Teeth Sly's Medical Thread

Thank you so much, @spy9doc. You've been one of Sly' s biggest champions right from the get go, and we greatly appreciate your support!
That was the idea behind the new 4 week checkup, to make sure it's done before it becomes an emergency. I do know that it'll likely become more frequent, unfortunately. Oddly enough, however, he really is back to normal self tonight. As we speak he's sitting at a pile of fresh greens, going back and forth for the odd drink. Doing very, very well.

Morning update:

I have a very bright eyed and bushy tailed Sly piggie this morning! He was waiting in the corner for me when I woke up at 6:15 (usual time), ate a very generous slice of red pepper, and a large spoonful of critical care.
He then went back into his cage, ate some hay and spent a good amount of time at his pellet bowl. Absolutely no signs of anesthesia left at all, I'm very surprised at how well he's come out of this round.

I believe @spy9doc is correct in that this surgery wasn't in emergency territory, and there didn't appear to be much if any cuts or scrapes in his mouth (if he's in pain he binge drinks and he hasn't done any of that) so he's been able to resume a normal routine much, much quicker.

spy9doc said:

Yea, Sly! Sparky & Chip send their best.

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Thank you to you, and Chip and Sparky! My fellas send back their wheeks and grumbles!

Update:

Sly continues to do well, showing no signs of anesthesia or pain. His water consumption and appetite are normal, and strangely even seems a little happier and more active.

Had a slightly distressing phone conversation with the vet yesterday afternoon. He told me that the front bottom molars are the ones that are getting overgrown, nothing wrong with the top ones. What's distressing me is that, Dr Ker told me that the molars that are the problem, are also slightly loose. He did say that it could be due to his age, and degeneration of the connective tissue.

He did go on to say that there are NO signs of infection. His jaw is fine, and no indication whatsoever of gum disease or any other problem. Just that when touched with an instrument, they move ever so slightly.

Just curious if anyone else may have encountered this, what it might mean and/or what their experiences might be, and what to expect for the future.

Thanks, @lisa325. I was really, really worried when he first came home because he seemed so much more out of it than usual, but I have the feeling he wasn't out of surgery as long this time as in times past. Indeed, only a few hours later he was SO much better.

Update:

Weekly weigh ins are done. As expected, Sly dropped weight, but he dropped more than expected. I suspect that the weight loss started right after last Sunday's weigh in.

Sly was 1225 grams last Sunday. There's always about a 20 grams or so difference between the vet's scale and mine. Dr Ker weighed him the morning of his surgery and his scale read 1225, which led me to believe Sly had already begun losing weight. This morning, he is at his lightest point ever, at 1189. So with the surgery factored in, he has lost 36 grams in one week.

frotoandsam said:

Glad he is feeling better. Sorry he lost some weight. That is worrying about the loose teeth but at least the vet said no infection...

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At this time, no infection or sign of gum disease. He also made sure to mention that a month is a long time in the life of a guinea pig. A month to us is close to a year for them, so consequently when things happen with a piggie, they tend to happen fast. He's coming up on 6, so he is elderly.

Update:

A new development in Sly's journey. Just tonight his bottom incisors seem to have started spreading out from the top down, spreading in a v shape. His top incisors are still angled, but the bottom ones seem to have split apart. There's only about a millimeter gap between them, I know when I saw his teeth this morning giving him his syringe of glucosamine they weren't like that. Not long before I saw it tonight he was pulling on the grids with his teeth after I closed him in his cage for cleaning.

Just wondering if anyone has seen this before or may know what's going on.

20 minutes later I gave him his night time veggies. His bottom teeth were back to normal. Is it possible something somehow got wedged between his teeth? This morning I gave him his slice of red pepper they were still normal.

lisa325 said:

How strange! Of course I have no idea how something like that could have happened, but I'm really pleased he's back to normal <3

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He's lost a little more weight, but only 5 grams. He's only 9 days past surgery so I KIND OF expected it, but hoped not. Looking for a turnaround next Sunday.

