Mouth Pig having problems chewing, any ideas?

[Scooterpig]

My 3-year-old boar, Rolo, is having difficulty eating. He clearly wants to eat and still comes running enthusiastically to the bars of the cage for veggies, but is finding it difficult. It's taking him around an hour to eat three slices of cucumber. He still attempts to nibble on pellets and hay but seems to find chewing difficult, perhaps more so on the left side, and is a bit more open mouthed when eating than usual, and damp under the chin. He has a very slight gritty eye at times, but not gungy. He has gone from 1545g in early June to 1120g today. Poops are a bit soft, some are small, some conical at one end. I also found a lump on his left side near his back leg yesterday. It wasn't hot, didn't seem painful and it doesn't feel like it's 'attached' to anything underneath. He doesn't have any obvious painful spots and is generally fairly happy, though occasionally a bit more fluffed up than normal. He is a bar chewer and is still doing so, though perhaps a bit more gently than before.

We were on vacation for two and a half weeks, the pigs were all in boarding at a cavy rescue where they'd been several times before. Some had lost a little weight during this time, but they'd been extremely active and it was hot so I wasn't too concerned and all seemed fine when they came back home.

Saw the vet on Friday, who couldn't find anything obvious, teeth were good, no obvious signs of fractures or dislocations. He's on Metacam for any underlying inflammation. I'm going to call again on Monday, the vet has said the next step would be an x-ray. I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions on the cause and what I should do. I have Critical Care, but he fought hard against taking any yesterday and I was only able to feed a small amount. I'm reluctant to force feed at this point in case there is a jaw injury and that makes it worse.

Thanks.

 

[bpatters]

How did he examine the teeth? If he didn't sedate him to look carefully at the molars, and if he didn't do an x-ray to look for elongated roots and abscesses, then Rolo hasn't had an adequate dental exam. If this is not an exotic vet, then you need to find one that's experienced in rodent dentistry, ASAP. Even some exotic vets can't adequately treat dental problems. And if the problem isn't overgrown molars, points on the molars, abscesses or elongated roots, there's still the possibility of a dislocated jaw. For my money, any vet that waits to do a x-ray on a pig that's having trouble chewing is a lousy vet, and I'd hunt another one ASAP.

If you don't force feed him, he'll die. Guinea pigs are wired to need food moving through their gut at all times. They constantly secrete stomach acid, and if there's not enough food in the stomach, it can create painful, even fatal, stomach ulcers. That's in addition to the problems of GI stasis and bloat. So you'll have to decide -- force feed him, or let him die.

See https://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html for information. Here are some extra tips: Put your non-dominant arm on a table that's a comfortable height for you, and put a towel over it. Put the pig on the towel, and burrito it tightly so it can't back out of the towel, or scratch its way out the front. Hold its head firmly, right behind the jaw joint, with your hand mostly covering its eyes. Insert the syringe from the side of its mouth, behind the front teeth and in front of the back teeth. Turn the syringe so that it points toward the throat, and push it into the pig's mouth about 1/4 - 1/2 an inch. Depress the plunger, giving about .25 cc. with each bite. You can leave the syringe in the pig's mouth between bites, and you may have to thin the Critical Care as you go -- it keeps thickening up.

A pig that is eating nothing else needs 100+ cc of Critical Care for every kilogram that it weighs, every day, spread throughout the day and night into 6-8 feedings. That means at least 12-15 cc. per feeding, whether the pig likes it or not. If a pig is eating some of its normal food, then you decrease the amount of CC accordingly.

Good luck with him, and let us know how you get along.

 

[Scooterpig]

Thanks for the replies. How did your Fuery do?

Husband and I have just given Rolo approx 15cc of critical care. That equated to about 1tbsp of critical care powder, mixed with 3 parts water, then thinned a little as further needed. Does that sound about right? I ask because the Critical Care packet recommends 3 tbsp per kilo, 4-6 times per day, which based on the mix would only be around 7.5cc.

We got creative and liquidised some cucumber and gave a little of that every so often too, which was greeted enthusiastically by Rolo. I weighed him before the feeding and he was 1105g, immediately after he was 1125g. Right now I've got him in a carrier with some hay and a water bottle, as I'd like to get a poop sample to take to the vet if possible. I'm going to phone first thing tomorrow and insist on sedation and a full check-up and X-ray. The vet I saw on Friday was not my usual vet, but she did seem knowledgeable and has piggies of her own. I have a back up plan though, to contact a vet in Denver that the cavy rescue uses. I have them once before, but not for anything requiring any sort of sedation.

I know it's not unusual to have the back teeth clipped if the molars are overgrown, but are there any other courses of treatment the vet may recommend? Just want to be prepared.

 

[lunarminx]

Good luck with your piggy, I hope all works out.

 

[katkor03]

How do the molars overgrow? Is it just something that happens even though you put lots of hay at all times in? Or something more specific?

 

[bpatters]

Don't bother weighing him after a feeding unless you're wanting to know how much food you gave him. In that case, weigh immediately before and after. But if you're only weighing after a feeding, you're not measuring any weight gained. It takes time for the body to convert the food to a usable form.

The only reasonably accurate way to get a weight for a pig is to weigh first thing in the morning, before breakfast. They'll have the least food in them at that point, and if they've been up a few minutes to pee and poop, you're getting close to a true weight.

 

[Scooterpig]

Thanks bpatters. Yes, that's why I did a before and after weighing.

