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Teeth Dental surgery 3 hours away, will it be ok?

Airin

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Hey everyone, as the title says I just got some x rays from the vet that show that my piggy has overgrown teeth, I will post the pictures of the x rays here. The piggy dropped weight significantly and we took her to the vet and found this out, unfortunately the only place that performs these surgeries is 3 and a half hours from where I live, I am worried that the piggy might not resist all of the stress of transporting it with our car, having the surgery and then returning home in a total of like a 7 hour trip. I know the surgery has to be done but I am worried she might die cause of all the stress :( Will she be okay? She is being syringe fed a special powder mixed with water that the vet gave me and she eats hay and veggies just fine. She has mostly stopped eating her pellets but we switched to a brand that has smaller sized pellets and she eats a few sometimes. Any advice or opinion about it would greatly help!

Thanks! ratcd rad 1.jpgratchd2.jpgratchd3.jpg
 

bpatters

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She should survive the trip OK. Traveling with a guinea pig isn't as stressful as many people fear. If she'll eat veggies, put some wet lettuce in a container and giver her some of that every half hour or so. And stop once to offer her water. She'll need to stay hydrated.
 

Airin

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She should survive the trip OK. Traveling with a guinea pig isn't as stressful as many people fear. If she'll eat veggies, put some wet lettuce in a container and giver her some of that every half hour or so. And stop once to offer her water. She'll need to stay hydrated.

Thanks for the reply! I dunno how intense the procedure is, I am mostly worried about the drive returning from the surgery since she won't be feeling great after the anesthesia. Would it be wiser to have her spend a night with my girlfriend? She has a cage, food and everything to take her in one night. Or am i exagerating and it will be fine on the same day?
 

bpatters

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If the vet is a good one, she shouldn't have much trouble with the anesthesia. And unless your girlfriend is knowledgeable about guinea pigs, it would be best for someone who is to care for her. Some pigs won't eat immediately after the surgery. Their mouths are small, and it's almost impossible for a vet to plane the teeth without nicking the cheek or gums. So the mouth is sore, and the pig won't eat anything rough. You may have to continue hand-feeding her for a few days until she starts eating again.

But DO make sure she eats. Guinea pigs need food moving through at all times, or they'll develop possibly fatal stomach ulcers from the acid in their stomachs.

Good luck with her, and keep us posted on how she does.
 

Airin

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If the vet is a good one, she shouldn't have much trouble with the anesthesia. And unless your girlfriend is knowledgeable about guinea pigs, it would be best for someone who is to care for her. Some pigs won't eat immediately after the surgery. Their mouths are small, and it's almost impossible for a vet to plane the teeth without nicking the cheek or gums. So the mouth is sore, and the pig won't eat anything rough. You may have to continue hand-feeding her for a few days until she starts eating again.

But DO make sure she eats. Guinea pigs need food moving through at all times, or they'll develop possibly fatal stomach ulcers from the acid in their stomachs.

Good luck with her, and keep us posted on how she does.

She does know how to take care of piggies, she has had some herself, reason why she has everything to house her in :) Just one more question, we were told the surgery needed to be done as soon as possible, but how soon is soon? I was thinking january cause i need to save for the surgery but will 2 more months be okay?
 

Guinea Pig Papa

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I'm sorry, but two more months will NOT be ok. As soon as possible means that even though it isn't critical now, tomorrow it might be. And it literally might be tomorrow. If she's already losing significant weight, it needs to be done now.
 

bpatters

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Two more months is definitely NOT ok. Two more weeks is not ok. Dental surgery needs to be done as soon as possible. The molars can trap the tongue so that it's impossible for the pig to swallow, and it will die a painful death. You need to have this done as soon as possible.
 

sallyvh

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Agreed, dental surgey needs to be done very quickly. A guinea pig that is already loosing a significant amount of weight due to dental issues needs to be seen immediately.

Also, not sure if you know this, but if you are starting on dental endeavors with your pig it's important to note she will likely need repeat procedures.

