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Dental Piggy only eats Critical Care, is depressed (?), won't eat anything else

Fluffy.Munsters

Fluffy.Munsters

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Hi everyone, sorry if I introduce myself by asking a question but I'm desperate. I'll try to describe my problem without being too verbose.
One of my piggies got dental issues in December and got two surgeries to fix his situation. I've been hand-feeding him Critical Care since then, for a month now. He joyfully accepts a lot of it but is completely unable to eat anything else. Basically, his dental situation is now normal but he is still unable to chew on anything. My vet (a very competent one, specialized in exotic animals, very focused, I have no doubt about her) can't understand what's happening, he looks completely normal. His mouth is perfect now, and also blood tests were all negative.
But he stays still all day in a corner, doing nothing, not interacting with his pen pal, just waiting for the next CC fix. I tried everything with his favourite food ans snacks (basil, parsley, mint) but he seems unable to bite anymore. He's hungry but can't munch.
I've given him painkillers for a while but now he is not in pain he is just... I mean, if he was a human I'd say he is depressed.
He also loses a huge amount of weight. I give him CC three times per day, morning, afternoon and night, and every time I find he lost a lot, like he weights 610g in the morning at 10AM, before breakfast, then I give him CC and he is now 675g. Then I weight him at 4PM and he is 615g. Yesterday I had a busy morning and couldn't feed him before noon and he lost 75g in 12 hours. I am working from home and rarely go outside so I have absolutely no problem feeding him so often but it's very stressful: first time I have to spend the whole day outside I think he is a goner.
I tried to give him smushed veggies (like a smoothie) but he didn't like them and went immediately back to CC.
Sorry for bad english, do you have any suggestion in order to solve this I don't know what else to do and I really really don't want him go.

This is him, he is 3,5 years old. His name is Boris, like Boris Karloff the actor of Frankenstein.
WfiO6ii.jpg
 
so sorry to hear about the issues Boris is having. He is gorgeous!

Unfortunately if he’s not been eating and having critical care, the tooth problem will very quickly return, even after treatment.

It can become a vicious circle. I’ve been there with my boy’s serious dental issue. He would have his teeth done, then not eat because of another issue and they would grow back, then he couldn’t eat again.

what helped in the end was my vets putting him on a stronger pain killer to get him eating again. This was gradually reduced and the time between him needing dental work increased. But unfortunately, like my boy and others on here, many dental pigs require regular dental treatment for life. Particularly if it’s a conformational issue.

Has your vet ruled out other issues causing him not to eat? Though if he is showing interest in food, yet can’t chew this suggests dental issues or issues with the jaw. Has your vet taken skull X-rays to look for problems with the teeth, bony changes to the jaw or signs of abscesses?

Be very careful blending fruit or veggies as it’s often too quick release sugar to feed to piggies in that form.
 
Hi!

I am linking in @furryfriends (TEAS) for you, who runs a sanctuary for guinea pigs with dental disease and who has the most experience with dental issues, including with piggies that won't go back to solid foods.

Please be aware that it often takes several rounds of dental treatment and quite a lot of experience to get the right and to rebalance the dental system; if the crucial back teeth are not ground down by the abrasive silica in hay and grass (the food source against which guinea pig teeth have evolved on), then they will continue to overgrow again. The mouth can feel very sore after any dental treatment (and of course before it), which doesn't help to shift a piggy back on solids.
 
You have to weigh him at the same time every day. I advise you do it in the morning before giving any critical care or veg. Weighing more than once a day isn't a good idea because there will be variations - down to the difference between an empty or full bladder. Hay is the most important thing in their diet so you shouldn't feed pureed veg. He needs fibre to keep his guts going, which will be provided by the critical care. He is losing weight because he is not eating enough hay. Giving him pureed veg or his favourites won't help. I would actually not offer him parsley too often (one sprig a week) as it is high in calcium.

You will have to start feeding him 5ml every 2 hours. This makes 60ml in a 24 hour period. That is the lowest amount you should be feeding him. If he will take more than 5ml in a sitting then that's good. You are aiming to help him maintain his weight. Another thing you can try is to cut veg (e.g. peppers etc) into small strips and hand feed them to him.

Hope he starts improving and eating soon.
 
Bradshaw Piggies said:
Has your vet taken skull X-rays to look for problems with the teeth, bony changes to the jaw or signs of abscesses?
Click to expand...

We did every exam we could! Like this one. The yellow arrow shows the biggest problem a tooth that overgrew and became very big. She fixed the teeth and now they are good. Nothing seems to be bad with jaw.
GTHAMAI.jpg
 
Since he can’t bite down, that suggests to me an incisor issue (front teeth) along with whatever else may be going on. I have a piggy with no bottom incisors and we cut veg into small and thin strips and hand feed them to him that way which he manages with.
Have you tried giving him grass? A lot of dental piggies manage well eating that and it wears the back teeth down the same way hay does.
It might not help our dental expert who will reply when she can, but are you able to post a picture of his incisors (front teeth)?
 
