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Trouble Eating And Holding Food In Mouth

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divadisco

New Born Pup
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Hello. I have a couple guinea pigs called Disco and Diva. Both are just under 2 years old. About 12 days ago as I was about to feed them their breakfast, I noticed Diva was limping. We took him to the vet the following day, as it was a Sunday, and the vet thought he had a sprain. Gave us a prescription of metacam to give for a week. By the end of the week, he didn't seem to be doing much better and was not eating much and was having trouble chewing. Also noticed his paw had swollen, so took him back to the vet this past Tuesday. Was examined and given some antibiotics for swelling along with Recovery Plus. Had no explanation for the trouble chewing.
Leg seems to be improving slowly and has been a little more vocal. He was the one that was always making noises, while Disco was the quiet one. However, his chewing issue seems to have gotten slightly worse. Wants to eat, but can't hold and chew. He'll pick up a straw of hay, but can't hold and eat it. Picks up small pieces of veggies, but can't hold it up and eventually will chew it slowly from the ground. As a result doesn't eat much as well, though am pretty sure he is hungry. Was able to eat a couple dry pellets yesterday, but wasn't able to today.
Have been giving him medicine with a syringe and now also the Recovery plus with a syringe as well and was hoping maybe his jaw was just getting tired, but I think it's probably something more serious. 2 separate Vets haven't noticed anything wrong with teeth or mouth when examining him. Was planning on getting xrays done tomorrow morning, but vet will be charging between 200 and 250 pounds and I know we really can't afford it. I haven't canceled yet, but I know my wife won't want to pay that.
It's a bit heart breaking for me to see him struggle. Of the two, he was sort of the younger brother who was very active and noisy and liked to play. Does anyway have any ideas or suggestions on what the cause could be. Thank you.
 
Is your vet good with exotics?
Some general vets are excellent but some are less good with exotics like guinea pigs.
Vet costs can be expensive but it’s part of pet ownership.
Your vet may be willing to discuss a payment plan with you.
Where are you located?
Others on this forum highly recommend Simon in Northampton as top get for dental issues.
I can’t remember the surgery name but scroll through messages relating to dental issues and you will find it.

Welcome to the forum and hope things work out with Diva.
Keep us posted
 
I am located in Dudley. Not sure if our vets are good with exotics. The vets that have examined Diva haven't noticed any dental issues and he was having no problems eating before hurting his leg. I can't remember if he was having problems chewing the day he got hurt as I attributed any eating issues to not being able to use his hurt front paw. What might x-rays show and what might they not show with a hurt jaw or mouth or teeth. Thanks.
 
divadisco said:
I am located in Dudley. Not sure if our vets are good with exotics. The vets that have examined Diva haven't noticed any dental issues and he was having no problems eating before hurting his leg. I can't remember if he was having problems chewing the day he got hurt as I attributed any eating issues to not being able to use his hurt front paw. What might x-rays show and what might they not show with a hurt jaw or mouth or teeth. Thanks.
Click to expand...

If you can, please go and see Simon Maddock in Northampton; he is a general vet, but ones that only treats cats, rabbits, guinea pigs and small furries, so he sees and treats more guinea pigs in a week than most vets see in a year! He's also up to the notch on research and operation techniques.
He is by far the best vet to see for any potential dental or complex health problems in our wider area and treats dental guinea pigs from all over the country, as far as Edinburgh.

We have several members from the Wolverhampton to Stoke area who travel there. He's also saved a number of my own piggies over the years where my local vets were just out of their depth, including my Hywel, who lived a year longer to 7 years of age with a jaw abscess, which my local vets couldn't deal with.
The Cat and Rabbit Care Clinic

An x-ray will show any misalignment, overgrown spurs or elongated roots or if he has got something wedged in between his teeth at the back or another anomaly. It can be that your boy is working on an abscess which is not yet visible.

How are his front teeth looking? Are they even and neat, or are they slanted, jagged or inward growing? Are there any discolourations? Does he has trouble chewing/is chewing very slowly, picking up veg and letting them drop?
Are you weighing daily at the same time to keep an eye on the food intake so you know that you are feeding enough top up feed from day to day? 80% of the food intake is hay, which is impossible to control check on otherwise.
Please take the time to read our syringe feeding guide. You may find it helpful with the many tips, help with amounts and a section on caring for a dental piggy. Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
 
I know my wife won't want to drive that far. As far as I can tell, his teeth look even and neat. I'll try to take a better look when we feed him later tonight.
However, he does have trouble chewing/is chewing very slowly and will pick up vegs and let them drop. Sometimes he looks like a person who has no teeth chews food, if you know what that looks like. If not, then once again, yes to trouble chewing, chewing slowly and dropping vegs, along with hay and pellets. He is currently on Baytril, which he has been on since Tuesday, for his swollen paw. When we took him to the vet a couple days ago, he had lost 200 grams in one week and I know he is not eating enough hay as I have seen him pick up a straw of hay, try to chew it but not able to and then drop it.
 
