Pound Shilling & Pig
Adult Guinea Pig
One of my guinea pigs, Cotswold, lost his lower incisors in 2013 due to a jaw abscess. Unlike when piggies sometimes break their teeth below the gumline and they fall out only to grow back within a few weeks, Cotswold's teeth will never regrow as the abscess destroyed the roots.
The result is that, without opposing teeth to wear them down, his continually growing upper incisors just get longer and longer, which means he has to have them burred every month at the vets.
Here is a picture of his teeth just after they have been burred back to a normal length
Burring is a painless and very quick procedure which does not require an anaesthetic. He is wrapped in a small towel and held securely by the nurse while the vet burrs off the excess length of tooth using a high speed burr. The burr zips through his teeth in a matter of seconds.
Here he is again showing you how much his teeth have grown in a month. (you can also see the sockets where his lower teeth used to be)
I think this demonstrates very well just how fast our guinea pigs' teeth grow. If Cotswold had lower incisors they would also be growing rapidly, as are both sets of his back teeth.
The reason piggies teeth grow so fast is because they are grazing animals who have evolved to primarily eat grass. Grass is made up of cellulose which is incredibly tough and highly abrasive to teeth, thus the speed their teeth grow has evolved to match the speed at which they are worn down by grinding up grass. This is why it is so important guinea pigs are provided with unlimited hay at all times and with fresh grass when possible.
So here is a pigture of the man himself
I have to cut his grass for him as he doesn't have the teeth to nip it off himself but he still enjoys being out on the grass and benefits from a bit of sunshine.
He also has to have his veggies grated, which is why his nose looks a little orange in the first photo having been stuffed into a bowl of grated carrot
The result is that, without opposing teeth to wear them down, his continually growing upper incisors just get longer and longer, which means he has to have them burred every month at the vets.
Here is a picture of his teeth just after they have been burred back to a normal length
Burring is a painless and very quick procedure which does not require an anaesthetic. He is wrapped in a small towel and held securely by the nurse while the vet burrs off the excess length of tooth using a high speed burr. The burr zips through his teeth in a matter of seconds.
Here he is again showing you how much his teeth have grown in a month. (you can also see the sockets where his lower teeth used to be)
I think this demonstrates very well just how fast our guinea pigs' teeth grow. If Cotswold had lower incisors they would also be growing rapidly, as are both sets of his back teeth.
The reason piggies teeth grow so fast is because they are grazing animals who have evolved to primarily eat grass. Grass is made up of cellulose which is incredibly tough and highly abrasive to teeth, thus the speed their teeth grow has evolved to match the speed at which they are worn down by grinding up grass. This is why it is so important guinea pigs are provided with unlimited hay at all times and with fresh grass when possible.
So here is a pigture of the man himself
I have to cut his grass for him as he doesn't have the teeth to nip it off himself but he still enjoys being out on the grass and benefits from a bit of sunshine.
He also has to have his veggies grated, which is why his nose looks a little orange in the first photo having been stuffed into a bowl of grated carrot
