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Teeth Sly's Medical Thread

Guinea Pig Papa

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Yes, The little grizzly is housed alone, so leaving the oats out won't be an issue. Thank you so much for the suggestion, I hope it will work for him. Do you think it'll help with his teeth? I'm thinking probably not but hoping for the best.
 

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I'll try the corn husks again, he would barely touch them the first go round but that was before his surgery. I haven't tried them since. Even the little ones didn't care for them.
 

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Actually, yes. I leave my grass unsprayed and leave my side yard long for just that reason. I even make sure it's watered so they get good stuff!

Sly has always had a problem with sticky poops since he was just a wee fella so he doesn't get a lot of veggies, he's been cut waaaaaaaaay back.
 

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Update:

Sly's weight has hovered right around the 1200 gram mark for the last month following surgery. 1192 low, 1205 high. He had a checkup yesterday, and his vet says his teeth are getting long again but not enough to require planing at this point.

His vet also assured me that at 1200 grams, he is still a hefty pig and that I needn't worry about him being down that far from previously, as he is getting older.( Sly was over 1400 grams) I told him that I will be bringing Sly in for regular 4 week checkups as I do NOT want his teeth getting to the point that surgery is an immediate emergency like that last two. Our vet is fantastic, He only charged $10 for checking Sly's teeth yesterday!
 

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Update:

Sly had his checkup this morning, and is scheduled for surgery Friday morning. His teeth are not really bad yet, but the vet feels that a trim is necessary so that they don't become an emergency and cause him injury and pain. He's going away for a two week vacation and felt that it was better to do it sooner than later.

In the interim, Sly has been making small weight gains each week (He is up from 1192g post surgery, and as of Sunday was at 1230g. Nothing massive for sure, but posting steady gains each week is better than posting losses.
 

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I certainly hope so! The days he goes in for his molar planings are pure hell for me.
 

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How well I remember those days with Chester. Sparky & Chip send wheeks of encouragement to both you and Sly!

I can never thank you enough for your continued help and support. Thank you to you, and Sparky and Chip. Give them ear skritches for me!
 

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The little bear cub has returned home after a rather lengthy stay at the vets. Our vet was concerned because it didn't appear to him that Sly was eating, but of course Sly being Sly, he was just sneaking it when he wasn't being watched.

He was hiding in his carrier with his back to the door. I sent him up with a bag of fresh green grass, a bowl of Oxbow pellets and a couple of cucumber slices for hydration, if he didn't feel like drinking.

When I got there to pick him up, his doctor realized that there was a good dent in the pellets, and the cucumber was gone and so was most of the grass. Sly was just giving them the business.

He's home now, he did some laps around the cage and his pen, went and trolled the baby pigs, and is now flopped in his pigloo lying down staring out at the world with squinty eyes. King of the castle.
 

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He really is. As wobbly as he must be from the anesthetic, he was still climbing the bars when I came home tonight. He's doing surprisingly well, and my tension headache is gone as well. :)
 

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Update:

We are now just over 3 weeks post surgery. This was Sly's 3rd planing since Christmas. His weight stayed virtually unchanged for the last two weeks, until today. He was at 1220 grams three Sundays in a row, but this morning he has gone up to 1243 grams.

He seems to be eating well, likes to troll the "kids" at the cage bars, plays with his toys (yes, he's one of those pigs that will play with toys) and in general is doing very well.
 

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Sly likes simple things, really. He has a couple of cat toys (just plastic balls with a bell inside) that he either rolls around with his nose and follows, or he picks them up in his teeth and will shake them to hear the bell ring.

He loves toilet paper tubes, he'll occasionally just chew them but mostly rolls them with his nose and follows them around, or pick them up and toss them over his head.

And last but not least, his plastic bowl. He'll also push that around with his nose, and either flip it on its side to roll it around, or he'll simply flip it upside down and forget about it. As soon as I flip it right side up again, off he goes to pushing or flipping it again.

