Teeth Is this the end of my Spocky Pig?

zionsphere · Jun 21, 2011

I have always had guinea piglets and I have never had a medical problem before. My current guinea pig Spock Shocker, is quite old and lives indoors with me, my previous piglet was 9 when she passed on and my first piglet died at 5 from a choking incident.
I love my piggy, and about 3 months ago he was eating funny and I realized he had hurt a tooth, so I fed him by hand and put water on his lettice etc and then within a week he was right as rain and chasing my dog and doing all the normal insane pig things. Then two days ago,...he just stopped, his chin was wet, his eyes runny, (even though he has always had runny eyes from infantancy which I tend too), and he noticed that tooth is gone, on the first day he was eating some stuff and drinking, and now he has just given in.
Today we cleaned his little house and washed his face, and I even put his soft padded guinea pig bed in his house for him. I know what they would say if I took him too the vets, and I to be honest if it is his time don't want too take him out the house in a car journey and noisy vets, I would rather him be at home with me, cus I love him so much.
Has anyone had this before?
(And I feel I have too say, that though he is so ill and aged now, this morning he played in his special piggy tent and got his little bum stuck, only too emerge with some grass on his head, which put a little smile on my face, it was only the other day he was following me and the dog around the garden in the sunshine

pinky · Jun 21, 2011

You didn't say how old he is. Can you get Oxbow Critical Care where you're at and syringe feed him? If not, you can make a mash out of his pellets by putting them in a heavy plastic bag and pulverizing them with a hammer. Add water to the consistency of toothpaste. Feed with a syringe by placing the syringe between his inner cheek and teeth so he doesn't aspirate the mash. I would definitely take him to a vet. They might put him on Metacam which is an anti inflammatory and pain killer which might get him to eat. I wouldn't give up on him.

zionsphere · Jun 21, 2011

well he is nearly 7 now, but he wont eat or drink today, not even look at me

We can't seem too get that medication, when he first hurt his mouth, I couldnt even get a syringe for him I went everywhere for one. There is no way we would be able too get anything from the vet as they are so insanely expensive. I don't know what too do. I just tried some soft stuff with him now and he turned away from me completely and wont look at me

Deb's4Pigs · Jun 21, 2011

It's hard to say. He is older. If it is dental a vet might be able to help him. Good luck.

I know my Baby hurt her eye. It looked like it was bulging and I thought tumor. But she's eight so I knew she wouldn't survive surgery. I made an appt with my dog vet to have her PTS. Her eye looked better when I got there put eye meds in and she's still around 6 months later.

If he's suffering take him in for that.

Evanescent · Jun 21, 2011

zionsphere said:
well he is nearly 7 now, but he wont eat or drink today, not even look at me

We can't seem too get that medication, when he first hurt his mouth, I couldnt even get a syringe for him I went everywhere for one. There is no way we would be able too get anything from the vet as they are so insanely expensive. I don't know what too do. I just tried some soft stuff with him now and he turned away from me completely and wont look at me

Go to the grocery store, and look for the baby food section. There are syringes there, because babies are always needing meds and it's hard to spoon-feed them their medicine. If you cannot find them, then ask. Drug stores also definitely carry them.

Here's a Guinea Lynx link, no pun intended, on the topic.

I wish you the best of luck in saving your piggie!

pinky · Jun 21, 2011

Go to your local pharmacy and ask if they have 10 ml syringes and explain what they are for. Osco Drugs near me gave me a few for free. Cut off the tip and file it down so it's smooth. You can use a nail file or emery board. If he's 7 and he hasn't needed vet care up to this point, you are really lucky. Consider the money you saved up to now a deposit on what he needs now. If they haven't had medical care, how can you assume the vet will be terribly expensive? If he had been a dog or cat, you'd have needed all sorts of immunizations, etc, that would have been expensive. Have you ever had a toothache? He's probably in a lot of pain and can't eat for that reason. A vet visit will probably cost you what a dinner out would cost. The meds aren't expensive. Your vet can arrange a payment plan for you if it's more than you can cover in a month. If you get him on pain meds, at least he won't be suffering.

zionsphere said:
well he is nearly 7 now, but he wont eat or drink today, not even look at me

We can't seem too get that medication, when he first hurt his mouth, I couldnt even get a syringe for him I went everywhere for one. There is no way we would be able too get anything from the vet as they are so insanely expensive. I don't know what too do. I just tried some soft stuff with him now and he turned away from me completely and wont look at me

SurfingPigs · Jun 21, 2011

Another great place to get supplies for taking care of a sick guinea pig is..... the vet. If you aren't willing to pay for a vet visit, you really should consider another pet. Just because your guinea pig is ill and aged does not mean that it deserves to suffer. And for all you know, this could be a treatable condition. I know this must be a tough time, and I'm not trying to be rude, but honestly! Unless you are a trained veterinarian yourself, do the right thing and take that poor guinea pig into the vet instead of letting it suffer in a cage unable to take food or water.

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Teeth Is this the end of my Spocky Pig?

zionsphere

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pinky

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zionsphere

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Deb's4Pigs

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Evanescent

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pinky

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SurfingPigs

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