both places will take care to bond Rory with a character compatible mate. My recommendation would be to start with Little Pip's; they usually have more adoptable piggies and offer residential bonding; which means that Rory only comes home with a new stably bonded companion.
Recommended Guinea Pig Rescues

I have linked in furryfriends again into this thread, but she is a very busy lady. If necessary, try giving her a call during day time hours, especially in the middle of the day.
 
Aw, poor you and Rory, it’s so hard getting them to eat properly again. You don’t want them to starve and loose more weight and have their tummy shut down, but you know they should be eating more fibre and hay. No, I haven’t been told off yet for adding a little honey to his cc, but it was the only way at the time to get him to accept syringe feeding and took a bit of stress off both of us, but there’s time yet lol!

If Rory is happy on his own I wouldn’t put him through the stress of bonding. I had to separate my two when Ted had his first dental with GA (that OP was a distaster). Bill would not leave him alone, so kept them separate on an evening and part of the day. Ted just couldn’t cope with him really and was so weak. He’s now 1311 gms.

All you can do is your best and that’s what you are doing. Sorry he lost his little companion earlier this year. It’s funny how they can become more confident once on their own. You can build a really special relationship with them. Bill was like that when he spent time out on his own, he was alway the quiet one with Ted, but on his own his character shone through and he is actually very tame and loves a cuddle and also more vocal than Ted. He had just never been in the limelight as Ted is such a character and more bossy.

Hope all goes well, don’t despair, your Rory is obviously happy and a little fighter!

Jane, Bill and Ted x
 
Hi Wiebke
I thought Norman Gormans Guinea Pig Sanctuary was in Saltash, Cornwall? Forgive me if I’m wrong but I’m sure it’s not in St Austell.

Wiebke said:
Please contact the Excellent Adventure Sanctuary for guinea pigs with special needs (i.e. guinea pigs with chronic dental issues). @furryfriends (TEAS) is often too busy to always be able to come on the forum but has given us permission to refer members with specific dental issues to her for the most experienced support.
The Excellent Adventure Sanctuary – Providing life-enhancing care for Guinea Pigs with extra needs

The best way to deal with dental problems is to burr the teeth as soon as they start regrowing again and to eventually rebalance the whole dental system for good. This means conscious dentals or dentals under very light sedation every weeks at first. Unfortunately, the damage that inexpert rodentologists (who are NOT vets) have wreaked with their conscious dentals has resulted in vets being firmly opposed to this concept. This means that they have to start back in square one with a major procedure under full anaesthetics and the problem will never fully be corrected.
The one exception is a vet in Northampton, who is looking after the TEAS piggies. As a result, he is seeing guinea pigs from all over the country as far as Edinburgh and does about 15 guinea pig dentals on average per week - and has an impressive rate of success. He is combining proper vet dental techniques but with as little sedation as necessary depending on the problem.

If you can travel as far as Northampton (you wouldn't be the first piggy owner from your area; my Teggy originally came from Buddleigh Salterton to see Simon Maddock), then that would be best. I know that it is a big ask, but guinea pig dental savvy vets are sadly about as common as gold dust in this country. :(
Simon Maddock is a general vet who specialises in cats, rabbits, guinea pigs and small furries and who sees therefore a lot more of them than most other vets.
The Cat and Rabbit Care Clinic
Click to expand...
 
Bill & Ted said:
Hi Wiebke
I thought Norman Gormans Guinea Pig Sanctuary was in Saltash, Cornwall? Forgive me if I’m wrong but I’m sure it’s not in St Austell.
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Oh, just looked at their website and the sanctuary is located in Liskeard, which I suppose is fairly near Saltash.
 
Bill & Ted said:
Hi Wiebke
I thought Norman Gormans Guinea Pig Sanctuary was in Saltash, Cornwall? Forgive me if I’m wrong but I’m sure it’s not in St Austell.
Click to expand...

It's about halfway between the Devon border and St Austell. My geography is slightly sketchy as I haven't mean all that much into Cornwall and never stopped in the area.
 
