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Dental Teeth wearing in a v-shape? Flubs' dental thread

Danielle Smith

Danielle Smith

Teenage Guinea Pig
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Over the past few months we have noticed that Flubs' front teeth have been gradually growing into more of a V-shape; the top incisors meeting with a sharp point and the bottom incisors have a V-shaped groove in them (picture below). His eyes have been ever so slightly more watery in the past week, which I know can indicate trouble with the roots of the teeth.

He has no difficulty eating anything, even apple or carrot. He has not lost any weight either. We were away for a week and the change is now obvious enough that we are going to the vet. I'm a little worried I may have left it too late, if the vet has to clip the teeth to make them back to normal I feel they have to be quite short to get rid of the odd wear pattern and he'll need some help with eating for a bit..

I also discovered a flat fatty lipoma on his tummy yesterday which wasn't there last health check so we're going for that as well.

Has anyone else experienced this odd wear pattern? The only reference to it I can see online is when it happens in degus it can indicate continous inbreeding or something wrong with genetics.

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Danielle Smith said:
Over the past few months we have noticed that Flubs' front teeth have been gradually growing into more of a V-shape; the top incisors meeting with a sharp point and the bottom incisors have a V-shaped groove in them (picture below). His eyes have been ever so slightly more watery in the past week, which I know can indicate trouble with the roots of the teeth.

He has no difficulty eating anything, even apple or carrot. He has not lost any weight either. We were away for a week and the change is now obvious enough that we are going to the vet. I'm a little worried I may have left it too late, if the vet has to clip the teeth to make them back to normal I feel they have to be quite short to get rid of the odd wear pattern and he'll need some help with eating for a bit..

I also discovered a flat fatty lipoma on his tummy yesterday which wasn't there last health check so we're going for that as well.

Has anyone else experienced this odd wear pattern? The only reference to it I can see online is when it happens in degus it can indicate continous inbreeding or something wrong with genetics.

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Hi! Please have her premolars at the back vet checked for overgrowth!

Switch to weighing daily, cut any veg into fine stripes and start with topping up with syringe feed is she is losing more than 50g of weight; you can use mushed up pellets in an emergency but need to cut off the syringe tip as shown in our syringe feeding guide, which also contains a section on caring for dental piggies. This needs to continue after any dental care, especially if your vet is not experience with it, as most UK vets unfortunately aren't (even many in our vet guide). @furryfriends (TEAS)
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Recommended Guinea Pig Vets
 
I'll be keeping a very close eye on him, but if anything Flubs has been consistently gaining weight despite this incisor problem. I will of course step in with syringe-feeding and veg cut into strips when needed, especially after any dental work!

It's just such an odd problem, I hadn't heard of this happening before.

Vets appointment this afternoon so will update this thread!
 
Is your vet capable to do his teeth. Some vets don't have a clue.
Hope it goes well Danielle, let us know.
 
Update on Flubs!

The vet agreed it was an odd wear pattern that she's never seen before. She checked his back teeth thoroughly and they are "absolutely perfect", no overgrowth thank goodness.

Since he's not losing weight and is eating as voraciously as ever, we made the decision not to do any dental work until it's absolutely necessary. His teeth are meeting perfectly and he can rip, tear, and pick up food with them... so it's more of a wait-and-see.

What I thought was a lipoma on his tummy, she reckons it is a sebaceous cyst. Again, the wait-and-see approach -- if it gets bigger, he'll come in to have it lanced or removed, but in the meantime to just keep an eye on him!

Careful weighing and thorough body checks every week are in our future then. Will update this thread if there are any changes.
 
Danielle Smith said:
Update on Flubs!

The vet agreed it was an odd wear pattern that she's never seen before. She checked his back teeth thoroughly and they are "absolutely perfect", no overgrowth thank goodness.

Since he's not losing weight and is eating as voraciously as ever, we made the decision not to do any dental work until it's absolutely necessary. His teeth are meeting perfectly and he can rip, tear, and pick up food with them... so it's more of a wait-and-see.

What I thought was a lipoma on his tummy, she reckons it is a sebaceous cyst. Again, the wait-and-see approach -- if it gets bigger, he'll come in to have it lanced or removed, but in the meantime to just keep an eye on him!

Careful weighing and thorough body checks every week are in our future then. Will update this thread if there are any changes.
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I know this forum is quite old but, I hope to get some info. My 6yr old female GP is having this same issue. What ended up being the final outcome for Flubs? Did you have to intervene or did the teeth grind down even on their own? Any info is greatly appreciated seeing this is the only thing I could find that fit my circumstance 6 years later 😂
Thanks
 
This thread is quite old.it maybe best to start your own thread,so you can gey current advise and help.
I hope your piggie gets well.
 
Hi @Frogger198076!

Flubs is no longer with us sadly but his teeth led us on a merry chase. They were fine until he went into heart failure and couldnt eat for himself as the need to breathe came first. He had the front incisors very slightly burred a couple of times and that, along with the correct regimen of medication, meant that he was back to his usual self and was able to eat what he liked.

I would recommend you have your piggy seen by your vet to confirm there isnt abnormal wear or spurs on the molars. After that, you could always have the teeth seen to as above and see if that fixes the issue, though of course if your pig is eating fine there isn't a need -- if the vet doesnt detect any abnormalities.
 
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