Fluffy.Munsters said:
We did every exam we could! Like this one. The yellow arrow shows the biggest problem a tooth that overgrew and became very big. She fixed the teeth and now they are good. Nothingeems to be bad with jaw.
GTHAMAI.jpg
Click to expand...
I had several vets see my boy and I was in the same position as you. They couldn’t find a reason that he couldn’t eat, even after dental work. He did have an abscess forming which could have been the initial cause, but we also suspected jaw issues, and so once on a strong painkiller, this seemed to reduce the pain from the jaw issue and he started eating again.
I agree with the above, Debbie from TEAS really helped me so much with my boys and gave me lots of ideas to help get him eating solids again.

I agree with the above re the incisor issue. My vets suggested that they think incisor pain is worse for piggies than other dental pain. But again, I’m not a vet and there are some amazing people with lots of experience on here who can help

if your boys teeth grow at an angle, this could be an issue that requires regular dental treatment. My boy had treatment every 2 weeks but this eventually extended to every 3 or 4 weeks
 
Just weighted him and for the first time he is under 600g. He lost 65g in 10 hours overnight. I don't know what to do he is literally disappearing under my eyes
 
As I said above, are you able to post a picture of his incisors? When did they last cut his incisors? They may have been cut too short, too straight, we also might be able to see if potentially there’s a jaw/dental root abscess as it can make one bottom incisor grow longer than the other. If they’re jagged it can also point to the back teeth being incorrect.
 
Fluffy.Munsters said:
Just weighted him and for the first time he is under 600g. He lost 65g in 10 hours overnight. I don't know what to do he is literally disappearing under my eyes
Click to expand...

He needs to be syringe fed more often. if he is still losing weight then he isn’t getting enough critical care in a 24 hour period.
As has been mentioned though, if he isn’t chewing hay then his teeth are going to overgrow again very quickly.
I think you need to take him back to the vet
 
Little Ones said:
As I said above, are you able to post a picture of his incisors? When did they last cut his incisors? They may have been cut too short, too straight
Click to expand...
Not really I can't keep his mouth open and take a pic at the same time... I tried. He had his latest dental fix one week ago, Yesterday the vet checked on him and stated his teeth are all ok. I think she would have seen abscesses or other issues :( Maybe I'll go see another vet...
 
Fluffy.Munsters said:
Not really I can't keep his mouth open and take a pic at the same time... I tried. He had his latest dental fix one week ago, Yesterday the vet checked on him and stated his teeth are all ok. I think she would have seen abscesses or other issues :( Maybe I'll go see another vet...
Click to expand...
Is there someone who can help you? So someone to take the picture for you?
Unfortunately, dental surgery on guinea pigs isn’t easy. We only have 2 proper experienced dental vets in the UK. So even if your vet is thinking they’re okay, they might not be. Guinea pig teeth have to be so so precise and exact otherwise they won’t eat.
I have had experience where a vet has missed a dental root abscess in the past. The only thing I could get my piggy to eat was grass. It was then that I travelled to the dental vet who fixed everything for us.
 
I'll try to get someone but I'm not sure. Thank you for your feedback.
I just gave him 50g of CC and he's now weighting 645g, I also gave him painkiller so I'll feed him again in two hours when it makes the most effect.
 
Fluffy.Munsters said:
I feed him 3/4 times per day from morning to night (20/25ml of CC every time) but I can't feed him while I'm asleep. Should I think about setting an alarm in the middle of the night?
Click to expand...

ive just realised you are weighing him more than once per day, is that correct? If so, then you are going to be picking up too much of a fluctuation. You need to weigh him once per day only. Weigh in the morning only of each day and then compare each morning to the one before.
 
Fluffy.Munsters said:
I'll try to get someone but I'm not sure. Thank you for your feedback.
I just gave him 50g of CC and he's now weighting 645g, I also gave him painkiller so I'll feed him again in two hours when it makes the most effect.
Click to expand...
Good, you do need to be feeding him every 2/3 hours including in the night and you should aim to give as much as he’ll take per sitting.
He isn’t eating anything for himself, this means the only thing that will keep him alive is you. Make sure you do get up several times in the night to feed him. His life is literally in your hands until his mouth is sorted. There was a member on this forum who I believe syringe fed their dental piggy around the clock for several months until they were able to get things sorted.
 