Wiebke said:
If you can get the teeth sorted, either take him to Little Pip's Rehoming in Buddleigh Salterton or Norman Gorman's Guinea Pig Sanctuary in St Austell. Both places will take care to bond Rory with a character compatible mate. My recommendation would be to start with Little Pip's; they usually have more adoptable piggies and offer residential bonding; which means that Rory only comes home with a new stably bonded companion.
Recommended Guinea Pig Rescues

I have linked in furryfriends again into this thread, but she is a very busy lady. If necessary, try giving her a call during day time hours, especially in the middle of the day.
Click to expand...
Thank you Wiebke, I spoke to Debbie yesterday afternoon...such a fabulous lady.
I will take Rory back to the vet that did his first teeth filing as he recovered quicker the first time. I'll also take Simon Maddox's details incase they are interested in learning Simon's technique, my vets see lots of guineas so hopefully it'll help other people with their piggies too.
If I can just get Rory through this then I will first try Animals in Distress (horrible name for a rescue centre) in Ipplepen which is where I got Rory and Dexter, they always have guinea pigs needing homes which I see on their website. Rory is a little rascal and used to kick his brother in the head frequently so I know he would take a lot to impress but we will definitely try :nod:
 
Bill & Ted said:
Aw, poor you and Rory, it’s so hard getting them to eat properly again. You don’t want them to starve and loose more weight and have their tummy shut down, but you know they should be eating more fibre and hay. No, I haven’t been told off yet for adding a little honey to his cc, but it was the only way at the time to get him to accept syringe feeding and took a bit of stress off both of us, but there’s time yet lol!

If Rory is happy on his own I wouldn’t put him through the stress of bonding. I had to separate my two when Ted had his first dental with GA (that OP was a distaster). Bill would not leave him alone, so kept them separate on an evening and part of the day. Ted just couldn’t cope with him really and was so weak. He’s now 1311 gms.

All you can do is your best and that’s what you are doing. Sorry he lost his little companion earlier this year. It’s funny how they can become more confident once on their own. You can build a really special relationship with them. Bill was like that when he spent time out on his own, he was alway the quiet one with Ted, but on his own his character shone through and he is actually very tame and loves a cuddle and also more vocal than Ted. He had just never been in the limelight as Ted is such a character and more bossy.

Hope all goes well, don’t despair, your Rory is obviously happy and a little fighter!

Jane, Bill and Ted x
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It's nice to be able to chat to people on here that know what it's like to be caring for a poorly piggy, but equally I hate to know of other piggies that are ill and suffering. At least for me I'm with Rory all the time so can monitor him and feed very regularly, I know it's not so easy for others.

Giving honey was a temporary measure to help little Ted, I don't think you can be faulted for doing whatever you can to help your furbaby to eat and it obviously worked a treat for him :nod: he is a nice weight. 1311g is exactly what Rory was before is last teeth filing and now he is 1212 but that is still a good weight for Rory, he is stable and not losing so I'm ok with that. Rory was always smaller and lighter than his chunky brother.

Rory today is full of mischief and running around causing trouble which I love to see. Sounds like my two were the same as yours, Rory is just like your Bill and really has thrived on his own, he's a real character but was always in Dexter's shadow. It was funny to see Rory's revenge though when he would kick Dexter in the head even if Dex was just walking past and not doing anything to deserve it. Such characters that I loved to watch.

I'm only really thinking of a piggy friend because the social side of feeding might help Rory but I'll have to wait until he is better first and see how it goes from there.

Are Ted's teeth still doing ok?

Have a great day

Scarlett and Rory xx
 
Hi Rory and Scarlett

Rory seems to be doing well and has recovered from his nasty op. Yes, Ted’s teeth and eating have been fine since dental with Simon Maddock. He was 1400gm originally and slowly went down to 1250gms then had local dental with GA and lost another 100gms in 24 hours, had a funny turn like a fit and his bladder was temporarily bruised so incontinent as well as not eating anything, then slowly went down to 1107gms at the lowest point before we took him up to “Uncle Simon” I was still feeding him cc and hand feeding. After seeing Simon it was as if someone had turned a light on and he was eating perfectly within a couple of minutes of leaving the vets, just amazing, hay an all.

Debbie is great isn’t she. She works wonders with all those piggies, don’t know how she copes emotionally, I was a blubbering wreck when Ted was at his worst. Rory sounds a lovely little character, hope it’s a good while before he has to have another dental, if at all.

I sometimes wonder if it’s genetic as Bill is fine with eating but he has broke a couple of incisors, so you do wonder with them being brothers?

Best wishes

Jane Bill and Ted
 
Bill & Ted said:
Hi Rory and Scarlett

Rory seems to be doing well and has recovered from his nasty op. Yes, Ted’s teeth and eating have been fine since dental with Simon Maddock. He was 1400gm originally and slowly went down to 1250gms then had local dental with GA and lost another 100gms in 24 hours, had a funny turn like a fit and his bladder was temporarily bruised so incontinent as well as not eating anything, then slowly went down to 1107gms at the lowest point before we took him up to “Uncle Simon” I was still feeding him cc and hand feeding. After seeing Simon it was as if someone had turned a light on and he was eating perfectly within a couple of minutes of leaving the vets, just amazing, hay an all.