He's been SO HAPPY, though. Caught a few rusty wheeks out of him, and he's been running around making piggie noises, and playing Godzilla Pig. It's so nice to see, but I really want to put some weight on him.

bpatters said:

I'm starting to feel like a broken record, folks. But five grams is NOT weight loss. It's less than the weight of ONE TEASPOON of water, and is easily accounted for by daily fluctuations in what they've eaten/drank/peed/pooped. You'll drive yourself, and the rest of us, nuts obsessing about five gram weight losses and gains.

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I know that, which is why I said ONLY 5 grams. I was actually going to post that he probably peed before I weighed him, but I guess I kind of felt that that was already understood. It's just that I'd rather him GAIN it, not lose it.

Update for those following Sly's journey:

Sly continues to do well. We are just over a month from his last surgery. After his weight dropping to 1182 grams back on Sept 24th, as of this mornings' weigh in he's back up to his fairly usual 1220 grams. That number seems to have been a touchstone for him, as he's hovered somewhere around that mark since the middle of July. He's gone down as far as 1182, and been as high as 1243. I understand that this isn't a lot of weight, but Sly is SO slender now that I knew he had gained as soon as I picked him up this morning. I could feel a difference in him. I would rather that number increase instead of decrease, no matter how large or small because it all adds up.

He's eating VERY well, although still has very little interest in hay. He eats quite a bit of his Oxbow pellets. He ate his entire bowl of veggies this afternoon, something he hasn't done in quite a while. He water consumption is also normal, he isn't binge drinking at all like he does when his mouth hurts.

I am comfortable at the moment with where he is, however he did that funny little head twist when he was eating yesterday. Like something is caught in his mouth. He hasn't done that since before his last surgery, so I know his molars are getting long again. He has an appointment on the 30th of October, so I'm sure he's likely to have another planing that week.

Other than that, he's just a sweet, happy pig. Same old Sly.

Thank you so much, Lisa. Sly appreciates your words of encouragement as much as I do. He does seem to tolerate the planings well, although he was a little slower coming out of the last one. I expected that, honestly. I think that's as much a testament to his vet, as it is to Sly's drive to live.

I do believe the reason he won't eat his hay has to do with his teeth, rather than the other way around. I think the unwillingness to eat hay is a symptom, not the cause. He eats his timothy pellets no problem, and he'll eat alfalfa hay. Anything else he has no real interest in. He DOES occasionally eat his timothy hay, but nothing compared to what he used to and the hooligans eat far more hay than anything else.

It is what it is, and as his vet says, at least this is a problem we can help him with. It's a manageable problem. He just deals with it like a champ.

Update for those following Sly's journey, or just interested in life with a pig who deals with malocclusion:


Sly went this morning for his 7 week checkup, and, as expected, his molars are again overgrown. They are not critical yet, his mouth isn't cut up, nor is his tongue cut, trapped or abraded. In short, just in time for surgery before anything becomes a problem.

He is now booked for surgery November 14th. His vet feels that he will not have any issues between now and then, but if a problem does arise he will take him on an emergency basis and do his molars immediately. He prefers to do surgery in the mornings, and have the afternoon to monitor the pig for any potential problems. He will however do the surgery in the afternoon if it becomes an emergency.

His weight was 1275 grams, up from the last time he visited Dr Ker, and he was very pleased by this. So generally, where we're at is that Sly requires planing every 7-8 weeks or so. He turns 6 at the end of next month.

lisa325 said:

Bless him <3 He has certainly been on a long journey with those darn teeth, but he keeps on going like the trooper he is. I'm sure his 6th birthday will be a big celebration for you, as it should be .

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It certainly has been a long journey, Lisa. But, due to this forum and a great vet, we've had, so far, almost another year with Sly since it started. We are very, very thankful for that.

He most definitely is a trooper with the surgeries, he takes it all in stride and always just seems to be a happy fella no matter what. We're going to have to figure out something special for the big number 6 for him!

Update:

Sly has now had his 5th molar planing, on Nov 14th. All went well, and Sly came home late yesterday afternoon.

He was a very happy, energetic boy when he got home, exploring everything and making sure that none of his stuff was messed with while he was gone. It was quite comical to see.

This morning, he's not eating well. Usually his slice of red pepper, even after the surgeries, is gone within 10 to fifteen minutes at most. Then he has a glob of Critical Care, which is gone in 5-10.

