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Teeth Sly's Medical Thread

Guinea Pig Papa

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I really should merge this with another thread I had about Sly a couple of years ago, and I will probably get to that. What I'm wondering, is if any of our Canadian members here have had their pigs teeth clipped (molars and fronts) and if they have, what have the costs associated with that been? Sly is going to need some dental work in the near future and I'm just curious ballpark what I'm going to need dollar wise. Any help would be appreciated. Sly is a senior and I'm very afraid this is going to be difficult on him.

Edited by bpatters:

Prior medical threads for this pig:

https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/107385-Guinea-pig-with-possible-eye-problem?highlight=
https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/114217-Senior-boar-weight-loss?highlight=
 

Guinea Pig Papa

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His incisors ARE angled. The thread about normal weight loss in another pig is what caught my attention. You and I spoke about Sly's weight loss a couple of months ago and it has stayed inconsistent. He is still around the normal weight, he loses a bit steadily then gains some back, loses steadily and gains back. But the thread about the other pig made me double check his teeth, and another thread about excessive water drinking also caused concern. That's when I double checked and saw his incisors are angled. He still eats normally, doesn't have the slobbers or drop chunks of vegetables, but I know now that there is an issue. I was just curious if anyone in the same province I live in has had any experience in this same area and can advise what the costs roughly are. Not that it matters, I'll spend the money anyway. I would just like to know what I'm up against.
 

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Agreed. I'm going to call his regular vet first who is an exotic vet, and an older gentleman to boot and try to get him in. It isn't critical yet, as we speak he's happily munching Oxbow pellets. With the holidays coming up I'll have to find out how to get him in or even if I can and after he sees his regular vet, If I'm not comfortable with what transpires there I will take him elsewhere. Sly's health and well being come first.
 

Guinea Pig Papa

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Thank you Sally! That's what I was looking for. As I said, he isn't critical at all, I've just noticed the issue. I kept waking up last night and going to check on my fellas (as usual) and every time I checked on Sly he was eating, naturally. But, now that I know there's an issue it needs to be corrected.
 

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I believe I started the thread about the pig with slanted teeth you mentioned. I'll just warn you that it can get serious very quickly. He was eating fine, and abruptly stopped (he ate some, just not much), and I didn't notice for 2-3 days. He was a small pig to begin with and really couldn't afford to lose the weight he had dropped.

My vet never even mentioned trimming the front teeth, as she knew the real problem was with the molars. As I understand, work on molars requires sedation and has to be performed every 4-6 weeks usually. She had done the procedure many times before, and I wouldn't have trusted anyone who just wanted to trim his front teeth or didn't offer to do an X-ray. So make sure your vet seems aware of all of this. Not sure your case will be as serious, but my vet knew what was up as soon as she weighed him and looked at his front teeth. Don't mean to scare you or anything, just sharing my experience! Good luck!

You WERE the one who started that thread, Kelsey, and I thank you for it. Sly has an appointment with his vet, who unfortunately can't get him in until the 22nd. If it takes a turn for the worse I will rush him there and basically make them look at him. (That's what I did with Poopy back in May) Sly is a large pig, and his weight loss has amounted to about 50-60 grams total over about 2 months. He is still 1365 grams, so he's still hefty. He is constantly being monitored so I'll know in short order if he stops. Pickings for exotic vets in my immediate area are slim but I will still be looking around.
 

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Update : Sly is having surgery this afternoon. Please, please keep your fingers crossed and keep him in your thoughts.
 

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Update 2:

Sly, my little Christmas pig, is now home. Surgery went extremely well. Dr Ker said he's the first pig in his entire career to let him use the buccal pad separator to check his teeth without being sedated. We were told he would be groggy for perhaps a day or two, and to encourage him to eat whatever he wants, especially his hay. He had a needle of Baytril presumaby to ward off any post op infection and metacam for pain relief. His front molars had grown inward, trapping his tongue. I owe a heartfelt thank you to Kelsey36, for without her post and loss of her pig I wouldn't have known to check. I owe Sly's life to everyone here on these forums, so thank you everyone. Sly is home and is already eating hay and chilling out!
 

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Thank you to everyone. I was extremely busy with work yesterday so I didn't get to see Sly much, but I understand that as soon as he came home, he climbed out of his carrier and went straight to a pile of fresh hay, and sat there and munched for roughly 2 1/2 hours! He was still pretty groggy and stumbling a bit, but overall seemed to be doing extremely well. This morning he had a treat and continued munching his hay. I was literally on pins and needles yesterday, and spent the day with a pounding stress headache worrying about my little buddy. When I got the call that he was ok, I really did feel like a tremendous weight had suddenly been lifted off of me.