Could I ask you something about the critical care? What ratio powder to water would you use? I used 1 tablespoon powder (I'm using the fine grind) to 3 tablespoons of water, which came out to around 15cc. But if I give 15cc in each of six feeds, that would be six tablespoons and the powder per day, which is double the recommendation on the packet. I'm a little confused. Is it possible to overfeed the critical care?

Thanks!

 

[Scooterpig]

Update on Rolo - got him into the vet today where they did a detailed exam and x-rays under sedation. Everything was clear, no teeth issues, ulcers, jaw or muscular problems, no neurological issues, fractures. Heart and lungs were fine. Vet thinks it's a GI issue, she's seen cases before where GI pain has caused reluctance to eat which presented like a mouth problem. They've prescribed an antibiotic and I've to feed Critical Care every 2 hours, and give a pellet mash too. He actually ate some critical care of his own free will at the vets - they videoed it and showed me. Yesterday I had to make him eat it, and today I've squeezed it out of the syringe and he's eaten it himself. Poops are a bit better too. He does seem a little brighter today, though he's to go back on Thursday if there's no improvement.

 

[lisa325]

I hope the antibiotic works for him. Sending all good wishes your way.

Did you name him after Rolo candy ?

 

[Scooterpig]

I did name him after Rolo candy. He's similar colors - chocolate brown with a caramel streak.

Yesterday was pretty tough. The critical care feedings were a real battle. In saying that, when he was feeling brighter he would rumble strut around his brother (even gave him a cheeky kick at one point). I got hold of a vibrating pillow and put him on that for a few minutes after feeding, and a couple of times I just massaged his tummy gently after feeding. He was producing some pellets but they were small, so I figured the pillow or massage might help get things moving.

I switched to a short-nosed syringe for a feeding late last night and that really helped. I could get a syringe load into him in 20 minutes instead of an hour plus. I've been making up the critical care using a teaspoon of powder, as that seems to produce a good consistency. He's also started to absolutely refuse the critical care if you go to refill the syringe, actively fighting against it. Seems like around 12 cc at a time is his comfort level, sometimes a couple of cc less.

He wouldn't eat a pellet mash, but he did attempt some little pepper pieces. I liquified some cucumber too and he took some of that. Right now I have him on his own in the cage with some ripped up lettuce. As soon as I put it in he came forward trying to pick it up. He also nibbled on a strand of hay. He won't eat of his own free will out of the cage so his brother has been parked in the carrier with his veg for a few minutes to give Rolo a chance to eat his. We'll see how he does today, the vet wants him back tomorrow if he's still not eating.

 

[Scooterpig]

Update on Rolo - still not eating, though still nosing at food. He went back to the vet on Thursday. They did a set of dental X-rays which were pretty difficult as they couldn't get the plate in his mouth. There was a sharp spike on the molar farthest back on the right side, and there was some ulceration of the mouth from it. Vet took it off and increased the sulfa trim to 0.6 ml twice a day, and Metacam 0.2ml twice a day. He started eating the critical care pretty well, lapping it from a spoon, all through Thursday night and first part of Friday, when he started to take smaller amounts and then refuse. He would take some cucumber mash. Vet did say it could take a few days for him to start eating and he's booked to go back on Tuesday. Husband is currently out getting Pedialyte, Odwalla etc to try and make the critical care more palatable. I've been feeding it to him day and night since Sunday, and I think he's just sick of it.

He's still pretty wet under the chin, and still has a little crusting around the left eye. Is this still normal at this stage? It's less than 48 hours since the spike on the tooth was removed. Given that the spike on his tooth was on the right side, would the crusting on the left be unusual? There is no sign of an issue on the left side of his mouth.

Thanks

 

[bpatters]

Plate IN his mouth? Never heard of it. Exotic vet?

 

[Scooterpig]

Sorry for the long delay in updating this thread!

I wasn't happy with how Rolo was progressing, and after a really rough night I was able to get him in to see an exotics vet that was recommended by a cavy rescue. She immediately saw his teeth were overgrown and took him in for trim immediately. She did say that she thought there might be something else going on. He perked up immediately after the trim but still had issues eating and his teeth regrew very quickly. The vet did a second trim but felt that he needed a specialist opinion so they referred me to a board-certified exotics specialist. She suspected either an abscess or osteodystrophy. Xrays were inconclusive so we began azithromycin for possible absecess which seemed to improve his comfort levels significantly. He had a third dental trim but we've had some pain issues, so he's on Metacam and Tramadol. He can't eat sufficiently independently so the bulk of his diet at the moment is Critical Care, though he has started some limited nibbling of hay and pellets, and will eat mashed up veggies. The vet thinks the abscess is causing discomfort in the TMJ, hence the reluctance to chew.

His weight is currently around the 830g mark. Although he's lost more weight since I first posted the rate at which he's lost it has slowed significantly over the past few weeks. I've been feeding day and night- it's only in the last few days I've stopped getting up during the night to feed, as he's eating a minimum of 3 tablespoons of critical care powder (reconstituted), plus mushed up veggies, each day. He's clearly a lot more comfortable, is mostly happy and willing to eat from syringe and will eat substantially more in one go.

In the meantime, I've also had 2 pigs with urinary infections and another who had to have a mammary tumour removed, then irritated her wound so ended up on antibiotics. Plus my heart pig needed to go on additional medication too. So it's been a pretty intense few weeks, hence the delay in updating.

i'm wondering though on what the best way to get Rolo to gain some more weight would be. The vet suggested a small amount of alfalfa pellets, or rolled oats mixed with the critical care, plus some baby food. I found a baby food with oatmeal, kale and cucumber, would that be okay? I was thinking of trying some ground up oat hay as well.