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Struggling to eat but doesn't appear to be dental?

Dwarfpotato

Dwarfpotato

Junior Guinea Pig
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Tico is struggling to eat and I was wondering if people might have any insight into why.

It happened a few months ago. I was giving her veg and she'd bite it, then make a face and flap her ears and paw at her mouth and spit it out. She wouldn't eat anything solid - grass, veg, lettuce, hay. She had a massive appetite for recovery food though. I took her to the vet and they looked at her teeth, including the back ones. They aren't a specialist pig vet but they said they couldn't see anything wrong with her teeth, but she did have some ulceration on her right cheek. They recommended I keep an eye on her, give her recovery food, and see if it gets better. She also had some loxicom in case it reduced any swelling. After a few days she was back to normal with no intervention other than syringe feeding.

Now it's happened again. On Friday morning she was reluctant to eat and on Saturday she lost 30g vs. her weigh in last weekend. She's still got a huge appetite and ate about 20ml of recovery food in one sitting this morning. She's started eating some hay again and put on 30g since yesterday (weighing first thing in the morning before food while she's ill). She's nervous of pea flakes though, and while she's eating hay she sometimes has to spit it out and try again.

Tico is about 3 and I've had her maybe a year and 9 months. It didn't happen at all until September ish this year, and has now happened again. I'm worried there's something causing it. As background, she has a blocked tear duct in her right eye and also had hay poke in her right eye two weeks ago (caught quickly, healed within 5 days with a course of eye drops). They also had their first hay cube in September and she loves it. I took it away for a while then gave it back a few weeks ago. Could any of these cause her to bite her cheek or otherwise hurt her mouth? As the vet checked her teeth and it got better on its own I suspect it isn't dental spurs, unless someone more experienced knows otherwise.
 
Hm, a blocked tear duct could suggest a problem with the roots of the teeth, or a particular tooth.
Perhaps that's causing her pain?
My bunny has elongated tooth roots which have blocked both her tear ducts. She is on long term metacam at the top dose to keep her comfy.
Her vet said that as they chew or bite food, pressure on the teeth with long roots can cause pressure and pain.
Maybe a thought to ask your vet about! Good luck ❤️
 
Did she have the hay cube before the first time? Then that cleared up? Then did you give the hay cube again and now it’s flared up again? Could be a coincidence, or not 🤔. Hay cubs are very, very hard I was shocked when I first got one for my boys. I thought it would just be cardboard but they are much tougher. I hope you can find out what’s causing this problem. If the teeth are ok maybe it’s the roots.
 
It's a really tricky situation - especially without a piggy savvy vet.

i went through very similar with Odin. Months of investigations with a local vet (including 3 rounds of GA - I'm not sure how he survived them as he was so underweight). All tests were saying his teeth were fine. He went from not being able to eat hay/veggies (and loving his syringe feed) to losing his appetite completely.

After months and months and £1000s spent, I was then introduced to Kim and Simon Maddock at the Cat and Rabbit Clinic.
Though his teeth didn't look bad, it turned out it was an abscess beneath his eye that was causing pain and pressure in his skull and teeth. Once this erupted he was eating again. He needed some dental work (secondary problem due to lack of appetite), but that combined with antibiotic treatment for the abscess (we just about avoid enucleation), we got him back on track. He also had some ulceration and oral thrush that needed to be treated.

I honestly can't recommend the Maddocks at C&R enough. I would have also saved £1000s spent with other vets if I had seen them sooner. One of our boys has an appointment there today. It's a 3 hour drive (6 hour round trip) for us, but so worth it
 
weepweeps said:
Did she have the hay cube before the first time? Then that cleared up? Then did you give the hay cube again and now it’s flared up again? Could be a coincidence, or not 🤔.
Click to expand...
Yes, that's right. I've taken it away but they have a carrot cottage instead now.

She's been absolutely fine for months since the first episode, holding her weight etc. Then all of a sudden on Friday she was reluctant to eat again. Does that sound like an abscess or root problem? As I say, she's had no treatment or intervention at all since the first time. Just syringe feeding to keep her going for a few days until she was eating by herself again.
 
Has she had any otters tests like head x-rays?
One of our boys had a similar issue with on again, off again eating and he had several x-rays - one of which revelled a jaw abscess that wasn't (at that time) externally visible.

Given that it seems to be a recurring issue I would be tempted to try and see a specialist or ask for further tests to be done.
 
My bunny has a few x rays of her head a year to keep an eye on those naughty tooth roots! It's worth it for sure to see if that's the issue, especially if it can be done conscious ❤️
 
Dwarfpotato said:
Yes, that's right. I've taken it away but they have a carrot cottage instead now.

She's been absolutely fine for months since the first episode, holding her weight etc. Then all of a sudden on Friday she was reluctant to eat again. Does that sound like an abscess or root problem? As I say, she's had no treatment or intervention at all since the first time. Just syringe feeding to keep her going for a few days until she was eating by herself again.
Click to expand...
My piggy did have an abscess. He lost a lot of weight very quickly. Nothing was obviously wrong. He was sedated to have his teeth checked and the vet saw pus at the base of his incisor. It took two weeks for a lump to appear. Then it got big quickly. I don’t think an abscess would come and go. But I do think X-rays would be a good idea. Good luck. I hope you can find the cause.
 
Thought I'd write a follow up to this, in case anyone ever has anything similar. Tico had a few more mild cases of not eating (shorter this time) so I got a referral to cat and rabbit. Simon was fantastic! He inspected her mouth and found ulceration on one cheek. He said there were no spurs or anything wrong with her teeth. He said the three options for mouth problems are badly growing teeth, eating spiky things or thrush. Her teeth are fine and she's not really one for chewing. There was a tiny bit of white in one cheek so she's been given some anti fungal medication. Should be all sorted, hooray!
 
That’s excellent. I’ve been to Cat and Rabbit. They really are wonderful piggy vets. I hope it clears up soon.
 
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