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Some post-dental advice please

EverythingGP

EverythingGP

Junior Guinea Pig
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Good Morning

Our four year old boy had some dental work done 3 1/2 weeks ago. He had a spur burred away and some sharp edges removed from his molars. The vet trimmed his incisors far too short which has meant that he hasn't been able to eat anything for himself since. He just can't pick anything up.

The incisors are now growing back well and only have 1-2mm to go before they meet again.

We have been feeding 180mls critical care per 24 hours which has meant that he has maintained his weight of 1100g. He is well in himself, active and alert and apart from the lack of eating, seems his normal self.

We are booked in to see Simon Maddock next week but in the meantime think that he has developed oral thrush. The last couple of days he has been drooling and there is a slight fishy aroma. Having done some research, it would appear that oral thrush can be linked with syringe feeding and a change in diet.

We're reluctant to wait for our appointment with Simon before we start treatment for the thrush. We're wondering whether this is making his mouth sore and preventing him from starting to eat again. We have read about itrafungol and daktarin oral gel. Does anyone have any experience of using either of these please? Which would you recommend and how do you administer them correctly?

Thank you.
 
EverythingGP said:
Good Morning

Our four year old boy had some dental work done 3 1/2 weeks ago. He had a spur burred away and some sharp edges removed from his molars. The vet trimmed his incisors far too short which has meant that he hasn't been able to eat anything for himself since. He just can't pick anything up.

The incisors are now growing back well and only have 1-2mm to go before they meet again.

We have been feeding 180mls critical care per 24 hours which has meant that he has maintained his weight of 1100g. He is well in himself, active and alert and apart from the lack of eating, seems his normal self.

We are booked in to see Simon Maddock next week but in the meantime think that he has developed oral thrush. The last couple of days he has been drooling and there is a slight fishy aroma. Having done some research, it would appear that oral thrush can be linked with syringe feeding and a change in diet.

We're reluctant to wait for our appointment with Simon before we start treatment for the thrush. We're wondering whether this is making his mouth sore and preventing him from starting to eat again. We have read about itrafungol and daktarin oral gel. Does anyone have any experience of using either of these please? Which would you recommend and how do you administer them correctly?

Thank you.
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Hi

Please contact the clinic by phone today and do not treat on spec. A fishy smell from the mouth can have other causes and needs to be seen by a vet. Itrafungol is prescription-only anyway.

We have never come across the link between syringe feeding and oral thrush in 15 years on this forum although 180 ml per day is a lot to feed; healthy piggies usually eat around the equivalent of 90-120 ml in a day.

All the best.
 
Wiebke said:
Hi

Please contact the clinic by phone today and do not treat on spec. A fishy smell from the mouth can have other causes and needs to be seen by a vet. Itrafungol is prescription-only anyway.

We have never come across the link between syringe feeding and oral thrush in 15 years on this forum although 180 ml per day is a lot to feed; healthy piggies usually eat around the equivalent of 90-120 ml in a day.

All the best.
Click to expand...
Thank you for your responses.

The problem is we're falling between the cracks, the earliest Simon had an appointment available was Wednesday (no emergency slots today and not working tomorrow) and now we're booked in and our local vet has made a referral, they're reluctant to assess for anything and prescribe anything that may impact Simon's treatment. We've been left to fend for ourselves until Wednesday.

We did think 180mls was a lot of critical care but we had to build it up over a few days as this was the point at which his weight stabilised. With this much critical care he obviously has no appetite, how quickly can I reduce it safely to a point where he wants to eat again? Whilst we can hear him chewing the critical care we appreciate he urgently needs hay back in his diet to maintain his teeth. Until this point his incisors were so short he was getting frustrated and giving up.

Any advice much appreciated, thank you.
 
EverythingGP said:
Thank you for your responses.

The problem is we're falling between the cracks, the earliest Simon had an appointment available was Wednesday (no emergency slots today and not working tomorrow) and now we're booked in and our local vet has made a referral, they're reluctant to assess for anything and prescribe anything that may impact Simon's treatment. We've been left to fend for ourselves until Wednesday.

We did think 180mls was a lot of critical care but we had to build it up over a few days as this was the point at which his weight stabilised. With this much critical care he obviously has no appetite, how quickly can I reduce it safely to a point where he wants to eat again? Whilst we can hear him chewing the critical care we appreciate he urgently needs hay back in his diet to maintain his teeth. Until this point his incisors were so short he was getting frustrated and giving up.

Any advice much appreciated, thank you.
Click to expand...

You need to give them a call at 8 am sharp tomorrow. The emergency slots are not online.
 
Bill & Ted said:
If you ring at 8.00 am prompt and ask to see Simon you should get an appointment for that day but ring at 8.00 am not 8.05 as these appointments go very fast
Do not treat as it can mask the problem
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Thank you :-)

Sadly no appointments left for today and Simon isn't working tomorrow. We are booked in for Wednesday but will try 8am Tuesday morning to see if we can get in a day earlier.
 
Wiebke said:
You need to give them a call at 8 am sharp tomorrow. The emergency slots are not online.
Click to expand...
I rang and spoke to them today, I asked about ringing at 8am tomorrow morning and they said Simon isn't working tomorrow at all. @furryfriends (TEAS) says Simon IS working tomorrow so I will definitely try again but they said he wasn't back until Tuesday.
 
furryfriends (TEAS) said:
Are you sure Simon isn’t working tomorrow? My friend said she’s got an appointment with him tomorrow. I’ll check with her.
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I did ring and speak to the receptionist today and explained how urgently we needed to see Simon. I asked about ringing for an emergency slot tomorrow morning and she said he wasn't working. If you could check that would be great, thank you :-)
 
furryfriends (TEAS) said:
Are you sure Simon isn’t working tomorrow? My friend said she’s got an appointment with him tomorrow. I’ll check with her.
Click to expand...
We know you have a lot of experience with dental piggies, are you able to offer any advice on reducing critical care please?

We understand that 180mls was a lot of critical care but we had to build it up over a few days as this was the point at which his weight stabilised. With this much critical care he obviously has no appetite, how quickly can I reduce it safely to a point where he wants to eat again? Whilst we can hear him chewing the critical care we appreciate he urgently needs hay back in his diet to maintain his teeth. Until this point his incisors were so short he was getting frustrated and giving up.

Any advice much appreciated, thank you.
 
EverythingGP said:
We know you have a lot of experience with dental piggies, are you able to offer any advice on reducing critical care please?

We understand that 180mls was a lot of critical care but we had to build it up over a few days as this was the point at which his weight stabilised. With this much critical care he obviously has no appetite, how quickly can I reduce it safely to a point where he wants to eat again? Whilst we can hear him chewing the critical care we appreciate he urgently needs hay back in his diet to maintain his teeth. Until this point his incisors were so short he was getting frustrated and giving up.

Any advice much appreciated, thank you.
Click to expand...
Hopefully once you’ve seen Simon he will start to eat something for himself. At this point you can begin reducing the syringe food. I tend to let the guinea pig lead how this is done. Some need a few mls of syringe food, to spark their appetite, and will then happily tuck into their food, whereas others prefer to eat first and be topped up, if needed, later. They’re all so different. Once Shelly could eat, all be it very slowly, she refused any syringe food and would fight the syringe. As she’s one of a group of piggies, I would take her out, a few times a day, so she could eat at her own pace, without having to compete with the others. Basically a piggy, who can eat for themselves, will do so, and won’t prefer syringe food.

I really hope Simon is there today and you can get an appointment xx
 
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