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Teeth Guinea pig got teeth caught on C&C cage

Sephina

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Recently due to the insistence of people on this forum, and friends who have them I made a C&C cage for my pigs. Things were doing fine, I thought I had the coroplast up high enough, except it turns out I was wrong. I was cleaning out my boys today and noticed my youngest girl, barely a month old was against the cage oddly. I turned around to put my boy down and was about to turn around to figure out what was going on when I heard a loud squeel and there was a splash of blood. It turns out that she got them caught and pulled hard to get free. I immediately called the emergency vet which is nearly an hour away (while my regular vet is less than 15 minutes) and they told me to keep an eye on the bleeding and leave her for the night as long as the bleeding stops, then contact my regular vet in the morning due to them being very backed up. They also advised me not to give her any fruits or veggies, just water and her regular pellet food and take away all of her toys for the night.

I've also noticed that she is wheezing an awful lot, I think it's because there was so much blood some came out of her nose, but I'm not sure what to do at all.

The thing is her teeth weren't long to begin with, and now one looks super long while the other looks like it was broken? Or maybe it just looks that way due to the other being very long? Is it possible that she pulled most of it out of her skull, but not all the way out? Right now my heart is ripping in half, but if the only emergency vet in the city is that backed up, and feel she will be ok through the night I feel like I should trust them. I took this picture and sent it to my regular vet, whom I'm hoping is still up this close to midnight to advise me further.

547545_10152713254815640_1489151243_n.jpg
 

Aleks

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I seriously want to cry looking at that picture. Poor baby. :(
I really hope she's going to be okay, I wish i had advice to give but i've never had anything like that happen.
Please keep us updated. :(
 

MochaAndMoo

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That looks extremely painful, poor baby!
I would definitely try and get her to an exotics vet who is experienced in cavy dentistry.
Guinea pig teeth grow back quite fast, but she will have some difficulties eating so I would suggest you start syringe feeding her some mashed up pellets mixed with water or some Critical care if you have some.
I would cover the sides of the cage with material to stop her from chewing on the bars. The wheezing is probably due to all the blood blocking up her nose. Keep us updated.
 

Sephina

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I'm very worried about her eating, usually she has a very healthy appetite. I had the coroplast 5 inches up the side of the cage, and she still somehow managed this. Should I start syringe feeding her in the morning after she has had time to settle or should I start now?
 

bpatters

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They generally get along ok with broken teeth. I'd just keep an eye on her, and have her checked by a vet with experience in dental issues as soon as you can get her in. In the meantime, read https://www.guinealynx.info/teeth_broken.html.
 

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I'm very worried about her eating, usually she has a very healthy appetite. I had the coroplast 5 inches up the side of the cage, and she still somehow managed this. Should I start syringe feeding her in the morning after she has had time to settle or should I start now?

I would see if she would like to try to eat some veggies. If she tries to then give her some food through a syringe.
 

Sephina

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They generally get along ok with broken teeth. I'd just keep an eye on her, and have her checked by a vet with experience in dental issues as soon as you can get her in. In the meantime, read https://www.guinealynx.info/teeth_broken.html.

That was the first thing I read. The thing that worries me is that one isn't really broken, it just looks like it was pulled half-way out if that makes sense.
 

R5 plus

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For babies, the sides need to be higher. Some people use coroplast, others use poster board or cardboard for extra height during the early months. If the sides aren't high enough, the babies can get their heads stuck between the squares as well.

I'm so sorry this happened and hope she will be better soon.
 

MochaAndMoo

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I'm very worried about her eating, usually she has a very healthy appetite. I had the coroplast 5 inches up the side of the cage, and she still somehow managed this. Should I start syringe feeding her in the morning after she has had time to settle or should I start now?

Usually, people put coroplast 6-7 inches up.
If you feel like she has been stressed out enough tonight, I would start tomorrow in the morning. Make sure she is gets enough food. I would call up your regular vet and ask them to direct you to an exotics vet experienced in cavy dentistry to get her teeth checked out.
 

Lishar

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Oh no! Poor little thing!! D:

I hope shes ok... :(
 

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Usually, people put coroplast 6 inches up.
If you feel like she has been stressed out enough tonight, I would start tomorrow in the morning. Make sure she is gets enough food. I would call up your regular vet and ask them to direct you to an exotics vet experienced in cavy dentistry to get her teeth checked out.

I'm not sure, but I thought it was higher than that. :)
 

MochaAndMoo

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I'm not sure, but I thought it was higher than that. :)

According to the C&C cages store, if the coroplast is too high it blocks off air circulation in the cage, so they suggest it to be 6-7 inches. It depends on the age of the pigs as well, younger pigs need higher sides.
 
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Sephina

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I actually just re-checked the measurements, and her's is 8 inches high, I honestly thought it was only 5. :/ I'm just beside myself right now and the vet can't open soon enough. I tried to hand feed her and all she did was let out a piercing screech. I think I'm going to leave her until the morning, but I'm terrified she might die during the night. It's super hard to even calm myself down enough to think about sleep.
 

juliannimal

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Oh no! Poor baby! I am so so so sorry!

Our coro is about 6 inches high and we lined the sides of the grids with poster board until our abnormally large babies were too big to get their heads or bodies through the squares.
Please keep us updated on how she's doing!
 

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She will sense your stress. Take some nice, long, deep breaths. [MENTION=13820]bpatters[/MENTION] sounded very calm about the teeth situation, so take some assurance from that.

If it's anything like people, mouths bleed A LOT! Been there, done that, more than once. And their teeth keep growing, so hopefully everything will be okay. *hugs*
 

bpatters

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Cut her some food in matchstick-sized pieces and hand feed her, sticking the pieces behind her front teeth and toward her molars. That way she won't have to use her front teeth, but you'll still be getting some food in her. She needs to eat -- guinea pigs' intestines need food moving through all the time, or you get into really bad situations. See if you can get her favorite foods down her that way -- anything at all will be much better than nothing.
 

Sephina

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Cut her some food in matchstick-sized pieces and hand feed her, sticking the pieces behind her front teeth and toward her molars. That way she won't have to use her front teeth, but you'll still be getting some food in her. She needs to eat -- guinea pigs' intestines need food moving through all the time, or you get into really bad situations. See if you can get her favorite foods down her that way -- anything at all will be much better than nothing.
I"ve been trying, and even her favorite romaine lettuce or alfafa hay isn't getting her to eat at all. At this point I'm worried to the point of throwing up myself. I tried to get a syringe with a rubber attachment behind her teeth and she just let out a piercing screech until I put her back in her cage, even after I pulled the syringe out.
 

Sephina

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Honestly I think the issue is how long the left tooth got pulled. It's honestly past her bottom lip and I'm not sure she can even close her mouth to chew/swallow.
 

bpatters

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I don't think I'd try again with the syringe. But if you can get her to calm down on your lap, and try giving her the matchsticks in the side of her mouth, she might eat something. I'm not a vet, but I don't trust what the emergency vet told you about taking away the veggies. If she'll eat veggies and hay, that's way better than nothing. And I doubt she could get pellets in her mouth.
 
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