He has a heavy ceramic bowl with his pellets in it, and he'll more often than not drag it with his teeth over to where his pigloo is and flip the pigloo on top of the bowl so he can "eat in".

He also has a plush cat bed, that he likes to hide under from time to time and walk around with overtop of him like a turtle. The baby pigs seem to like to do that, too.
 

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Update:

4 weeks now post surgery. Sly is still generally eating well on his own, even though he lost 15 grams this particular weigh in. Putting that in perspective, Scooter gained a whopping 2 grams and Punkin ALSO lost 15 grams this time around so not really all that distressing.

I've recently noticed something odd about the wear in his incisors, however. His top incisors are beginning to wear at an angle again (or maybe never really straightened fully, that's also a possibility) but the odd thing is that the bottom incisors are wearing in a V shape. It almost seems like the point of the top incisor is wearing directly down the middle of the bottom teeth.

Has anyone seen this before, or know what it may indicate? I'm wondering if perhaps all this malocclusion is misaligning his jaw, perhaps? Any input would be appreciated. His next checkup is Sept 6, just a week away.
 

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Thank you for the information. This is a new development, and I think it's due to the recurring malocclusion. His incisors have angled before, but not worn in this fashion. Kinda at a loss as to what this might mean.
 

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Update:

Sly had a checkup this morning, unfortunately the frequency of molar planings appears to be increasing. I can't say this is a surprise, I was warned that this would likely happen but I was just so hopeful for Sly that he would have to endure as little of this as possible.

The good news is that he HAS gained some weight (His vet was quite pleased by that development this morning) but, the downside is that we are only 6 weeks past his last surgery, and he is scheduled for another next Thursday morning. That makes it 7 weeks past the last surgery. The previous was 8 weeks.

The other good news is that Sly was pissed about having his teeth checked. Usually he just sits there like a good, mellow pig but it appears he's still got some fight in him!

Fingers crossed for the little bear as he endures yet another indignity.
 

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Thank you, Lisa. I don't even care about the money, I just wish Sly didn't have to suffer through it. He's such a sweet boy, he really doesn't deserve it. Not that any of them do, of course.
 

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Hello all, update on Mr Sly, for anyone who has been following his journey.

Molar planing number 4 scheduled for today, he was dropped off at the vets office at 8 a.m. this morning. I sat him on my chest last night for a slice of cucumber and some Dad time, and I could hear his teeth clacking together, I'm assuming the overgrown parts in the back.

He stood at the gate to his carrier, staring at me as they carried him away into the back. He knows how to get me, every single time.

I was told to call at 3 p.m. to check on his progress. Will make another update when he returns home.
 

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Thank you, [MENTION=39335]wigglemish[/MENTION]. Sly thanks you too :)
 

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Update for Sly:

He is home now, a fair bit groggier than he has been after past molar trims. He's walking, stumbling of course like a drunken sailor, and he IS eating. He went to his pellet bowl and munched one, then stood there kind of zoned out for a bit. I mixed up some Critical Care, and he knows the sound of that well. He ran out and stood at the bars waiting for it, and is presently stuffing his face with it. The fact that he can eat at all makes me very happy.

Will update later tonight and tomorrow with some further progress.
 

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It's always good to see a pig looking forward to feeding. Best of luck, Sly!

He's eaten all of the Critical Care I gave him. Keeping observations to see if he goes in his hay or his pellets, but I will likely treat him to a carrot a little later this evening, and he'll get more Critical Care just to be sure.
 

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So, 3 1/2 hours after bringing him home, Sly has:

Eaten a generous helping of critical care.
Eaten a slice of apple.
Is drinking plenty of water.
Eating whatever hay is in his corner.
Has also been into his pellet bowl.

He has been out trolling the baby pigs at the fence and is currently trucking around his pen (maybe stumbling a bit) but is FAR more active than just a few hours ago. Overall I'm VERY pleased with his progress post-surgery.

I'm sure that will fade somewhat tomorrow when some of the pain medicine and anesthetic wear off, I'm expecting that. He does have 3 days of metacam to help with pain management.
 
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