You need to start syringe feeding him now to keep him alive to lose that much weight in a week is not good as its important to keep his guts moving. Use the guide that @Wiebke has given you the link for.
 
Although it isn't close, it really would be worth the trip to see Simon at Cat and Rabbit Clinic. I run a sanctuary for guinea pigs with ongoing dental issues and time and time again we speak with owners, who have spent many hundreds of pounds at other vets, trying to get their piggies dental issue sorted, with no success whatsoever. Simon is able to do the dental work without the need for GA, which keeps the price much more affordable and it is far better for the guinea pig too, as they don't need to recover from a general anaesthetic. The results he gets are amazing and most piggies are eating well again before even leaving the practice.
 
Do they do actual x-rays without using GA or do they not use x-rays and base any dental work that might or might be needed based on examination.
 
When they checked his teeth, did they look at the back teeth or just the front? Most vets I've been to in the past won't look at the back teeth because "it is too hard without GA" which is rubbish.

I've been to the Cat & Rabbit vet in Northampton (by train as I live near Brighton) and they checked my Iggy's back teeth without any kind of sedative (it took no time at all) and did an X-ray (not for teeth, for stones) and bloods with a whiff of anaesthetic rather than a full GA. It's super far for me to get up there but definitely worth it, especially when local vets aren't able to deal with the issue.

That's a substantial weight loss, are you syringe feeding critical care? That will help him out some weight back on, and if you don't have any CC you could mush his pellets up in warm water and syringe feed that to keep his guts going.

Hope he feels better soon :)
 
divadisco said:
Do they do actual x-rays without using GA or do they not use x-rays and base any dental work that might or might be needed based on examination.
Click to expand...
An X-ray won’t be needed. Simon will be able to feel for any swelling around the jaw, that could suggest a brewing abscess. He will ensure the teeth are filed correctly, as guinea pigs won’t eat unless the teeth are exactly right.
 
Hi, is your pig still on the metacam? I think it would help to continue with it. From what you say it seems the limping and eating less started around the same time. It is possible he had a fall or something (or even a fight) that caused injury to his foot and face. If he has landed on his face or smacked it hard into something he may have broken his incisors below the gum line resulting in it being very painful and difficult to eat. As their teeth constantly grow, like our fingernails do, in time the broken teeth will drop out and eventually new ones grow back. If this is the case he will need a lot of support with syringe feeding during this time.

My vet does not do dental work like Simon in Northampton does, but he is very good with piggies in general and I would reccomend him if you wanted a second opinion. His name is Rob and he is based at Severn Edge vets in Much Wenlock, which is perhaps close enough for you to travel to?
 
Thanks for everyone offering to help. Looks like we will be taking him to the local vet for x-rays. My wife works long hours and can't make it out of work in time and I don't drive. The last time we gave him metacam was on Friday, but we have been giving him Recovery Plus since Tuesday night after our last vet visit. Have enough till tomorrow night and then if need to, will start syringe feeding him mushed up pellets.
I thought the first vet we saw took a good look into his mouth, didn't think the second vet did as much but I was holding Diva from behind during the second visit so didn't have as good a look as the first visit when I was in front of him.
Because his front paw is hurt, he is often leaning down face first. Since the injury occurred overnight, it's hard to know how it happened, but yes there is a chance he also hurt his mouth/jaw when he hurt his paw. Thanks for the recommendation of another vet for a second opinion, it is a little closer to where we live and will keep it in mind, thanks.
And you have given me other possibilities to consider as well and have given me wonderful suggestions. Thank you.
 
Ah okay, it doesn't sound like the vets have examined the back teeth as they're hard to see just by opening the mouth. It's a wrestle to get the mouth open enough! :))
 
Thanks for that link. Wish I had joined this site earlier. Yes, the vets just checked by opening his mouth, so you may be right that they haven't checked his back teeth. Time to feed Diva. Thanks once again to everyone.
 
Can you drive to Wolves? Our vet below is very good

White Cross Vets
Rosie Levene-Barry
333A Penn Rd
Penn
Wolverhampton , West Midlands WV4 5QF
01902 599 880
www.whitecrossvets.co.uk
 
Hi, sorry to hear about this, must be so stressful and sad!
I live in Birmingham, and go to Quinton Vets4Pets, the vets there are so good with guinea pigs. Highly recommend!
 
