Crashed Face First - Guinea Pig Cages, Care, Store, Photos of Guinea Pigs and More Forum!

**Haley0489** · #1 04-29-08, 09:10 pm

While having floor time today, Thor decided he would propel himself out of my lap and into the room...Sadly, he hit the wire cage-top instead of open space. He scurried under the headboard and whined a bit at me when I tried to scoop him up. I saw him walk and run fine, but he kept rubbing his nose with his paw. There was no bleeding from his nose or mouth and he seemed to be fine. I opened his mouth and had a look at his front teeth, all seems well, and I've since fed him and watched to make sure he was eating. He had some lettuce, broccoli, strawberry and timothy hay.

I just had a look at him again and he's got a red spot on his lip, where I assume he made contact with the wire cage.
He seems to be fine, a bit tired and pissed, but OK nonetheless.

Is there anything I should be watching out for? Obviously, since he hit his mouth I need to be watching his food intake, but is there anything else I need to watch for to insure he's OK?

**Justin** · #2 04-29-08, 10:09 pm

You probably already know this, but I heard that you shouldn't use your anti-biotic cream on pigs.

CF#5 · #3 04-29-08, 10:37 pm

Are you sure the red stuff on his lips isn't strawberry? It might not be blood at all.

**Haley0489** · #4 04-29-08, 11:02 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by CF#5

Are you sure the red stuff on his lips isn't strawberry? It might not be blood at all.

Pretty sure, the red spot was there before I gave them their salad, and it was a bit swollen. It's gone down considerably now and he seems to be more active. I think the initial accident had him a bit shaken up.

I'm really just worried he may have knocked a tooth loose or injured himself in some other "not so obvious" way. When I looked earlier, all four front teeth were intact, two on top and two on bottom.

If he had knocked a tooth loose, that would be affecting his eating ability immediately, wouldn't it? I know teeth grow back in quickly, so even if he were to loose a tooth it's not like him loosing a leg, but obviously their teeth are pretty important so I'm kind of riled up on the matter...Perhaps I'm just over analyzing the "what ifs"? Better safe asking, than being sorry later, in my opinion! :)

**Newpiggiemom** · #5 04-30-08, 09:08 am

If he's eating fine I wouldn't worry too much. My Chester knocked his two front teeth totally out and within two weeks they had grown back. He had some trouble grasping veggies but if yours is eating fine, it's probably just a fat lip. Just keep a watch on it.

**CarpeDiem** · #6 04-30-08, 11:00 am

I would just make sure nothing gets infected as far as the fat lip goes. Like others stated, if he's eating fine I really wouldn't worry about his teeth being knocked out. It's good that you're so concerned, though.

CF#5 · #7 04-30-08, 11:30 am

Most of the chewing gets done by the molars inside the mouth, so even if a front tooth broke off, it probably wouldn't affect a pig's ability to eat all that much. The main concern would be that it grows back properly. A partial break is obviously much less serious than if a tooth gets broken off near the root.