Teeth Not Sure What To Do About Teeth Grinding

[foggycreekcavy]

Have you heard about weighing your pigs? It's a good idea to weigh them weekly. Pigs that don't feel good don't eat. Also if your pig is having dental problems he will probably be losing weight.

 

[Duffinvt]

I am a loyal user of both KM and Sweetmeadow. I got the KM bluegrass this year and it is not up to par (as Linda, the owner, says herself). Hay quality varies, due to weather conditions each year. I did not buy Sweetmeadow this year as our own Vermont hay was wonderful and I got some free from a local farmer. My four pigs love the local hay and shun the KM. I assume the hay in Mass. is just as good as it is a neighboring state. You might want to try the Sweetmeadow first. Just my opinion !

 

[SFailed186]

In my opinion, your guinea pig has grown tired of his hay. It sounds like he still has an appetite besides hay, so I think it just the hay. Kaytee is horrible. The hay itself is actually very hard and SHARP, which can cause injury. I actually have scratches on my hands from handling their Timothy Hay.

For the past year and a half or so, my sister and I have been loyal Oxbow customers. Oxbow is a great step-up from Kaytee! Their Orchard grass is my girls' favorite. Recently, though, the weather hasn't been the best and so Oxbow's hay has suffered. We decided it was time to order Kleenmama's.

On Saturday, we received our shipment of hay and pellets and I, myself, am in love with this hay! We ordered 10 pounds of 3rd cut Bluegrass. It is so, so very soft and moist and it smells wonderful. Our original three girls; Freya, Haylee, and Villie, eat it constantly and we have to refill their cage so much more often than we ever did with Oxbow. The new girls are a little slower to eating the hay, probably because they are still scared, but they have eaten a great amount as well.

I truly think that a better quality hay with improve his appetite. However, it is never a bad idea to see a vet just to be sure.

 

[Duffinvt]

In my opinion, your guinea pig has grown tired of his hay. It sounds like he still has an appetite besides hay, so I think it just the hay. Kaytee is horrible. The hay itself is actually very hard and SHARP, which can cause injury. I actually have scratches on my hands from handling their Timothy Hay.

For the past year and a half or so, my sister and I have been loyal Oxbow customers. Oxbow is a great step-up from Kaytee! Their Orchard grass is my girls' favorite. Recently, though, the weather hasn't been the best and so Oxbow's hay has suffered. We decided it was time to order Kleenmama's.

On Saturday, we received our shipment of hay and pellets and I, myself, am in love with this hay! We ordered 10 pounds of 3rd cut Bluegrass. It is so, so very soft and moist and it smells wonderful. Our original three girls; Freya, Haylee, and Villie, eat it constantly and we have to refill their cage so much more often than we ever did with Oxbow. The new girls are a little slower to eating the hay, probably because they are still scared, but they have eaten a great amount as well.

I truly think that a better quality hay with improve his appetite. However, it is never a bad idea to see a vet just to be sure.

Third cut Bluegrass or Timothy? Just asking as I did not think the Bluegrass came in third cut...

 

[foggycreekcavy]

I'm worried that people may be focusing on hay as being the cause, when there could actually be something medical going on. That's why I suggested weighing the pig. Pigs with dental issues will still eat greens and pellets since they don't require as much grinding with the back teeth.

Yes, a good quality hay is important. Just be aware that there may be something else going on.

Any type of grass hay will do. KM's website tells which of her cuttings is soft. Oxbow's orchard grass is softer than their timothy. To get hay right away, check out the feed or farm stores in your area.

 

[Ly&Pigs]

I agree that you should monitor your pigs weight also. If you weigh at the same time daily (like before an evening meal) and the pig consistently drops weight over a period of a week to a couple of weeks with no gain, that could be a sign of a problem.

KM's bluegrass is a bluegrass/orchard hybrid.

 

[SFailed186]

Third cut Bluegrass or Timothy? Just asking as I did not think the Bluegrass came in third cut...