In very few cases that I have heard of will a pig only need one trim. Normally you can be looking to do molar trims every 4-8 weeks for the rest of it's life. It's something to be aware that your pig may require.
 

Airin

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Got it, I am currently looking for the best option, the vets that have all of the equipment and know the procedure mentioned that the guinea pig shouldn't eat 12 hours before the surgery..this worried me a bit since I know piggies should be eating at all times. The anesthesia used for the surgery is going to be inhaled, so the doctor said that no food can be in the way. He also mentioned that the piggy getting dizzy might be a problem, which is a red alarm to me since i know piggies cannot throw up.
 

Guinea Pig Papa

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Got it, I am currently looking for the best option, the vets that have all of the equipment and know the procedure mentioned that the guinea pig shouldn't eat 12 hours before the surgery..this worried me a bit since I know piggies should be eating at all times. The anesthesia used for the surgery is going to be inhaled, so the doctor said that no food can be in the way. He also mentioned that the piggy getting dizzy might be a problem, which is a red alarm to me since i know piggies cannot throw up.

I understand maybe a couple of hours before, but my baby bear Sly had 11 molar trims, and we were never told to limit his food beforehand. Not sure why this would be the case for your boy, and since his teeth are likely to be sore afterward and he won't want to eat it would be MORE than 12 hours.

That said, your vet will also likely have you sign a waiver that they are not responsible if your pig responds adversely to the aenesthetic, and doesn't survive. My vet is VERY good, and he also had me sign a waiver. Unfortunately, even though it is a molar trim, it IS still a surgery. Our vet couldn't stress that enough. There is always a chance that things can go wrong, so we were always on pins and needles every time he went. You likely will be too.
 

sallyvh

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Was this an instruction given by the vet itself or just administration staff? If this is a clinic that also services cats and dogs there can sometimes be a lack of communication about pre-surgery procedures for different species.

I had several molar trims done on one of my girls and she was allowed hay, pellets and water right up until the procedure. My clinic just asked that she wasn't fed veggies in the morning, but to pack a bag of veggies for her for once she woke up.
 

bpatters

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Do NOT have your pig fast for 12 hours before the surgery! It will make the recovery more difficult, and possibly impossible.

The reason most animals must fast is because of the danger of vomiting and inhaling the vomitus. Guinea pigs can't vomit, so there's no need for fasting. But as [MENTION=31353]sallyvh[/MENTION] says, sometimes the staff issues that instruction, and they may not know what they're talking about.
 

Airin

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Was this an instruction given by the vet itself or just administration staff? If this is a clinic that also services cats and dogs there can sometimes be a lack of communication about pre-surgery procedures for different species.

I had several molar trims done on one of my girls and she was allowed hay, pellets and water right up until the procedure. My clinic just asked that she wasn't fed veggies in the morning, but to pack a bag of veggies for her for once she woke up.

Sadly it was the vet that was going to perform the surgery the one that gave the instruction, which made me worry about him being capable of performing the surgery, unfortunately knowledge about exotic pets is extremely limited in my country and he seemed to know better than everyone else until he told me this. I was thinking of going to the surgery with this vet since he has the equipment and most of the knowledge right but not doing the fasting he suggested. I am really worried :( know there is always a risk but having a guy that doesn't know that piggies cannot throw up really changes things, he also said no water for 12 hours before surgery. both food and water denied for 12 hours before the surgery sounds insane and i fully agree with bpatters, it will make recovery impossible. On the other hand maybe fasting 2 hours or 1 could be a good idea? worried this people might not clean the piggy's mouth before the surgery and that is why he asks for fasting. These are vets from Petco, I dunno how good they are in other countries, but of all the vets I called they seemed to know slightly more than the rest.
 

bpatters

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Pet store vets in this country are the worst.

Good luck with him -- I hope things go well. But don't fast him. You could stop feeding maybe a couple of hours before the surgery, but no more than that.
 
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