As others have said, I would suspect some sort of dental issue. Vets may be more or less experienced with pigs and what their teeth should look like. Some vets may just check the front incisors without getting a good look at the molars (where problems tend to start.) Even when vets do try to look at the back teeth with an otoscope (which is normally used for ears, with a light on it and a scope to look through) the back teeth can sometimes be obscured. I hope you are able to get some clearer answers.
 
Thanks again everyone. The White Cross vets is one of the places my wife looked at from the link provided. Will see how x-rays go and what vets says and then see if I need to get a second opinion.
When we were feeding Diva, my wife seemed to think that he took food from the syringe much easier from his left side then the right side. Think I will mentioned that to the vet before x-rays are done. It's been a long day, but glad I took the time to join and get the feedback and support from everyone here. Thanks.
 
It's worrying and hard work when something like this is going on so I'm glad you have received the advice and support you need. Keep us posted and keep up the syringe feeding, it'll be worth it in the long run
 
divadisco said:
Thanks again everyone. The White Cross vets is one of the places my wife looked at from the link provided. Will see how x-rays go and what vets says and then see if I need to get a second opinion.
When we were feeding Diva, my wife seemed to think that he took food from the syringe much easier from his left side then the right side. Think I will mentioned that to the vet before x-rays are done. It's been a long day, but glad I took the time to join and get the feedback and support from everyone here. Thanks.
Click to expand...

IF you go see Rosie, she is very experienced with dental work
 
Hello everyone. I took Diva to vets this morning and just heard back, very frustrating talk over the phone. They did find that he has inflammation which is what is causing the swelling in his leg. The vet is going to give me additional antibiotics for it. Nothing about chewing problems, in fact after telling me about inflammation the vet was about to move on to when I could pick Diva up, so I asked and vet was almost surprised by it. I've mentioned it on every visit, including this morning where I mainly talked about the problems he has been having chewing and even picking up and holding food and hay in his mouth and not being able to chew hard pellets, yet the only response was that they found a piece of hay in his tooth so maybe that was causing pain when trying to eat. I then mentioned that this issue has been going on for almost 2 weeks now and is getting worse and I really didn't get any response in return. Well, just asking me if I have been feeding him the Recovery Plus.
Will go pick up in the next hour and a half and try to see if I can get additional information and see what they checked and the x-ray results. Unless the vet gives me a better answer about chewing issue, or Diva is suddenly eating like normal again, think I am going to have to get a second opinion.
I am glad they didn't find a fracture or something serious, so it could have been worse. However, not only was frustrating they they couldn't give me a definite answer about chewing issue, but that the vet wasn't even going to bring it up and once again, that was the main concern I brought up this morning. I stressed the issue. Hopefully, I can get a better answer when I pick up Diva.
 
Just to add what on what I wrote. It's frustrating that they couldn't give me an answer. But, if they would have at least brought it up and maybe said something along the line that they have checked his back teeth and x-ray didn't show anything, etc... But, none of that was brought up even while I kept asking about the issue while on the phone. At the end, the vet brought up possible seeing a specialist. I will be leaving soon to get Diva, I really hope they can give me more of a response on at least what they did and what the x-rays did or didn't show. Something beyond, Diva had a piece of hay on one of his teeth.
 
Hope you can get an answer. If not you should see another vet.
I see on the thread that some have been recommended.
Hoping to hear good news for Diva and you soon.
 
Thanks. Back from vet, Diva is laying down inside his home. He tried to eat hay a couple times but was too tired. I was able to feed him a small piece of cucumber, but he wouldn't eat anything else. Since he did so from inside his home, it was hard to see how he was chewing, but it appeared to be slowly eaten.
Vet said that all his teeth lined up and that the x-rays didn't show anything. Also, said we should give him vitamin C supplements starting tonight and prescribed a second antibiotic, along with continuing with the current one we are giving him till they run out.
When I first tried to touch him while at the vets inside his carry cage, he jumped like a cat from one side to the other, but then I think he recognized me and quickly calmed down. When I put Disco back together with Diva, Disco sniffed his face for about a minute, couldn't tell if he licked him as well, but think is happy to have his brother back. At the moment he is laying just outside Diva's house near him.
 
I wouldn't put anything for Vitamin C in his water, he might not like the taste and refuse to drink.
 
I'd definitely get a second opinion, they don't sound experienced with piggies at all sadly :( Hope he's feeling okay after his GA.
 
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