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Piggy Teeth Question

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Niki

Niki

Senior Guinea Pig
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Lottie still isn't eating much. 2wks ago, on the vets scales she was 697g on 1st March she was 666g. Today on mine she's 644g.
I was syringe feeding her up until the 1st but have stopped incase i'm filling her up, leaving her not wanting her veggies etc. 
She will eat some but not it all & will now eat forage exel & does eat a tiny bit of dry food but not enough.

The vet suspects it is her teeth & thinks they're growing down into her jawbone. She said i cannot syringe feed her forever & that she
could do an x-ray but because Lottie's weight's fluctuating so much she's more at risk.  She said if her suspicions are right Lottie will have to be pts because nothing can be done. I told the vet i wanted to wait to see how she was when she had a friend (praying her lack of appetite is because she's lonely) & have an app Monday to give my decision; to have the x-ray or not.

Can piggy teeth grow downwards?  Can her teeth be removed if they are?  Would she be visibly in pain if this were the case? 

She's on metatone still & has half of a 60mg Vitamin C tablet a day.

The only difference i've noticed is that she now eats with a side to side motion of her bottom jaw.
She shows no symptoms of anything else.

I really don't know what to do, have the x-ray & pray she comes thru the anaesthetic (anaesthetics scare me) or just leave her & see how she does but i'm scared she'll starve to death.
 
Niki said:
She said i cannot syringe feed her forever & that she
could do an x-ray but because Lottie's weight's fluctuating so much she's more at risk. She said if her suspicions are right Lottie will have to be pts because nothing can be done..
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Oh love, I am so sorry.

This bit ^^ struck a chord. Of course you can carry on syringing, it's more that she needs it. Maybe the vet doesnt want her to be a 'burden' for you. Vets are all too quick to say pts!

I would continue with the syringe feesing cos it's better that she gets something inside her.

Teeth can grow the wrong way and in my case with Tonni, his bottom teeth keep breaking and are growing at an angle. He's at the moment close to getting an abscess in his mouth :(

 
kellyandpiggies said:
Niki said:
She said i cannot syringe feed her forever & that she
could do an x-ray but because Lottie's weight's fluctuating so much she's more at risk. She said if her suspicions are right Lottie will have to be pts because nothing can be done..
Click to expand...

Oh love, I am so sorry.

This bit ^^ struck a chord. Of course you can carry on syringing, it's more that she needs it. Maybe the vet doesnt want her to be a 'burden' for you. Vets are all too quick to say pts!

I would continue with the syringe feesing cos it's better that she gets something inside her.

Teeth can grow the wrong way and in my case with Tonni, his bottom teeth keep breaking and are growing at an angle. He's at the moment close to getting an abscess in his mouth :(
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Aww Kelly poor Tonni :( What do they do? File them or leave them? Can they not extract piggy teeth, therefore eradicating the prob?
Forgive me if i'm talking outta my head
 
I'm sorry if i have got this wrong, but i'm sure i saw on a vets programme, where they removed a rabbits teeth. I thought it wouldn't be able to eat normal food but it could! I think i remember it because i was surprised it could still chew stuff. Maybe you could ask Vedra?
 
Sorry to hear this Niki :( :(
Gosh i've been syringe feeding Duke now for 6 months at least. Depending on how he's eating or feeling he either get 3 or 4 serves a day, they're only about a tablespoon full by i figure that at least he's getting all the nutrients.
Good luck i know what you're going thru as we also have teefie problems, it's so frustrating not being able to solve the problem for once and all for our little ones :( :(
These are for Lottie to help her get better quickly :smitten: :smitten: :smitten:
 
Hi, I'm going through exactly the same thing as you at the moment with my eddie. Its really tough as she hates syringe feeding but I'm having to do it to just get anything down to her. I've had exactly the same problem with rapid weight loss but no signs of anything else and all tests coming back negative for kidneys/diabetes etc. Again i don't want to risk an xray under anaesthetic. I know its definitely a problem with her teeth as she is slow to eat and chewing funny but visibly there is nothing wrong with her teeth so they are assuming its the tooth roots growing funny.

