Guinea pig eating weirdly, possible sign of teeth issue

[rustypete]

Hello,

I have noticed for a few days one of my Guinea pigs, Pete, seems to be eating weirdly. Like he only seems to be drinking water using his left side of his mouth, yesterday when he was eating veg I noticed he was dropping some of it whilst eating and moving his head weirdly. He’s also is leaving his pellets and courgette, carrots (when he gets them) but does eat the other veg but ends up dropping it. I did check his incisors and they look fine apart from the gums at the bottom look red near the teeth but I assume this is normal.

I know this can be a sign of dental issue as they have more teeth we can’t see but with them being young I don’t know why this is happening. . I have tried to book an appointment. But all my local vets are fully booked till December


. I don’t know what to do and I’m worried he’ll get worse

[Bean]

Can he pick up bits of the harder veg if they're chopped into matchsticks? Is there any drooling? Daily weigh-ins will help show if he is having serious issues eating.

It does sound like it could be dental problems, even though it's unusual in younger pigs, and there's not much I can advise except finding another vet so he can be properly checked out. If he's losing weight, this would be an emergency situation, so hopefully someone will get him seen. And although it's an extra layer of complication, do see if you can find a vet recommended specifically for guinea pigs as they're not all great, especially with dental problems.

I saw a vet over 20 years ago, in my first experience with dental issues, who just trimmed the overgrown/ slanted front teeth and didn't even check the back ones (which had spurs which were digging into his cheeks and causing him too much pain to eat). Luckily I managed to find a good one before it was too late, but it was touch and go - if they're not eating properly they go downhill really quickly.

Did you say you go them from Pets at Home? If you're struggling to find a vet, they often have in house ones, or might be able to point you in the right direction.

Guinea Lynx (<--link) has a medical forum, so it would be worth posting there for some advice in relation to what to look out for and how to find a vet. Good luck, please keep us posted with how he's doing.

[rustypete]

Nov 13, 2021 9:04:06 GMT Bean said:

Can he pick up bits of the harder veg if they're chopped into matchsticks? Is there any drooling? Daily weigh-ins will help show if he is having serious issues eating.

It does sound like it could be dental problems, even though it's unusual in younger pigs, and there's not much I can advise except finding another vet so he can be properly checked out. If he's losing weight, this would be an emergency situation, so hopefully someone will get him seen. And although it's an extra layer of complication, do see if you can find a vet recommended specifically for guinea pigs as they're not all great, especially with dental problems.

I saw a vet over 20 years ago, in my first experience with dental issues, who just trimmed the overgrown/ slanted front teeth and didn't even check the back ones (which had spurs which were digging into his cheeks and causing him too much pain to eat). Luckily I managed to find a good one before it was too late, but it was touch and go - if they're not eating properly they go downhill really quickly.

Did you say you go them from Pets at Home? If you're struggling to find a vet, they often have in house ones, or might be able to point you in the right direction.

Guinea Lynx (<--link) has a medical forum, so it would be worth posting there for some advice in relation to what to look out for and how to find a vet. Good luck, please keep us posted with how he's doing.

Thanks and no there’s no drooling either. I don’t think he’s loosing weight. However I haven’t weighed him since Thursday and I only noticed this recently. Yes I got my piggies from pets at home. But I wouldn’t trust their vet as I don’t know how experienced, they are, I did eventually find a experienced vet around an hour away that I was able to get appointment for Wednesday. I asked one of my friends they said they may be able to give a lift on weds. if not I can get their through a bus journey (and the company allows small pets)

[Bean]

That's really good you've found an experienced vet and have managed to get an appointment. I hope your friend can give you a lift, just to make it all smoother, but it's good you can still get there on public transport if needed.

Hopefully he's not losing weight, or it's at least not significant. You can always supplement his diet with syringe feeling if needed though. Have you noticed that any of the poos in the hutch are different - smaller and darker maybe?

[rustypete]

Nov 14, 2021 7:14:11 GMT Bean said:

That's really good you've found an experienced vet and have managed to get an appointment. I hope your friend can give you a lift, just to make it all smoother, but it's good you can still get there on public transport if needed.

Hopefully he's not losing weight, or it's at least not significant. You can always supplement his diet with syringe feeling if needed though. Have you noticed that any of the poos in the hutch are different - smaller and darker maybe?

Thanks. As for the poos they’ve have always been dark compared to Rusty who has lighter poos. I think these are normal, although Petes did used to look almost the same as Rusty’s but darker.

(photo- Petes Is on left and Rusty’s is on right )

[3piggles]

I agree that it's a dental problem, and am very glad you found a good vet. I hope the trip isn't too taxing for you and the boys. Good luck with the vet visit. All digits crossed!

[Bean]

They look like healthy poos, so that's a good sign that despite having problems chewing, Pete's managing to eat okay. The darker colour on the left looks more typical to me, but there's always some natural variation.

How's Pete doing?

[rustypete]

Nov 15, 2021 8:20:45 GMT Bean said:

They look like healthy poos, so that's a good sign that despite having problems chewing, Pete's managing to eat okay. The darker colour on the left looks more typical to me, but there's always some natural variation.

How's Pete doing?

