Post-teeth trim hog not eating

[Oleboleskole5]

Greetings! Our guinea pig was having trouble eating a few days ago, so we called our local vet (not specialized) to have it checked. His mouth was full of food, so we were told to come again soon. We came in the day after, and lo and behold, his hind teeth (mortars, or what you people call them) weren’t straight. We were told that this is not uncommon, and that he will have to do checkups every once in a while. He has his teeth trimmed, and all was well.
He got some anesthesia, so he was drowsy throughout the entire procedure. This continued throughout the day, so we weren’t surprised that he wasn’t hungry.
The next day, he wasn’t eating very much, so we stopped by to get some critical care. It is the third day and I have barely slept. I am very worried, as he is barely eating or drinking. He doesn’t want hay, but he still sometimes wants his favorite treat, blueberry.
He is still lively and trying to keep his iron grasp over the cage and his cagemate
I assume that he is trying to eat, but his appetite is low and is evidently having a tough time grabbing the food. When I hold the food for him. He eats a little in a very slow pace. If I try to give him more, he spits it out after chewing it a bit.
Naturally, he is getting supplemented with critical care, but he weighs a lot less than he used to (~1200 grams > ~1060, though it has been a while since we last weighed him)

In summary, our sweet boy is trying to eat a bit, but is somehow hindered.
Do note: I do not live in GB. There are no Guinea pig specialists in Denmark, and exotic vets are few and far between. The nearest BUNNY specialist is 30 minutes away, and apparently only 3 of them exist in Denmark. I have researched Guinea pig specialists in Denmark several times, but it was to no avail.
The vet we visited was by no means a specialist. It is just the local one.

If you have any helpful tips, I’d love to hear!

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m sorry to hear this.

Make sure you are weighing him every morning so that you are sure you are now giving him enough critical care per day to keep his weight stable. You are aiming for at least 60ml of critical care per day.

First thing is how much pain relief is he on? A piggy in any discomfort or pain won’t want to eat.

It can sometimes be that the teeth are still not quite right and even the smallest issue can mean they struggle to pick up and chew.
Was it just the molars they trimmed? Ie they haven’t done anything to the incisors (front teeth) as well.

They can lose confidence in eating hay and it takes them time to regain that.

 

[Oleboleskole5]

I’m sorry to hear this.

Make sure you are weighing him every morning so that you are sure you are now giving him enough critical care per day to keep his weight stable. You are aiming for at least 60ml of critical care per day.

First thing is how much pain relief is he on? A piggy in any discomfort or pain won’t want to eat.

It can sometimes be that the teeth are still not quite right and even the smallest issue can mean they struggle to pick up and chew.
Was it just the molars they trimmed? Ie they haven’t done anything to the incisors (front teeth) as well.

They can lose confidence in eating hay and it takes them time to regain that.

Thank you for replying! It felt like forever since I posted, but it’s only been some 40 minutes. I’m still stressed

He got some pain relief when he came home from the vet, but other than that he hasn’t gotten any. She said that he wasn’t in pain. The vet came by the other day and gave him something to promote gut activity. We haven’t seen him defecate, which honestly isn’t unusual. He’s very shy and has a slight hunchback, so we can’t see when he outputs. Luckily, he doesn’t seem to be bloated.

The vet didn’t mention anything about the the front teeth (I can’t spell it, heh), but she did say that the teeth in his cheeks were too long, and that they were restricting his tongue, but I’m not sure if that is reliable information, because he was able to give me licks as usual.

Again, thank you very much. Every piece of information is helpful

 

[Piggies&buns]

So you should be seeing poops around the cage.
Poop output is 1-2 days behind food intake so isn’t a reliable gauge of food intake due to that delay but you should be seeing plenty of poops.
However you will see a bit of a gap in poop output a day after surgery which will reflect his time under anesthesia and thus no food intake during that time.
Make sure you are weighing him every day so you know he is getting enough critical care each day.

We usually see them given pain relief for at least a few days after dental work.

Piggy teeth are long but they obviously should not be trapping the tongue. If they are trapping the tongue then that is when they need dental work done which will release the tongue. If the work was done properly he should not have a trapped tongue now but that doesn’t mean the dental work has been done properly - trim then too short and a piggy won’t be able to eat, any unevenness and piggy won’t be able to eat etc

 

[Mrs Tiggy Winkle]

I'm sorry for what your piggy and you are going through. It's tough not having guinea-experienced vets around. Sending emotional support.

 

[sport_billy]

It maybe worth asking the vet for some Meatacam to give at home for pain relief.

 

[Oleboleskole5]

Thank you all very much! We gave our little furball some critical care, and now he’s sleepy. He certainly wasn’t thrilled.
We are periodically weighing him. We have him some 20 ml of Critical Care this time around and plan on giving more later. We also gave him some water, which wasn’t appreciated either.

