Sick Hooked Teeth, Terrible Weight Loss, Op tomorrow

[tiggy]

Hi there, this is my first post on here, and one I hoped I?d never have to make...

So my guinea pig, Tiggy, here?s a factfile :
-he?s 5/6 years old.
-6-8 months ago he weighed 1200kg, today vets weighed him & he was 630kg. I knew he had lost some gradually but he?s dropped an awful lot recently (past few weeks).
-he has ad lib hay, is fed on Burgess, obviously always has access to water... has plenty of chew toys but he?s never really been interested in chewing; he prefers the edible kinds !
-uneautered boar, never been under anaesthetic.

So after him dropping so much weight I was getting concerned and scheduled a vet appointment. I also noticed green coming from his mouth, and it had beaded fur together, and I thought it must be an abscess of some kind. He?s also looking more lethargic than usual, and he?s puffing himself out and hiding under his bridge. He?s the most social pig ever, and is usually at the bars waiting for me to take him out, so I knew he really wasn?t himself. He?s also not been eating as many pellets at this point either, and his water intake is lower than usual. He?s still picking away at his hay as much as he can however.

I took him to the vets today, and apparently his hind teeth are hooked over and causing a bridge over his tongue. She told me that he?s going to have to go under anaesthetic (at this point I?m feeling queasy because it?s not something I was expecting) and have them grounded down. I asked the receptionist if it was high risk and she said yes. I?m absolutely in bits right now, I?m so worried! He?s got his appointment scheduled for tomorrow morning. I?m so scared.

Currently I?ve mushed up some pellets and he?s still picking at his hay but he?s eating some mushy pellet every now and again while going back and forth from his hay. While he?s snoozing still, he?s perked up for some reason more than about 2 days ago and he?s looking a bit more lively if I try to play with him.

On the upside, apparently he?s got a super good healthy heart, so I?m hopeful this will improve his chances, and he?s healthy otherwise.

Anyone had a similar pig go through this? Anyone had a pig go through this full stop? Any words of wisdom? Any. I?m desperate not to lose my best little pal.. Nobody else seems to understand but I?m sure if your on this forum you do haha!

I?m going to drop him off tomorrow, do an AS exam mock and then hopefully pick him up when he?s ready. It?s probably pointless me even going because I?m only going to be worrying hopelessly about him.

And afterwards, is there anything I can do to help him gain weight? I?m hoping he?ll put it back on after his teeth are fixed up, and I?ve ordered some Critical Care which should be here Fri/Sat. Anything you can recommend for weight gain? I?ve been combing forums but I?ve got tons of conflicting advice.

Hope this all makes sense, I?m just trying to make sure I?m doing everything possible to make sure he?s okay.

Thank you , Fleur & Tiggy

 

[bpatters]

There are many, many pigs who have had their teeth ground down and lived to tell the tale.

The very best thing you could have done for him, and can now do for him, is to weigh him regularly. If you'd seen a vet when his weight dropped by 50 or 60 grams, he'd be in a lot better condition than he is now having dropped 600 grams. (And FYI, it's grams, not kilograms). The surgery would have been quicker, he'd have been under anesthesia a much shorter time, and he'd have better body condition to recover from the surgery. Guinea pigs are pretty fragile animals. You need to pay close attention to their health and weight if they're going to remain in good condition.

Here's some more information: https://www.guinealynx.info/teeth.html

 

[Guinea Pig Papa]

Welcome to the forum, tiggy.

Ditto everything bpatters has said. I have a pig that has been dealing with this issue for over a year now, his thread may make for some interesting reading for you. It may help you understand what to expect, after tomorrow and in the coming months.

https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/114592-Sly-s-Medical-Thread

Please, let us know how your boy makes out. He has lost a terrible amount of weight, and I hope he comes through tomorrow ok. Be ready to handfeed him as he will likely need it.

 

[tiggy]

Thank you for your replies.

Trust me, I’m kicking myself for it. I always used to do it every week and he had a booklet I’d record it in, but when the scales broke I stopped... very silly of me I know.