Finally, Merry Christmas everyone! I got my gift a little early, and it was worth every nickel!
 

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It sounds as though Sly is almost back to normal? Way to go, little buddy! Wheeks and prayers from Chip & Sparky for continued health for your herd. Happy holidays!

And a VERY Happy Holidays to you, and thank you and Chip and Sparky for all your support! Sly is doing remarkably well, and I continue to see improvement in everything he does. Didn't really realize how bad it had gotten until he's doing much better and I realize all of a sudden how much was missing.
 

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That's great to hear that he has bounced back and is pain free!
Yes, Sally he is doing extremely well. And I also want to thank you for replying to this thread. Your information on what to expect from the vet and the costs associated with that really helped prepare for what was coming and everything went off without a hitch. I also want to send you a big thank you for your help in this. As I said, were it not for the great people of this forum I wouldn't have known what to look for and most likely would have lost him to a slow, painful and needless death. I don't need any Christmas gifts, I got mine Thursday. :)
 

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So, tonight I was checking Sly's teeth, not because I suspected a problem but just because I'm nervous. I didn't want to mess with him much because he just had his surgery Thursday afternoon. I picked him up and sat him on the edge of the bed and it seems his front incisors are angled again! I'm just curious if that can happen in only 5 days or is it more likely that the vet didn't do his front teeth? Now I'm worried even more because if that happened in such a short period of time, what else might be going on?
 

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I will definitely do that. Is there a reason the vet wouldn't have trimmed them?
 

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So just out of curiosity for anyone else whose pig has gone through this procedure.... It's been 10 days since Sly had his procedure. I weighed him Christmas morning, 3 days after the surgery and he had of course lost some weight (20 grams from the previous Sunday). I understand that's to be expected. He seems to be eating more and is also eating better (meaning he seems to be having less trouble and can eat quicker) and yet when I weighed him this morning he has again dropped 13 grams. Is this weight loss typical for awhile after this procedure or should I be seeing improvement in his weight already? I've not gone through this and since he is a senior this is definitely a concern. He is still just over 1300 grams.
 

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Good to know. My only concern is that even after the surgery, his weight is still trending downward. Overall he's lost a hundred grams now since the end of October, and I had hoped that this would at the very least stabilize, if not go up slightly every week. I understand that it's hard for an adult pig to gain weight, but losing it to me isn't acceptable either. 13 grams doesn't seem like much, and it isn't, but added up about the same loss week after week it amounts to something. So all in all he's lost four ounces in 2 months. I will continue to monitor him, of course. But the steady weight loss bothers me, small amount or not.
 

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Well, here's hoping this should be the last update for Sly on this issue. He's eating and drinking normally now. He seems to have picked up his activity level a fair bit as well. His last four weigh ins, his weight has remained virtually unchanged, so I know he's eating enough to sustain himself now. He's going to go back to his vet in a couple of weeks for a checkup, but i'm not really expecting any more issues. Here's to hoping! One thing that makes me a little sad though, is that he doesn't make any noises any more. No wheeks, no happy noises. Just a few rumbles here and there and teeth chattering. Nothing else. Poopy did the same thing when he got older, so I have no idea what the reason could be other than just age. Anyone else experience this?
 

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I have a feeling a lot of it has to do with being spoiled too lol. They all used to wheek like crazy when asked if they want their yum yums (vegetables) but now they have their normal routine and know when they're coming so they slowly stop "singing for their supper" so to speak. Poopy still made his happy noises when he walked around (a low pitched "bdup bdup bdup") but didn't wheek at all for the last couple of years and Sly hasn't wheeked since around the time Poopy passed away. Sly has recovered just fine, but the lack of happy piggy noises just saddens me. I love hearing them.
 

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I just wanted to let you know, bpatters. It's been about 7 weeks now since Sly's surgery, and his incisors have indeed straightened themselves out, which is a huge relief. His weight also stayed virtually unchanged for a few weeks, and the last few weeks he has actually made some gains. He's back up to almost 1340 grams. He has also started "talking" again. I've gotten a few rusty wheeks out of him and he runs around at vegetable time making happy piggy noises. Slowly but surely, he's turning back into the old Sly we knew again. He gets along extremely well with the little fellas, who are now just over four months old.
 

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He's doing so good, and I owe it all to the people of this forum. Can never thank you, bpatters, or anyone else enough. My pigs mean the world to me.
 

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Thank you, and Sly thanks you too! He's pretty much his old self again, but he is getting old too. He's a senior, so slowing down is expected. But I can't believe the turnaround from before the surgery to now!
 
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