Struggling to chew

[Sonic]

Hi all, over the last couple of days one of my guinea pigs seems to be having difficulty chewing. He’s really keen to eat and acting his usual self, however when I gave him pea flakes his mouth is wide open as he’s chewing and it’s taking him ages- sometimes the food falls out. He seems to be eating his veg and hay ok so struggling to work out what the issue is. I have a vet appointment tomorrow but wondered if anyone has any ideas what this could be? Thanks for reading

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m sorry to hear this.

The first thought of this kind of symptom is a dental issue but obviously a vet needs to investigate.

We would advise you switch trim routine weekly weight checks and instead weigh him daily (each morning). This is because hay intake cannot be gauged by eye and as hay is their main food source, you need to be sure he is still able to eat enough to maintain weight (they can appear to be eating some but it’s not always enough) and thus allow you to step in with any required syringe feeding .

Let us know how you get on. I hope he is ok

Emergency and Crisis Care as well as Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/weight-monitoring-and-management.171577/

 

[weepweeps]

Hello and welcome to the forum. I’m sorry your piggy is poorly. Good luck at the vets.

 

[Claire W]

Hello and welcome to the forum. I’m sorry your boy is struggling to eat I hope everything goes ok at the vets. Please let us know how you get on x

 

[Sonic]

Thank you for your messages, the vet had a good look at him, although she struggled to see inside his mouth clearly as there was lots of food there (which she said was a good sign) he’s been given meloxicam for the next few days to help any inflammation there may be, and if no better after that he will need to be sedated to get a proper look. Fingers crossed