I’ve spent a lot of this year away, and I don’t like to keep bringing him back and forth all the time, but I think I’m going to have to do that from now on. He never minded the travelling anyway.

Thank you for the links, I’ll let you know how he gets on and I’ll keep you updated. It’s hard for me, he’s been healthy all the years, at one point he was on a diet he was so obese. I’m so heartbroken because it’s my fault. Handfeeding isn’t an issue; I’ll do whatever he needs of course.

As for the kilograms, sorry! Totally wasn’t thinking, I’m a stressing a tad really, eek.

Praying everything goes to plan.

 

[Guinea Pig Papa]

My thoughts, and my herds are with you through this. I hope Sly's journey helps you. That's exactly why I've kept that journey recorded, so that it helps other people in similar situations.

 

[spy9doc]

My dearly departed Chester had the worst malocclusion that the Vet had ever seen! Unfortunately, I didn't confine all the posts to one thread so they would probably be difficult for you to find. But, that experience, which lasted over a year, had so many twists and turns that as a result I have been able to hand-hold GPP through his journey with Sly. Now he is the one who is able to offer sage advice.

Sparky and Chip send wheeks of encouragement to Tiggy!

 

[Guinea Pig Papa]

@spy9doc and you KNOW we can never repay you for all your kindness and advice. Paying it forward is the best way for us to thank you, and to help others!

 

[tiggy]

Thank you again guys, it?s meant so much to have the support, especially both of you and your own experiences with it. I managed to get through your thread and it?s given me a huge insight of what to expect in the future. It means a lot.

Onwards, this is the update on Tiggy:

I took him in today early in the morning, and he had his surgery around 1:00pm. I called just after 2pm and he had come round and everything had been successful with no complications. After reading your thread, I was expecting him to not want to eat. However, apparently as soon as he came round he was in his food bowl, the Vets had a right laugh about it, saying he was a bit of a ... well, pig really. I can?t wait to get some weight on him:

He?s come home now and he?s still a tad groggy, but personally I think he?s just a bit tired really more than anything. Since he has eaten a ton, the vets didn?t feel he needed any medication for pain. I?m still going to give him Critical Care, and I went out to get him some Readigrass to help with some weight gain and supplement his hay. Oh, and apparently it was only the back molars that got planed down. I?m going to schedule a check up soon but I?m just going to see how he goes for a few days. So pleased.

I?ll go get him some scales tomorrow! Gosh I?m so ridiculously happy. I?ve had several little meltdowns over the course of the day haha.

I?m just so happy to have him home.

Edit; is it just me my apostrophes are turning it question marks for? It’s really irritating!

 

[bpatters]

Arrghh! He ate because he still had pain meds on board from the surgery, but they'll wear off and he may not touch his food. So be prepared to hand-feed him -- he MUST eat, or he'll develop bloat or stomach ulcers, either of which can kill him. If it were me, I'd call the vet back and go get some pain meds for later tonight. It's almost impossible to plane a guinea pig's teeth without nicking the gums, tongue, or cheek, any of which is painful enough to keep him from eating.

It's the usual pattern for a pig to appear to feel good right after surgery, then "go downhill" for up to a day or so, then recover. It's almost always due to the effects of the pain meds wearing off, and the pig being in pain until the wounds are healed enough to not be so painful.

It's very hard for an adult guinea pig to gain weight, but don't push high-calcium foods on him. You'll wind up with him having bladder stones, and that's worse than being underweight. As long as you're giving him a high quality pellet (Oxbow or KMS Hayloft), good quality timothy hay (NOT from a small bag from a pet store or Target/Walmart), and good quality veggies, he'll slowly put the weight back on. You can sprinkle a few rolled oats over him veggies if you want.

 

[spy9doc]

Absolutely agree, @bpatters! Insist on some pain meds for your boy. Metacam is an anti-inflammatory and is often prescribed. If the pain is severe, Tramadol might be used, but molar planing generally doesn't warrant the use of Tramadol.

 

[Guinea Pig Papa]

I'll third that recommendation. My vet has always sent Sly home with 3 days of post-op Metacam, but I've since then discovered that he does better with around a weeks worth.

bpatters is right, however. He's eating because a) he's likely REALLY hungry and he's able to now, much better than he has in awhile.
b) he's not feeling much in the way of pain. That will change once the meds and anesthesia wear off.