Piggies&buns said:
ive just realised you are weighing him more than once per day, is that correct?
Click to expand...
I weight him after every feed session I feed him just to check exactly how much CC I gave him. Only weight I really consider to draw the graph is the first one in the morning before breakfast.
Today was 595, yesterday 610, the day before 605
 
Fluffy.Munsters said:
I weight him after every feed session I feed him just to check exactly how much CC I gave him. Only weight I really consider to draw the graph is the first one in the morning before breakfast.
Today was 595, yesterday 610, the day before 605
Click to expand...

You’ll know how much critical care you gave him by how many syringes he has. I wouldn’t weigh him after each feed, it’s good you are only really gauging it by one weight though.
So, in terms of those daily weights you’ve listed, he seems to be about the same each day. He is within normal daily weight fluctuations so must be eating roughly enough to maintain - he isn’t losing large amounts. You may find he could benefit from a feed overnight to keep him topped up and give his 24 hour food intake a boost.
 
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Set alarms for night time. I got up every hour when my boy was at his worst. Well worth it.
Definitely up the syringe feeding and get him back to the vet.
Thinking of you both 💕
 
Thank you to ALL. I am giving him CC more often. I noticed he always take the siringe with the right side of the mouth, never the left. I'm thinking about an inner infection on that side that prevents him to use the mouth to bite? Could it be? I have Baytril at home, I could give it to him for 3 days and see what happens.
 
I personally wouldn't give Baytril for 3 days.
Baytril can be heard on their stomachs, and 3 days is not enough do anything anyway.
Syinge feeding around the clock is essential. It's gruelling but necessary until you are able to sort out the problem.

It does sound like he is still having dental issues.
It is at this point that the vet can make all the difference and you say you are using an experienced vet who understands guinea pig dental issues, so it is difficult to know what else to suggest.
 
Some piggies prefer a certain side of their mouth. From my experience it’s normal. My piggy Little is very particular about this, he’ll only have the syringe on his left side.
We also use the ferplast sippy bottles and he drinks on the same side too. From using the sippy bottles, I’ve found that each piggy has a side they prefer and won’t use the other side of their mouth to drink.
I don’t think it’s indicating to a problem, it could be but it’s probably not an infection so much as it is pain. And even then, it might just be your piggy’s preference and not pain related. Don’t give the baytril, only do it if your vet prescribes it. It’s harsh on the gut and your piggy is already not eating. Don’t give him medication he likely doesn’t need.
 
Ok it makes sense, thank you. It's just that I don't know what else to do. I keep syringe feeding him, it's not a problem for me, but since I don't know what else to do it's a literal death sentence. On February 1st I'll probably have to go back working at the office (I'm currently in smart working) and if that's the case I'll get some vacation days. I can stay home until Sunday 7th but then... seeing how much weight he's losing, he'll be dead by Wednesday 9th if I have to stay far from home all day. I don't know what to do.
 
Personally, I do not like the look of your guinea pig's X-ray.

I suspect that there is an issue with your guinea pig's lower jaw - Potentially, an abscess. Your guinea pig appears to have an elongated root, and your guinea pig's lower incisors should not appear to meet perfectly with it's upper incisors.

I think the best course of action would be to ask your vet to correspond with the vets at 'The Cat and Rabbit Care Clinic' here in the UK.
 
Sorry if I look like I am ungrateful. I am not, but my english is not very good. Thank you for any comment and feedback on the situation.
 
You don't sound like you're ungrateful at all. And your English is good :) You will have to keep syringe feeding and weighing at the same time each day. As well as having him checked by the vet. All the best
 
A clinical examination of the incisors would be sufficient to determine whether there is an issue with them.

Whether that issue is a primary issue (Only involves the incisors), or whether that is a secondary issue (Involves the back teeth) is more difficult to determine - Usually, it is indicative of a problem with the back teeth.

Have you had any other X-rays performed/performed since?

My concern is with the lower tooth/second from the back…

But, I am by no means an expert.
 
I hope Boris is still battling on

It sounds like he is very keen to eat the critical care as he is taking plenty in one sitting with the syringe. Could he maybe take it himself from a bowl or little plate during the night? You might have to block his friends off with bars or they will all pile in to get some..? It will take a bit of thinking about.

I had dental work on a piggy but they only did the back teeth as the incisors were not a problem at that time, but 3 weeks later she had to go back to have them trimmed because after 3 weeks of not biting or chewing anything other than CC the incisors were too long for her to close her mouth properly! When she came home you could literally feel the difference in the top of her head (resting fingers gently behind ears) as she was furiously chewing on the slurry. The grinding action then felt smooth and rhythmic - no indication of problem or pain so although incisors are not used for chewing they can prevent chewing when they are overgrown.
(my girl didn't make it as it wasn't teeth that were the problem, she sadly most likely had some problem with swallowing)
 
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