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Mouth Issues related to tooth operation—very complicated medical history

TheGPigs

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My 2 yr old boar, Gideon, had his front teeth trimmed and his back teeth planed about a month ago. My vet had some issues with the procedure including bruising his tongue and cutting his cheek (which bled pretty badly). They couldn’t get to one tooth due to the bleeding. They sent him home with CC, pain meds, and an antibiotic. A week goes by and he still isn’t great. He’s lethargic and hardly eating, we have to force feed CC. Vet took xrays and put him under again to fix the tooth they couldn’t get to initially. Unfortunately, he’s still having to be force-fed 4 times a day at that point. Another week goes by and he still won’t eat, though he’s interested in food. The vet suggests to take him off antibiotics and start a pro-gut medication to entice him to eat and poop better. After a week, he still won’t eat regular food or veggies. I’ve tried every kind of veggie at the grocery store, but he doesn’t eat anything. He’ll take little nibbles, but never eating more than half of anything I give. He’s taking water by syringe as well and he won’t eat hay (tried two kinds). The problem this week is that he’s been acting more lethargic, he has a little bit of crust around his eyes, and he’s losing hair under his chin in big chunks. He’s been having soft stools which I attributed to eating only CC for a month, but he tends to sit in it and get it all over. I wash his feet off twice a day. I’m concerned about the hair loss. Has anyone else had issues with recovering pigs after having their teeth worked on? He really should be eating regular food by now... I could t get a great picture of his chin, but you can see some baldness. F838045A-E93E-4BA5-A8DF-AFB6C51CE292.jpgDFBE2138-9F23-48B6-A2D3-02C3BC84AFD9.jpg
 

Guinea Pig Papa

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I think you desperately need a new vet.

I have now had 3 boars who have had dental surgeries. My boar Sly endured 11 of them over an almost two year period. Both of my current boars had dental surgeries this week. Your vet should never trim the incisors unless theyre so long they can pierce his gums or lip. Even the best vet can nick the gums, but none of my boars EVER went that long without eating. In fact, they were all trying to eat immediately after coming out of the anesthetic.

Have you been weighing Gideon? Have you been syringing him Vitamin C, which is critical especially now that he can only eat Critical Care? He is likely lethargic because he is largely in pain and isn't getting enough to eat. I just spent the last six weeks syringe feeding my boy Punkin every 4 hours.

It sounds like Gideon desperately needs a different vet. In the meantime, I would see if you can get some metacam from your current vet for him, and get yourself some Oasis Vitamin C drops to syringe him in his water.
 

TheGPigs

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He’s been weighed several times. He lost 2 grams initially. While he stayed with the vet, and we’ve maintained that weight since. He lost his top teeth, so the vet trimmed his bottom teeth because they had overgrown. I crush up a vitamin C tablet in his water every day. I live in a very remote area. I was lucky to find the vet I have. Nearly everyone in a 2hr radius doesn’t do small animals or exotics.
 

spy9doc

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It sounds like Gideon desperately needs a different vet. In the meantime, I would see if you can get some metacam from your current vet for him, and get yourself some Oasis Vitamin C drops to syringe him in his water.

I agree......absolutely get a new Vet! I had a similar experience with an otherwise competent Vet, but she botched the dental surgery so badly that my boy almost died.

Just to clarify GPP's remark about Oasis Vita-Drops (Vit. C drops). Do NOT put the drops in his drinking water because it will change the taste of the water and he likely won't drink it. Either syringe the drops straight or else mix them with a little water. Syringing any liquid medication is the only way to know that he is actually ingesting it.

The Vit C should help with the baldness. When my Sparky became very ill with CHF (congestive heart failure), he began losing copious amounts of hair in addition to the other symptoms. I immediately began syringing Vit. C and within a short time, he stopped losing hair and other symptoms disappeared. Vit. C can be very helpful with one's immunity whether human or cavy.
 

bpatters

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I'd find a new vet even if I had to travel more than two hours for one. Not even all exotic vets are good at treating dental issues, and I certainly wouldn't want the vet you've got treating my guinea pig.
 

TheGPigs

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What exactly did the vet do that was so bad?
 

bpatters

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Guinea pigs almost never need their front teeth trimmed. Vets who do it often do so out of ignorance about the length of guinea pig teeth. Bruising the tongue and cutting the cheek so badly that he couldn't finish the procedure are big red flags to me.

Not even all exotic vets can do dental work correctly.
 

Cathryn

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My 2 yr old boar, Gideon, had his front teeth trimmed and his back teeth planed about a month ago. My vet had some issues with the procedure including bruising his tongue and cutting his cheek (which bled pretty badly). They couldn’t get to one tooth due to the bleeding. They sent him home with CC, pain meds, and an antibiotic. A week goes by and he still isn’t great. He’s lethargic and hardly eating, we have to force feed CC. Vet took xrays and put him under again to fix the tooth they couldn’t get to initially. Unfortunately, he’s still having to be force-fed 4 times a day at that point. Another week goes by and he still won’t eat, though he’s interested in food. The vet suggests to take him off antibiotics and start a pro-gut medication to entice him to eat and poop better. After a week, he still won’t eat regular food or veggies. I’ve tried every kind of veggie at the grocery store, but he doesn’t eat anything. He’ll take little nibbles, but never eating more than half of anything I give. He’s taking water by syringe as well and he won’t eat hay (tried two kinds). The problem this week is that he’s been acting more lethargic, he has a little bit of crust around his eyes, and he’s losing hair under his chin in big chunks. He’s been having soft stools which I attributed to eating only CC for a month, but he tends to sit in it and get it all over. I wash his feet off twice a day. I’m concerned about the hair loss. Has anyone else had issues with recovering pigs after having their teeth worked on? He really should be eating regular food by now... I could t get a great picture of his chin, but you can see some baldness.View attachment 86334View attachment 86335
Hi, did Gideon recover ?
 
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