Regarding the poops, I thought it only took a few hours due to their small size and thus small digestive track.

I’ll be praying for the little furball!

 

[Piggies&buns]

Thank you all very much! We gave our little furball some critical care, and now he’s sleepy. He certainly wasn’t thrilled.
We are periodically weighing him. We have him some 20 ml of Critical Care this time around and plan on giving more later. We also gave him some water, which wasn’t appreciated either.

Regarding the poops, I thought it only took a few hours due to their small size and thus small digestive track.

I’ll be praying for the little furball!

Their digestive system isn’t small in comparison to their body size - It’s actually takes up most of their body!

The guide below explains more

Wiebke's Guide to Poops

 

[weepweeps]

Hello and welcome to the forum. I’m sorry your piggy is poorly. Definitely get some pain relief that would be my first step. Then weigh every morning at the same time. Don’t keep weighing throughout the day. If your piggy loses weight over night you feed more critical care that day. If they have stayed the same you feed the amount you fed them the day before. I hope that makes sense. You are not trying to get them to gain weight yet. You are keeping them stable while he is unable to eat for himself. Try cutting his veggies into thin strips. That sometimes helps them to eat. Good luck I hope he’s soon feeling better.

 

[Oleboleskole5]

Hello and welcome to the forum. I’m sorry your piggy is poorly. Definitely get some pain relief that would be my first step. Then weigh every morning at the same time. Don’t keep weighing throughout the day. If your piggy loses weight over night you feed more critical care that day. If they have stayed the same you feed the amount you fed them the day before. I hope that makes sense. You are not trying to get them to gain weight yet. You are keeping them stable while he is unable to eat for himself. Try cutting his veggies into thin strips. That sometimes helps them to eat. Good luck I hope he’s soon feeling better.

I’ll certainly think the pain killer over.
In regards to the amount of critical care I give him, would it hurt him or his ability to eat in the future if I feed him more than the 60 ml?

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’ll certainly think the pain killer over.
In regards to the amount of critical care I give him, would it hurt him or his ability to eat in the future if I feed him more than the 60 ml?

You need to give him as much as is necessary to keep his weight stable while he is not eating hay for himself - he could need as much as 100ml per day but it all depends on what the weight checks tell you each morning. If he loses weight day to day then he isn’t getting enough. If he is stable each day, then you’ve got it right.

 

[weepweeps]

I agree. I have given a piggy 100ml a day when he refused to eat for 6 weeks while on antibiotics. Once he was feeling better he started eating for himself again.

 

[Oleboleskole5]

I agree. I have given a piggy 100ml a day when he refused to eat for 6 weeks while on antibiotics. Once he was feeling better he started eating for himself again.

Did he go through a molar trimming as well? If so, is it an issue that was reoccurring or something that could be prevented beforehand?

 

[weepweeps]

Hi. No it was one of his incisors at the front that was the problem.

 

[Oleboleskole5]

Little man is now on painkiller. He is much more active and is now more keen on eating. He is still having trouble, but it’s a start.

Hi. No it was one of his incisors at the front that was the problem.

He was eating plenty of hay and grinding his front teeth on their houses prior to the trim, so that’s probably not it.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Dental issues aren’t something you can really prevent. Their teeth are kept wearing properly by chewing hay and grass. If something like an abscess or any pain in one side at the back occurs, they can start favouring chewing on one side instead of both sides equally; this will cause the teeth will overgrow.

The front teeth are self sharpening and are kept in check by the proper action of the back teeth.
This is why if an owner was to ever see slanted front teeth, the issue often is caused by a problem at the back of the mouth.

 

[Oleboleskole5]

Do the slanted incisors affect the ability to grab things and eating? It would certainly explain why he doesn’t eat very much by himself.

 

[Mrs Tiggy Winkle]

I was sure there was a whole teeth info write-up somewhere, but there doesn't seem to be.
Some of this might be useful for you to read: Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre

 

[Mrs Tiggy Winkle]

Do the slanted incisors affect the ability to grab things and eating? It would certainly explain why he doesn’t eat very much by himself.

I don't know, but you could try hand-feeding, little slivers of any vegetable or lettuce or even bits of hay, in addition to Critical Care.

Looking back to my own guineas and eating problems, I think not eating in this type of case was more about pain, but your guinea has now been given painkiller, so question: is still difficult for him to grab things with his incisors? Or has that at least improved since the painkiller?

 

[fluffysal]

I've never had to deal with any teeth issues but others have cut veggies into tiny strips which apparently helps.