Monitoring and being ready to handfeed will be critical. If you can get some more metacam, by all means do it.

Very, very pleased that your little man is doing so well. I'm very happy for you both!

 

[tiggy]

Thanks again for all your replies, I?m so thankful to have your support through this.

Firstly, sorry I didn?t make this very obvious, I?m in England in the UK, so things might be slightly different, but I?m hoping a lot is transferable information wise. He gets Burgess mint nuggets (pellets) and they are fairly highly regarded, and he also gets the Burgess timothy hay with chamomile, and also has some plain quality timothy with it. I also bought some Readigrass to mix in (obviously slowly add) the other day as I heard it was good for weight gain. He gets veggies daily.

This morning I got up, and he was asleep under his little bridge, but he heard me get up (he sleeps at the bottom of my bed haha) and popped out to come and see me like normal, which I wasn?t expecting. I?ve been monitoring his water intake as I?ve heard excessive drinking can signify mouth pain, but he?s not drank took much st all. Pretty normal; perhaps less than normal but nonetheless he is drinking. I went downstairs to go mush some of his pellets up before I started handfeeding Critical Care, and when I came back up, he was at his bowl tucking in to some pellets. I was pretty ecstatic! He only ate a couple, but I?m pleased regardless. I still offered him the mushy pellets, but he preferred to carry on eating the stuff out of his bowl. It confuses me slightly, because surely he?s in pain eating the hard pellets ?? He?s also still picking at his hay which is good, and had the energy to climb into the hay rack and sit eating in there. It?s wooden manger style, so safe for him to do so

Anyway, I still made up a teaspoon of Critical Care (the instructions / feeding guide is strange at best if you ask me, I think I?ve done it right?) to 15mls of water and I got 5mls into him. Admittedly; I was wearing quite a bit of it but I still think he had some good mouthfuls. I honestly forgot how difficult it is with him. I?ve refrigerated the rest and I?ll have a go at giving him some more at lunch and dinner. Currently however, I had a light bulb moment, I remembered how much he loves his grass. So I went and got some (don?t worry; we don?t use fertilisers / pesticides at all) from our garden and he?s currently tucking into a good size plate full. He gets a good helping of grass often, so I?m not worried about him having too much of it. Atleast he?s getting food !!

I?ll give him so veggies later too, I?m going to go out and grab some of his favourites. I?m going to wait a little while and see how he is still doing without the Metacam; but if he does stop eating or anything I?ll call them back up and see what I can do.

Oh! And I forgot to say, he started eating his corn on the cob. Those things are like super tough, but he loves them. He ate a couple of it like normal, which made me happy and went on his way. Squee! I just want him to be better.

Thanks again everyone, it means so much to both of us.


us.

 

[spy9doc]

Anyway, I still made up a teaspoon of Critical Care (the instructions / feeding guide is strange at best if you ask me, I think I?ve done it right?) to 15mls of water and I got 5mls into him. Admittedly; I was wearing quite a bit of it but I still think he had some good mouthfuls. I honestly forgot how difficult it is with him.

Forget any instructions regarding mixing Critical Care! You basically just decide how much "finished product" you want and start from there. I generally take about 1-2 tablespoons and mix with lukewarm water until it is a loose mixture.......which will rapidly thicken. While it is still in a syrupy state, pour it into a large syringe. Go to a pet store and buy a 30ml small animal feeding syringe. It is large enough to actually pour the CC into it vs. the laborious task of trying to draw it up into a syringe.

You really need to get far more than 5ml into Tiggy. My Chester would eat an entire 30ml syringe at one feeding. If Tiggy isn't especially fond of the CC, mix a little baby food in with it. (I do about 1/3 baby food) I buy organic baby food in a jar and use some of their interesting flavors like carrot, pumpkin, etc. for variety.

It sounds as though you are doing everything right. Keep up the good work!

 

[Guinea Pig Papa]

Just wondered if there's any news on how Tiggy is doing?