Debbie is great isn’t she. She works wonders with all those piggies, don’t know how she copes emotionally, I was a blubbering wreck when Ted was at his worst. Rory sounds a lovely little character, hope it’s a good while before he has to have another dental, if at all.

I sometimes wonder if it’s genetic as Bill is fine with eating but he has broke a couple of incisors, so you do wonder with them being brothers?

Best wishes

Jane Bill and Ted
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Greeting, Jane, Bill & Ted,

Poor Ted, he really went through a lot. For such delicate creatures, piggies sure do seem tough and resilient when they need to be. Simon sounds like a guardian angel to all those lucky piggies that get to see him.

Have you had Bill & Ted since they were young pups? if so then it seems like it's genetics. Not sure for Rory and Dexter, perhaps they didn't have a very good diet when they were young.

You mentioned Ted having a funny turn, like a fit, Dexter started with that the last morning I had him and it was very bad. He had a tooth abscess and lost a lower incisor but just became very ill, very quickly. I was a complete mess when Dex was so poorly, he was a dream piggy and the sweetest boy.

Wishing your boys much happiness and nice strong teeth xx
 
Hi Scarlett and Rory

Poor Dexter, it’s so sad you lost him, tooth abscesses seem awful things, I once had one and the pain is dreadful! How do you did out they have an abscess, does it look like a sore or a wound or do you have to get an x ray done?

Yes we have had them from 5 weeks old.

Ted had this strange fit type thing the following morning after his first op. He was laid out in his indoor cage and suddenly his eyes looked wild and his whole body trembled violently for about 15 seconds. I rushed him up to the vet as an emergency, it was late Saturday morning and was about to shut! (Things like this never happen during the week do they lol) The vet examined him and said it sounded like a fit or stroke, but could not find anything apart from one of his eyes looked red inside (possible bleed) but I think one of Teds eyes has always been pinky toned although they are dark browny coloured. He said it could have been the after effects of the anaesthetic or heat stroke (was a very hot day). So a bit of a mystery really as no outward signs at all.

Simon is fantastic I told my second vet about his dentals using a gag, and she said she had heard about his technique, I know he is very willing to discuss dental issues with other vets. He needs to set up a “dental school” lol
 
It's always sad to lose a loved one but I'm now able to talk about Dexter without balling my eyes out. It's good to remember the fun life I gave him even though it was way to short.

Dexter was absolutely fine and eating but doing my usual health check over every inch of his body, I discovered his lower right incisor was loose. Vet said it will just come out when ready which it did but the following day he had a small lump on his lower jaw. The lump grew very quickly and by the time we went to the vets first thing the next morning it was the size of a golf ball. The abscess was drained and he had pain meds and antibiotics. I flushed the abscess regularly but after two days, Dex was really ill which I thought might be a reaction to the meds. Saw and spoke to a completely useless vet and had the misfortune of speaking to her again during the night when I called as an emergency. I was up with Dex all night but despite trying to get food into him, he faded very quickly and I had to let him go that morning as he was having fits. I took him to a different vet but he was just too ill.

I knew it was an abscess as Rory had one on his rump a little while after I got them which I kept flushed and it's healed well. The abscess never really bothered Rory but Dexter was very ill with it. Never got any answers as to what was really wrong with Dex, I just wished I could have done more for him.

Poor Ted, his fit sounds like Dexters ones. I could only think it was a bad reaction to the medications. So glad Ted recovered, I know how scary it is when you don't know what to do to help them.

You are so right about things happening at the worst times.... weekends and evenings... it's as if the piggies know and are testing our devotion... little beasts they are!

Yes, a dental school would be great :nod: I second your suggestion :))
 
Aw, poor you, what a terrible experience for you and little Dexter. Such a shame you got a rotten vet, we are at the mercy of them aren’t we. These abscesses sound terrible, they seem to grow so quickly in size, poor little man. I think these dental abscesses seem to be the worst as there are that many little nooks and crannies where the bacteria can hide and build up. You never quite know if fits are down to meds’ or just their illness, in Teds case I think we very lucky to still have him. I was very naive before he went for his first op, thought he would just get on and eat and be fine. I had a very rude awakening and little help or advise from vet who said there was very little help you could give small animals like that. Since being on the forum I have found out so much and been so well supported, just a shame I had not found the site before hand.

Treasure your beautiful memories of your boy, he sounds like he was “one of those pets that you just have a “special vibe” with. I had a bantam called “George” like that, a dream pet.
 
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