I bought some bran which has really helped, i mix it with water to make a paste and she loves it, it comes as a treat after the dreaded syringe of critical care! I figure i'm just going to take each day as it come at the moment as she always wants to try to eat with the other piggies even if she can't managed much.

Good luck and thinknig of you at every syringe feed!
 
Niki yes teeth can grow into the gums and also as in my lavenders case grow up into the brain Patches teeth also grew into his gum unfortunatly the xrays confirmed these and they had no choice but to Put them to sleep, its obviouls when they tell you all about it that theres nothing you can do for them, they did try for patch to cut them and see if they grew up rather then down but after a week or so they knew it was hopeless, I do hope in your case its not the same , they could not take the tooth out because of it being in the mouth infection would have set in and killed them plus they would have been too weak for the anesthetic , I relasied I did not have any choice, they put lavender to sleep while under for her xray and hopefully a tooth op to save her , I would advise you to have the xray at least you would know what you are up against, fingers crossed for lottie let us know what happens
 
Why does your vet want to use aneasthetic to do an x ray,it is totally unnecessary. What area do you live in? Could you get to Surrey.? If not,would your vet consider phoning or emailing Anne Taylor or Andy Bradnock who are vets which have learnt Peter Gurneys dental techniques and can now do quite complicated dental work,and the basic work is done without sedation. Mary
 
I'm in Leeds with no transport  :(

Howie hasn't made a difference to Lottie, she's in her pigloo alone, he's outside it snuggled up to Lottie's toy (she must've kicked it out).
She's lost more weight, is now 622g & i don't know what a piggies heart rate is but her's is beating really really fast & she's intermittently making a clicking noise.

I don't have a problem with her eating from the syringe, she seems to love it & she will eat some veg yet shows hardly any interest in hay etc.  She also takes her metatone & her vit c pill with no probs, as long as i get it in the right place she'll crunch it, if not she spits it back at me
 
Niki said:
Aww Kelly poor Tonni :( What do they do? File them or leave them? Can they not extract piggy teeth, therefore eradicating the prob?
Forgive me if i'm talking outta my head
Click to expand...

His teeth are clipped every 2 weeks now and is on Septrim (antibiotic) and Metacam (painkiller), the last one being administered when I know he's hurting.
It wouldn't be safe for his age to undergo any anaesthetic if he did get an abscess, which is why it is being fiercely treated.
Also couldn't extract them.

Can't you see a different vet love? One that seems a bit more caring and willing to help?

Lots of love xx

edit - the above post by Debbie - hope things turn out ok, thinking of you xxxxxx
 
Thinking of you and Lottie, Niki, I hope the vets can give you some answers
 
Would you think about getting him to a rodentolist by train? It would be worth it if you could get the problem sorted as that is dramatic weight loss. I would try look into this before considering letting a vet remove teeth as this is a drastic step! How often are you syringe feeding?
 
As Susie has said - the only real option with a piggie this bad is a rodentologist. They will have been trained to do guinea dentistry and can give you better advice about Lotties teeth as if I am honest what you have been told so far seems rather vague to me.

If you contact the CCT they can give you the details of your nearest one. A lot are easily accessible by public transport or you could look in to the animal couriers if needed.
 
Barmy4boars said:
Would you think about getting him to a rodentolist by train? It would be worth it if you could get the problem sorted as that is dramatic weight loss. I would try look into this before considering letting a vet remove teeth as this is a drastic step! How often are you syringe feeding? 
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I could take her by train, that wouldn't be a problem. The vet i saw today was a nice enough chap but did say his knowledge was limited.
He gave her an antibiotic injection because of the clicking noise & her rapid breathing & said it could be pneumonia.  He said to see his colleague tomorrow (who i've got an app. to see anyway).

