Weight Loss Can piggies survive on critical care and veggies? Elderly pig with tooth problems.

[ghostieberry]

My baby just turned 5 and she's been taking a turn for the worst, she started off not eating hay and only eating veggies and then began rapidly losing weight, and we now know she has tooth problems. The problems are in her back teeth. We have critical care, but i do not think its safe to go under for surgery as it can be risky and she's already so thin.

Can critical care along with veggies help her? She frequently chews the bars on the cage with her front teeth so i think that could help wear them down, but i don't know what to do. Surgery is so risky and the vet around me also doesn't do it, so I'd have to look for another vet. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Guinea Pig Papa]

She needs the molar planing surgery NOW. The problem with her teeth is in the molars, not the front teeth. She cannot survive on critical care and veggies, as she requires the hay to keep her teeth ground down.

Without the surgery, she will quickly become unable to eat. I understand it's risky, but I had a senior boar who started having these dental surgeries at age 5 and he endured 11 of them. Get yourself an appointment with a cavy savvy vet (meaning exotic specialist, not small animal) and get her in for surgery. ASAP.

In addition, chewing the bars can also cause her to break her teeth, which would make the problem for her worse. Try lining the inside of her cage bars with plexiglas in the problem areas to mitigate the bar chewing.

 

[bpatters]

Tooth planing doesn't require the same anesthesia as surgery, and it isn't surgery. It's a quick dental procedure, the pig doesn't go as deeply under, and there should be no problem.

She won't last long on CC and veggies. If the molars continue to grow without being planed, they'll either pierce the sides of her cheeks and she'll quit eating because of pain, or the molars will trap her tongue and she'll be unable to swallow. Unfortunately, you have only two options: 1) get the teeth planed, or 2) euthanize her. Dental problems suck.