This morning, 3/4 of the red pepper is still there 45 minutes after being given to him. And he's taken the last 20-25 minutes to eat the CC, which he's just abandoned and left a good chunk of. He's now gone back to the pepper slice.

I do understand that his mouth is likely rather sore, but this is out of character even for him after the surgery. The vet may have nicked something, so all I can do really is monitor him and see how he does. I'm sure he'll improve.

He's just had his morning dose of metacam, so we'll see how the days play out.

I do know that the anesthetic is cumulative, and I know that he takes a hit every time it's used on him. I understood that going in. We have taken the approach to space them out as long as possible, and it was 8 weeks between this surgery and the last. It was about a week too long, the few days before his surgery he was having some trouble eating, and his drinking had increased. We've come to the conclusion that 7 weeks is the "sweet spot" so to speak.

I neglected to update further from this morning. By noon, when he got his afternoon vegetables, he destroyed them. Ate almost every last thing he was given, save for a few scraps that he likely couldn't be bothered with. He was actually quite active when he got home yesterday, more so than in previous surgeries. We were quite pleasantly surprised. As for this morning, we chalked it up, actually, so something you've said before. No matter how good the vet is, sometimes they may nick something and cause them some more discomfort. He IS slower eating right now, but his mouth is also likely rather sore. His poops are good and his drinking, though slightly elevated, is also good.

You are absolutely correct in that I love my pigs with everything I have, and everything I am. So I know you understand, as you know I understand, how very painful it is to lose one. I'll do everything I can to keep them healthy and happy, but I also know that when it's time to let go, as much as it will hurt me it will be far kinder to do so than let any of them suffer. I can do that for them, if it's what is necessary.

I want you to know that I greatly appreciate your advice, and your concern. Your friendship means a great deal to me, and your wisdom is, and will continue to be appreciated. You know what my pigs mean to me, so anything I can do for them at all is what I will do. I think sometimes I have more of their best interests at heart than anything else!

Update for Mr. Sly...

The hits seem to keep on coming for the poor little man. I finally got to have a conversation with his vet on Friday. Sly had some issues with his upper molars now, they were beginning to become a little overgrown, and I wasn't really surprised to hear that. Dr Ker also thought that his incisors were getting a little long, so he trimmed a few millimetres from the upper and lower to level them off (they were also angled). One of his bottom incisors must have developed a crack, and even though Sly rarely chews the bars, he did that night and broke the end off of one of his teeth.

He is still able to eat, and is on metacam for pain management. We have found a few creative ways to help him to continue eating, such as wetting his pellets in a special bowl, and shaving down carrots with a potato peeler. Of course he also gets Critical Care. He really seems to enjoy both!

Unfortunately tonight, all of a sudden, he developed a very pronounced limp. He is favoring his back left leg, and sometimes dragging his toes when he walks. We think that he may have gotten his toes caught in the carpet or fleece, or even one of his beds. It developed VERY suddenly.

The poor little fella turns six this weekend, and this really isn't the celebration that he needs, or deserves.

Update for Sly:

I sent a photo of Sly's teeth to his vet. He got a hold of me on Friday and asked me to bring him in, at no charge. He wants to ensure that the end of the tooth that broke off hasn't split vertically, and he also wants to make sure that his leg is healing.

Sly is on his way to see the Dr. as we speak. The limping is all but gone, except for when he runs. He's using it no problem and even standing up at the bars with his full weight on it.

His teeth even appear to be wearing back to normal rather quickly. He usually doesn't let me see his teeth very often, and the picture I got to send to the vet was pure dumb luck. I did get a rather quick look earlier and they seem to be wearing very well. We will know for sure when he gets home.

Update:

I failed to update Tuesday after Sly came home. Dr Ker was unhappy that Sly had lost weight since his surgery, but he generally does for a couple of weeks after his surgery so that isn't terribly concerning. He was also in disbelief that after viewing the photo he was sent, that Sly's incisors have basically worn themselves almost perfectly straight in about 10 days. He was fairly confident that he would be doing some dental work for Sly when he came in and was pleasantly surprised to find that that wasn't the case. His limp is also now gone. I see the occasional hop with that leg when he runs, but he's standing on his hind legs at the cage bars on it begging for treats, so I'm sure it isn't bothering him much.