Luna--5.5 yr female--has started making strange noises while eating. I guess I'd call it grunting if I had to pick a word, definitely not something she used to do. I noticed it especially loudly when I gave her some tomato (maybe because it's acidic?). When she eats her vitamin C treat, she seems to have a little trouble chewing, kind of moving her mouth oddly. One time only, I saw her drool. She has continued eating though, and her weight is OK. Anything else I've noticed is pretty vague--maybe not eating quite as much hay, or seeming a little restless.
I took her to the vet, and she couldn't find anything wrong for sure. Heart and lungs sounded good. I brought some spring mix, and the vet thought she was maybe grinding more than would be typical when eating. But, Luna was too "rambunctious" to examine her back teeth. So, she recommended a full dental exam with light sedation, and if they find any issues they can work on them.
Has anyone done this before? What should I expect? Anything I should do to help recovery?
When I scheduled the appointment, the receptionist told me not to let her eat anything after midnight (water is OK). Then I'll drop her off at 8:00 in the morning and they don't know exactly when the procedure will be that day. They said I'd go back home and then they'd call me. Does that sound right? I thought I'd read before that it was dangerous for guinea pigs' digestive tract to go too long without food, but I don't really know how long is too long. I couldn't find a lot on-line about fasting before dental work, but this page says fasting an hour is sufficient for the oral cavity to empty.
https://www.dvm360.com/view/small-herbivore-dental-disease-proceedings
I took her to the vet, and she couldn't find anything wrong for sure. Heart and lungs sounded good. I brought some spring mix, and the vet thought she was maybe grinding more than would be typical when eating. But, Luna was too "rambunctious" to examine her back teeth. So, she recommended a full dental exam with light sedation, and if they find any issues they can work on them.
Has anyone done this before? What should I expect? Anything I should do to help recovery?
When I scheduled the appointment, the receptionist told me not to let her eat anything after midnight (water is OK). Then I'll drop her off at 8:00 in the morning and they don't know exactly when the procedure will be that day. They said I'd go back home and then they'd call me. Does that sound right? I thought I'd read before that it was dangerous for guinea pigs' digestive tract to go too long without food, but I don't really know how long is too long. I couldn't find a lot on-line about fasting before dental work, but this page says fasting an hour is sufficient for the oral cavity to empty.
https://www.dvm360.com/view/small-herbivore-dental-disease-proceedings