 

[Mrs Tiggy Winkle]

grinding his front teeth on their houses

'grinding' front teeth on houses etc does not actually wear their front teeth down or keep them healthy. It's one of these myths... I used to believe it too. I discovered that when my guineas were gnawing their houses, they were frustrated - the house was in the wrong place or the doorway was too narrow or low etc.

It's eating hay and grass which keeps the teeth in good form, as @Piggies&buns wrote:

Their teeth are kept wearing properly by chewing hay and grass.

 

[Mrs Tiggy Winkle]

The vet ... did say that the teeth in his cheeks were too long, and that they were restricting his tongue, but I’m not sure if that is reliable information, because he was able to give me licks as usual.

My last RB guinea, Amelie, had this problem (or similar). My vet explained that a guinea pig's tongue is fixed in their bottom jaw. It's not loose like a human tongue, that can be curled up etc so when the molars get too long they can slant upwards and meet in the middle above the tongue preventing guinea pigs from using their tongue properly, which is to throw the chewed food down their throat. I know that sounds weird and I'm probably not explaining very well, but that's the gist.

One way to detect is if a guinea's chin is consistently wet, especially if it's green as well. That's a sign that you should take guinea to the vet's.

Please let me know if any of the information I have given you is helpful, even just by Liking this post.

 

[Oleboleskole5]

Sorry, most of the information you told me was something I already knew
However, house gnawing certainly is news for me! We have at several occasions said that they were getting too fat to use the doorway (ironically, of course), but I never thought they agreed.

 

[Oleboleskole5]

An observation we’ve just made is that our beloved furball tends to be active and tries to eat after getting critical care, but afterwards he begins hiding and puffing his fur. Is this cause for concern? I’m not sure how to formulate this in a way that I can find a website with a detailed explanation.
Again, thank you all!

 

[weepweeps]

Yes after a critical care feed I always offer hay and they usually eat some. Puffing his fur up could be a sign of discomfort. How much pain medication is he on?

Signs of Pain in Guinea Pigs

 

[Mrs Tiggy Winkle]

Sorry, most of the information you told me was something I already knew

Good to know. I'll probably not write much more then, unless I see a very specific question that I know the answer to.

I will also presume that your ability to search the forum for individual threads on dental problems are just as good as mine

 

[Oleboleskole5]

Yes after a critical care feed I always offer hay and they usually eat some. Puffing his fur up could be a sign of discomfort. How much pain medication is he on?

Signs of Pain in Guinea Pigs

He’s on Meloxicom or Loxicom. It says both for whatever reason.
It’s apparently supposed to be given to cats, but since there’s little to no demand for it in Denmark, it had to be used as a substitution.
I couldn’t find any detailed numbers, but it does say how much should be given per kilogram (see picture below)
According to the vet, our sweet ball of fluff needs twice the dosage of what a cat would get, so a ~2kg dosage

 

[Piggies&buns]

He’s on Meloxicom or Loxicom. It says both for whatever reason.
It’s apparently supposed to be given to cats, but since there’s little to no demand for it in Denmark, it had to be used as a substitution.
I couldn’t find any detailed numbers, but it does say how much should be given per kilogram (see picture below)
According to the vet, our sweet ball of fluff needs twice the dosage of what a cat would get, so a ~2kg dosage

Loxicom and meloxicom is simply a brand name for the same product

It is entirely normal for the cat version to be given to guinea pigs. The dosage is just adjusted accordingly.
In the UK the cat and dog version are both given to guinea pigs but the difference is that now the cat version is licensed for piggies (the dog version is not).
It is entirely correct that piggies get other dosages than a cat. It would be dosed in ml normally though rather than the kg. UK vets generally remove the kg syringe and replace it with a ml syringe for easier dosing

 

[Oleboleskole5]

Yeah, I was pretty confused why it didn’t say both. It probably has the finer details on the paper that came with it. I haven’t read it thoroughly because the vet was kind enough to show us how to administer it.

On another note I have noticed some strange behaviors over the past few days. Naturally, there’s the puffing, but there’s also the fact that it seems as if he doesn’t KNOW how to eat. I have at several times seen him try to eat food, but end up biting air. He has tried biting hay a couple of times, but it didn’t go in. On top of that, he keeps on nodding. Do we just play the waiting game? I haven’t found any articles that state how we get him eating again, and my family is just as puzzled.

Another question, do I need to feed him during the night to avoid bloat? I’m afraid that if he doesn’t eat during the night, he’ll get bloated.

To end this rant on a good note, we have seen him eat some pellets, 3 in total. It’s not a lot, but it’s some. This was right after feeding sessions.

 

[weepweeps]

When I had a piggy who didn’t eat for 8 weeks when he was antibiotics I didn’t feed in the night. Always just before I went to bed and as soon as possible when I woke up. My piggy didn’t get bloat.