Oh, thank you for pointing that out! There is only one cut of Bluegrass sold, but we were originally planning on getting third cut Timothy, so I must have combined the two, haha. We ended getting Bluegrass since our girls love Orchard. Thank you again!

 

[TMTguineapig]

I just wanted to give you all an update. I took the piggies to the vet today. Scooby has a fractured upper tooth. The vet gave me Rimadyl to help with the pain. Because he will not let me look at his teeth, I am going to take him back in two weeks for a follow up visit.

Also, I have been feeding the piggies 1 cup each of veggies everyday. The vet thinks this is too much food and part of the reason Scooby stopped eating his hay. She has asked me to cut them back to 1/2 c each. Rocco (whom I have nick named Pigmillion) never stops eating. I have even noticed he chews on his ramp a little bit. I am not sure how he is going to take to less food...

Do you guys agree that 1 cup is too much for them?

 

[TMTguineapig]

I forgot to add that the vet said they are healthy (and yes it is an exotic pets vet). The only issue currently is Scooby's fractured tooth. This could have happened over the weekend. The two ended up getting into a fight and we had to separate them into their old cages again (bummer!!).

My husband was going to build a nice big cage for them, but now that they fought, I am afraid to put them together again. I did see a really nice homemade cage on here though. It was built from wood, 2 levels housing separate guinea pigs. Looks like they use plexiglass for the sides. We may try to do that because unfortunately, we do not have enough space for two separate cages (our plan was to make between a 9 & 10 sq ft cage)

Does anyone here have only one guinea pig? I feel so bad that Scooby and Rocco aren't going to be buddies. The whole reason we ended up getting Rocco is because we didn't want Scooby to be lonely. Now we have 2 potentially lonely guinea pigs.

 

[Ly&Pigs]

I just wanted to give you all an update. I took the piggies to the vet today. Scooby has a fractured upper tooth. The vet gave me Rimadyl to help with the pain. Because he will not let me look at his teeth, I am going to take him back in two weeks for a follow up visit.

Also, I have been feeding the piggies 1 cup each of veggies everyday. The vet thinks this is too much food and part of the reason Scooby stopped eating his hay. She has asked me to cut them back to 1/2 c each. Rocco (whom I have nick named Pigmillion) never stops eating. I have even noticed he chews on his ramp a little bit. I am not sure how he is going to take to less food...

Do you guys agree that 1 cup is too much for them?

Vets are not known for their nutritional savvy when it comes to pigs. In fact, many vets will recommend crappy pellet mixes and yogurt drops because they have no clue when it comes to a proper diet. Pigs need 1 cup of veggies each daily. Please continue to give the full cup of veggies per pig.

 

[TMTguineapig]

OK - I will stick with a cup per day. 1/2 c did seem like too little to me but I wasn't sure.

 

[foggycreekcavy]

I agree with Ly&Pigs--continue with 1 cup.

What did the vet do to the tooth? Did he pull it? Did part break off, or is it split?

You have to be careful with wood cages. They can be hard to adequately clean if the wood is exposed to the urine. The plexiglass sounds "iffy" as well--you want to make sure there is sufficient ventilation. How large is each level of the cage?

 

[TMTguineapig]

I can't seem to find the post for the cage I liked. I think it said Finally finished my cage or something like that. Maybe one of you saw it as well. The most distinguishing thing about the post was that the poster said she could not paint the bottom of the legs because it was too heavy to lift to put a protective cloth underneath. We were planning on covering the wood with some kind of plastic. I did not think about the plexiglass causing ventilation problems. Maybe I can use the grids instead.

I am also wondering if I could use something like a kindergarten mat under fleece. Has anyone tried to do that? I don't know if the cushion would cause problems or not.

I think her cage was about 8'. We can't provide that much space. We were thinking of building it 5' x 2'.

 

[TMTguineapig]

I forgot to add. The vet did not do anything to the tooth. It is already broken off. Not completely, just the tip.