He’s doing ok, relying more on hay/grass, also has started pawing at the mouth more and hasn’t been chewing on anything


My friends not been able to give a lift as something sudden happened to her family and it’s only £35 if i book a return taxi for tommorow Would it be less stressful to go by taxi then bus? As a taxi journey is only 20 mins and the bus takes over an hour

[3piggles]

If you can get a carrier situation that makes the pigs feel safe and secure, it shouldn't be too bad. It doesn't help to have them around a lot of unrecognized noise, starts/stops, etc., but I think buses are pretty smooth riding, now. It might be easier on you to take a taxi, and if you're stressed, the pigs will know and feel it, too. They're going to a place that's not friendly to piggies(places were they get felt all over, given shots, prodded, etc.), so you should take the mode that stresses you the least.

The pawing at the mouth definitely sounds like a teeth problem, which might also include an abscess problem, depending on what the teeth are doing wrong. Good luck with the trip and the vet visit!

[rustypete]

Nov 15, 2021 18:38:34 GMT 3piggles said:

If you can get a carrier situation that makes the pigs feel safe and secure, it shouldn't be too bad. It doesn't help to have them around a lot of unrecognized noise, starts/stops, etc., but I think buses are pretty smooth riding, now. It might be easier on you to take a taxi, and if you're stressed, the pigs will know and feel it, too. They're going to a place that's not friendly to piggies(places were they get felt all over, given shots, prodded, etc.), so you should take the mode that stresses you the least.

The pawing at the mouth definitely sounds like a teeth problem, which might also include an abscess problem, depending on what the teeth are doing wrong. Good luck with the trip and the vet visit!

I think I’ll stick with getting the bus as it’s cheaper and I know the bus route very well whilst I’ve never got a taxi and don’t know if they accept pets. Whilst the bus does.

I’ll update you guys tommorow

[3piggles]

Sounds good. All digits crossed!

[Bean]

They're probably not going to appreciate being hoiked out, so I don't think the difference between a bus and a taxi will be that significant for them. So personally I'd take the bus and know I had a bit more money to put towards any treatment.

I'm sure you're glad the appointment isn't too far away now, I'm keeping everything crossed for Pete.

[rustypete]

Nov 16, 2021 8:26:01 GMT Bean said:

They're probably not going to appreciate being hoiked out, so I don't think the difference between a bus and a taxi will be that significant for them. So personally I'd take the bus and know I had a bit more money to put towards any treatment.

I'm sure you're glad the appointment isn't too far away now, I'm keeping everything crossed for Pete.

Thanks

[3piggles]

Just checking in to see if there were any updates. Keeping all digits crossed for you all, tomorrow!

[rustypete]

Nov 16, 2021 20:51:35 GMT 3piggles said:

Just checking in to see if there were any updates. Keeping all digits crossed for you all, tomorrow!

I meant to say yesterday

Update:
The vet said a lot of the teeth was fine however it looked like one of the molars was growing at a weird angle into his gum slightly making it sore/painful, which they think is the reason for him eating less veg and not eating the pellets. They said to give medication (some sort of pain relief) and to feed a liquid version of pellets (since he’s not eating pellets) to manage it for a few days and too see if anything improves with his eating

[3piggles]

Did they clip or file the tooth, so it's not growing into the inside of his mouth?

[rustypete]

Nov 17, 2021 19:10:24 GMT 3piggles said:

Did they clip or file the tooth, so it's not growing into the inside of his mouth?

I don’t think so as they didn’t say

[Bean]

They'd most often do that under anesthesia, so it's unlikely you wouldn't know if they had. Even a tiny spur on the tooth can cause a lot of pain and stop them from eating. I hope the pain meds do the trick and get Pete eating properly again, but if not, I wouldn't wait too long before getting any sharp bits filed down with someone who's confident doing it. If he's not chewing and wearing the tooth down, it will only get worse. How's his weight?

Hope it all went smoothly getting there and back.

[rustypete]

Nov 18, 2021 8:01:51 GMT Bean said:

They'd most often do that under anesthesia, so it's unlikely you wouldn't know if they had. Even a tiny spur on the tooth can cause a lot of pain and stop them from eating. I hope the pain meds do the trick and get Pete eating properly again, but if not, I wouldn't wait too long before getting any sharp bits filed down with someone who's confident doing it. If he's not chewing and wearing the tooth down, it will only get worse. How's his weight?

Hope it all went smoothly getting there and back.

Thanks, so far it is working as he’s started to eat most of his pellets and is starting to eat veg a lot better without dropping or eating slowly.

Yeah it went fine. I forgot to way him this morning I meant too. I’m going to way him later

[rustypete]

Nov 18, 2021 8:01:51 GMT Bean said:

They'd most often do that under anesthesia, so it's unlikely you wouldn't know if they had. Even a tiny spur on the tooth can cause a lot of pain and stop them from eating. I hope the pain meds do the trick and get Pete eating properly again, but if not, I wouldn't wait too long before getting any sharp bits filed down with someone who's confident doing it. If he's not chewing and wearing the tooth down, it will only get worse. How's his weight?

Hope it all went smoothly getting there and back.

I’m so confused with Pete since he’s been on medication he’s been eating like his normal self and I’ve not changed anything. However I weighed him today Friday as he’s 409g when he was 496g last Thursday and I always weigh around the same time before they get there lunch veg. Also I weighed his brother Rusty who’s not had any issues and he’s 435g when he was 460g last Thursday. Is it normally for them to loose weight?