I don't know for sure if it is her teeth.  She eats the mushed pellets i give her & does eat a small amount of forage exel & will also eat celery, carrot, romaine, cucumber, tomato & apple. Oh & grass - she'll eat grass with vigour.
She just has no real interest in her dry food or hay & isn't eating enough herself to gain weight.   
At first i thought she may have been bullied by Maddie & was depressed & lonely being by herself (she's always been part of a group). This is why i adopted Howie, thinking a friend would encourage her to eat but obviously i was wrong. :(

She has been on a course of Baytril & had probiotics & recovery food (which she hated).
I feed her twice a day - a mushed pellet mix, warmed (she won't eat it any other way) & she will take anywhere between 25 & 40ml at a time.

The background to all this is when i'd come out of hospital & weighed them all, Lottie had lost 10oz in weight in a month.
Whilst i'd been in hospital the rabbit, who lived in the same shed, had been sneezing.
Thinking it was a URI she had i took her to the vets (given baytril). I then took her to another vets for a second opinion (this vet has 25 pigigies herself) & was given probiotics & recovery food.
I rang Vedra, who thought it was wild mice that had contaminated their food/hay. When i explained that this was all kept in the house she said the mice must've contaminated their water.
 
I would guess at a URI and would be giving Septrim. If theres a teeth problem it could be due to the fact that she's not been eating as much lately, some pigs teeth grow quicker than others ::)
 
karenrgpr said:
I would guess at a URI and would be giving Septrim. If theres a teeth problem it could be due to the fact that she's not been eating as much lately, some pigs teeth grow quicker than others ::)
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Thanks Karen, i too am thinking more like this. I think she's been brewing something & because she's shown no symptoms the vet's putting it down to her teeth.
 
She has been on a course of Baytril & had probiotics & recovery food (which she hated).
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Niki, have you mixed some organic baby food with your recovery mix? It helps if there not keen on it..... apple and pear or apple works well. I also use the 2ml syringes for feeding as I find them easier to get into the mouth and a nice size to fill.

Fingers crossed for her!
 
... or small chopped veges so she gets the wear on her teeth a bit. Pureed celery is good (with other veggies) and you can add some dry food too eg Supa Guinea Excel/ C Cuisine. Make sure you rinse her mouth out too you don't want fungal probs ::) eeeeew I hate syringe feeding when they don't want to take it.
 
yes you could carry on feeding your guinea pig by syringe like i am, the onli problem is that guinea pigs teeth continuesly growwww and i am woulried that if he isnt eating by hiself he isnt filing his teeth down enought and they may start to overgrow causing him further problems

guinea pigs teeth have no nerves, why couldnt they remove the problem teeth?

hope your guinea pig gets better
 
!fd! said:
yes you could carry on feeding your guinea pig by syringe like i am, the onli problem is that guinea pigs teeth continuesly growwww and i am woulried that if he isnt eating by hiself he isnt filing his teeth down enought and they may start to overgrow causing him further problems

guinea pigs teeth have no nerves, why couldnt they remove the problem teeth?

hope your guinea pig gets better
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>:( >:( >:( Read the above posts
 
kellyandpiggies, i am so sorry that you dont like my post, guinea pigs teeth DO continuesly grow! i myself have had experience with a late guinea pig who i successfily syringed fed with no problems for 5 weeks until she developed teeth problems, thankfuly the vet was able to file her teeth and she later fed herself and lived for another year!

i was onli informing her that yes she can still carry on syringe feeding her guinea pig but to be aware of teeth.
 
!fd! said:
kellyandpiggies, i am so sorry that you dont like my post, guinea pigs teeth DO continuesly grow! i myself have had experience with a late guinea pig who i successfily syringed fed with no problems for 5 weeks until she developed teeth problems, thankfuly the vet was able to file her teeth and she later fed herself and lived for another year!

i was onli informing her that yes she can still carry on syringe feeding her guinea pig but to be aware of teeth.
Click to expand...
she wasnt disagreeing with your post she was saying read the above post that the piggy died >:(
 
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