Sick piggy I need someones help!

[NotMoniqueee]

My Guinea pig taco is 4 years old (male) he has had some tooth problems that started of with his tooth chipped down the side about 0.5 an inch down we brought him to the vet bc he had trouble eating he was diagnosed with gut stasis and bloat we got the a pain med Meloxicam and a med for his gas Simethicone and the vet gave me some critical care and vitamin C tablets before we left I noticed he had a swollen toe the vet said not to worry and did nothing about it his gas seemed to clear up he lost a lot of weight 2.7 to 1.15 (this is in pounds and ounces) we took him back to the vet bc he still was not eating or drinking the vet filed his teeth the teeth weren’t originally supposed to be filled the vet wasn’t worried about the chip but his teeth started wearing down slanted and he seemed much better his teeth were to short to bite as soon as his teeth started to meet the started wearing at a slant again and at this point it’s been 2 vet visits for $650 my mom was not pleased because the problem wasn’t being fix we found a new vet and he had his first appointment a few days ago he this vet looked at his teeth and (back molars too) and I asked his about this thick black stuff behind his top front teeth and this yellow stain on the bottom teeth that I’ve tried to wipe off didn’t budge the vet wasn’t concerned he said if he keeps having teeth problems that we could pull the front ones I am not doing that but I’m worried this is a form of dental disease his teeth are 2x thicker than my two others the other two are 4 and 2 both males and idk if teeth get thicker as they age ive been feeding him critical care for around 3 weeks now he’s gonna have another teeth filing appointment in a few days the vet thinks he has jaw arthritis and say he does does that cut down his life span in anyway? Sometimes he droops his eyes and u can see the whites and more idk why he does this is he thirsty? cold? in pain? I live in VT I don’t know if we have a vet that is knowledgeable on small pets if u know any pls lemme know I will drive a hour or more if I have to I want the best care and knowledge for my pig he’s never had problems before so I am worried for him

 

[NotMoniqueee]

Also not sure why it says new born pup just made this account so don’t know how to work this entirely

 

[Tigermoth]

I'm afraid I don't know the answer to your problems but I just wanted to say that because we are a UK based forum it is bedtime here so it might be a good few hours before you get answers.

Don't worry about the newborn pup thing, hats you not your pig. New members are pups and the more you post the more you grow. It's just a bit of fun xx

Hope someone can help you soon

 

[TheLittlePig]

Aww honey I am so sorry to hear your piggy is not feeling well welcome to the forum and don’t worry these ppl are great, very knowledgeable.

 

[Freela]

What did the vet say about the back molars? Were they able to get a good look at them? Usually teeth issues start in the back and move to the front, so if you are seeing uneven wear in front there are probably issues further back contributing. Pulling the front teeth won't resolve the issue, as if he's not chewing well that's at the back (the front teeth are really for picking stuff up, the grinding teeth are the molars in the back.)

It can be really hard to find vets that are accustomed to doing rodent dentistry. In North America (I'm thinking VT is Vermont? I'm Canadian, I don't know all the US state abbreviations!) you're most likely to find vets with more small-animal experience billing themselves as 'exotic pet vets.' You can ask whether they have experience treating guinea pig and/or rabbit teeth (rabbits have similar dentistry and in my experience vets are seeing more rabbits for tooth issues than guinea pigs, but the knowledge transfers over pretty well.) Exotics vets aren't necessarily more expensive than other vets, and the experience more than makes up for the hassle of finding someone, so I would start there in terms of finding the most experienced vet you can. All the best!

 

[NotMoniqueee]

What did the vet say about the back molars? Were they able to get a good look at them? Usually teeth issues start in the back and move to the front, so if you are seeing uneven wear in front there are probably issues further back contributing. Pulling the front teeth won't resolve the issue, as if he's not chewing well that's at the back (the front teeth are really for picking stuff up, the grinding teeth are the molars in the back.)

It can be really hard to find vets that are accustomed to doing rodent dentistry. In North America (I'm thinking VT is Vermont? I'm Canadian, I don't know all the US state abbreviations!) you're most likely to find vets with more small-animal experience billing themselves as 'exotic pet vets.' You can ask whether they have experience treating guinea pig and/or rabbit teeth (rabbits have similar dentistry and in my experience vets are seeing more rabbits for tooth issues than guinea pigs, but the knowledge transfers over pretty well.) Exotics vets aren't necessarily more expensive than other vets, and the experience more than makes up for the hassle of finding someone, so I would start there in terms of finding the most experienced vet you can. All the best!

Both vets had said they looked fine he’s had X-rays and nothing trapping his tounge or anything like that he’s on a antibiotic so if he has like a infection in his mouth it should clear it up his toe looks slightly better but he’s been on it for almost a week now he has it every 24 hours for 14 days he chews fine in the back from what I know he’ll sometimes chew in the back when he has nothing in there when he eats something his makes a weird clicking noise with his teeth my other pigs don’t do that I’m not pulling his front teeth at all the vets I see have just a exotic vet check at the bottom and I’ll see a few positive reviews for rabbits and the occasional Guinea pig but mostly cats and dogs when I go for his appointment I’ll ask the vet if he’s experienced in this he has issues biting any idea if that’s because of the teeth slant? he’s fine once he gets it to the back teeth he’s began drinking water again and he can eat peppers blueberries and strawberries he struggles with lettuce spinach and cucumber it’s not like he doesn’t wanna bite it but he can’t it might hurt or it’s cause of the slant I’d go out of state for the vet I’m used to long travel Vermont doesn’t have a lot of options for pigs maybe New York or somewhere around will it’s hard because of the flooding/flood damage I’m hoping he’ll have his issue fixed soon I sryinge feed him ever 2-4 hours and I’m soon going back to school so I can’t keep doing this I can post photos of his teeth if u would like. he’ll sometimes make this gagging motion not like he’s trying to get something in his mouth unstuck but just open it or he’ll twitch on side of his upper lip sometimes

 

[NotMoniqueee]

I'm afraid I don't know the answer to your problems but I just wanted to say that because we are a UK based forum it is bedtime here so it might be a good few hours before you get answers.

Don't worry about the newborn pup thing, hats you not your pig. New members are pups and the more you post the more you grow. It's just a bit of fun xx

Hope someone can help you soon

Oh that makes more since I was confused I thought it ment I needed help w a puppy but thank u for the help and I hope I get someone that knows exactly what’s wrong with him

 

[Wheekallweek]

Funnily enough my boy Larry had very thick front teeth. The specialist though it was very odd, but he was a special boy with a lot of problems.

I hope you can get to the bottom of what is wrong with Taco soon and he'll soon be on the mend

 

[NotMoniqueee]

Funnily enough my boy Larry had very thick front teeth. The specialist though it was very odd, but he was a special boy with a lot of problems.

I hope you can get to the bottom of what is wrong with Taco soon and he'll soon be on the mend

Took him to a new vet he has elongated tooth roots and has to get trimmed for the rest of his life he’s going tmw for his first trim and he’s gonna be under anesthesia the dr has done this multiple times so I'm not to worried but scared for my boy being under

 

[A Guinea Pig]

Just follow any precautions your vet gave you for pre anesthesia. Hope it goes well.

 

[Wheekallweek]

Best of luck! I'm sure Taco will be just fine