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teeth problems?

PIGGYandCHILLI

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Sep 14, 2011
Messages
123
it's piggy again.
piggy has done a dental surgery about 2-3 months ago. (it's to grain his teeth down)
it was all g, until today when i was checking his teeth, i saw that there is a "slope" on his upper teeth. but it was fine for his lower front teeth.
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||/ <--like this

:importantIs this a sign of dental illness?:important
i saw him eating pellets and drinking water. somehow he does not eat the skin of veggies/fruits.
i tried to feed him hay for a lot of times, but he just does not like it. he kind of refuses to eat it. i've brought him to the vet for once and it took me $500 bucks to grain his teeth once. i do not think that that will be the best way because this cycle will just keep on. bringing him to the vet --> home --> sick again --> vet again. i'm not trying to be mean. i love my pig. but i seriously need a way to make him eating hay himself, not visiting the vet all the time.:sad: in fact, doing surgery is very dangerous for a pig and i do not want him to experience this again and again.

guys. please tell me is this a sign of dental illness? how can i encourage himself to eat hay? his weight is about 600g (for the past few months till now). i'm just worried and don't know what to do. urgh.:eek:hmy:
 
Dental illness can be genetic. Weight loss, drooling, can't close mouth, chewing on one side, not being able to eat the skin of fruits, weird ear movements are one of the signs of over grown teeth. Yours might be genetic, you can go call your vet, he/she won't charge you if you just ask. Unless of course he/she asks you to come by so he/she can have a better look. Shelter vets are cheaper.
 
My guess is that it's just a sign of his not eating hay. The hard stuff in the hay keeps the back molars ground down and working properly, and they keep the incisors at the proper length/slant. If they don't eat hay, the molars grow too much, and can either develop sharp points that poke into the pig's mouth, or entrap the tongue.

But one cause of not eating hay can be elongated tooth roots, which make it painful to use the molars. Did the vet x-ray his teeth the last time? There are some good pictures on the web of elongated tooth roots that yours could be compared to, if the vet will give you a copy.

In the meantime, I'd do several things.

First, I'd try him on some other kinds of hay and see if he'll eat those.

Second, I'd cut way back on his veggies and pellets for a couple of days and see if he'll get hungry enough to eat the hay. Tempt him by putting him in your lap and hand feeding the hay.

Third, if you can find fresh grass that hasn't been contaminated by pesticides or other animal droppings, give him some of that. Just start out with small amounts, because too much at once can give him bloat. You can easily grow wheat grass, even inside. But you probably can't grow enough inside to switch him completely to wheat grass.

Fourth, if you can find fresh ears of corn, feed him the husks and silks. Just take off the outer leaves and the brown silks to get rid of the pesticides, and wash the rest carefully. Mine absolutely adore corn husks. You can even find them dried in grocery stores, but mine won't eat the dry ones -- maybe because I started them off on the green stuff first. But if you start with the dry, rub them with some food he will eat so they'll have a little more taste, and maybe that will do the trick.

Obviously, cutting back on his food can't go on for long, because he must eat and you don't want him to lose significant amounts of weight. But pigs are like kids -- they develop strong preferences for foods, and it's not always the stuff they need. What you want to do is make him hungry enough to try the hay, not starve him to death. But if it doesn't work quickly, you'll have to go back to feeding him.

He may have dental problems for other reasons -- after all, people's teeth grow in all sorts of wonky directions. But a good hay diet would take care of a lot of those, so I wouldn't conclude yet that it's going to be an expensive, long-term problem.
 
i'm not sure whether his problem is genetic but he just does not like hay. i tried timothy and orchard, and he just does not like them both (both from oxbow). i'll definitely try the corn husks. and i'll try to separate him from the others to observe how he eats and poops.

bpatters: i've tried hand-feeding. he struggles. he eats some, but like only an few straw? i'll try walk around to see whether there is grass to pick up because i live in apartments. he still eats pellets, does that help him to grain his teeth down?

pandaloki: he does not have weight loss etc. but only eating on one side and not eating the skin of the fruits.
(broken link removed) does this shelter provide vet care? the vet i usually go is an exotic veterinary hospital and it is just so expensive if i keep visiting them.

**out of topic**
i wanted to apply to be a volunteer for (broken link removed) but will i be accepted if i'm only a teenage?
 
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He probably doesn't like hay because he wasn't fed hay as a baby. You'll have to teach him to eat it, very much like you'd teach him to eat vegetables. If there's something he really likes to eat, try pulling out some strands of hay and mashing that into them. Also, don't feed him so many veggies and pellets that he's unwilling to try the hay.

Be very careful of the grass around your apartment -- it may well have been sprayed with a weed killer or insecticide, or be contaminated with droppings from other animals. If you have enough room inside or on a balcony, you can easily grow wheat grass -- the seeds are available at any nature foods store, and then all you need is a pan and some potting soil and a little water.

Why don't you contact the Sanctuary and ask about volunteering? At the same time, ask if they have any recommendations about your little guy.
 
My suspicion would be that he might not have recovered completely from his previous tooth procedure. Having just gone through something very similar, this sounds quite familiar. Depending on how long your pig went without eating and how overgrown the teeth were when they were originally ground down a few months ago, it's very possible there's a lot of swelling and pain associated with the mouth. I'd suggest contacting your vet and getting him on Metacam if you think there might be pain and either way, request Reglan to help stimulate his appetite.

I had a rescue pig who stopped eating virtually everything on his own and had to undergo a 40+ minute procedure to grind down the teeth and restore the natural curve so he could close his mouth and start eating on his own. It took quite a long time for him to get to a point where he could eat on his own again without handfeeding and it took a lot of pain meds and reglan to get him there. Another possibility to consider would be to give him some probiotics because if he's not eating on his own (or not eating much on his own) it's very possible there's an issue with the gut, either that caused him to stop eating much on his own in the first place or as a result of the inability to eat on his own.
 
today what i saw was he was eating poops all day. i was eating poops in the cage and i took him out and then he was eating his own poops.
i know that it is normal that gp eat their own poops but he was ONLY eating poops. it that normal? he did not even touch the pellets.

but WOW! i just saw him eating his hay by HIMSELF when i am typing this! LOL i'm so happy now!

bpatters: yes you are probably right. i got his when he was 1 yr old(at a pet shop, though) and i knew nothing about his past. anyway, i'll try call the shelter and guess what he is eating hay right in front of me now! i am so blessed! thanks for your idea of making him hungry and to force him to eat hay! LOL i am just so happy and thank you so so so much!

paula: he can close his mouth but he just does not seem like to eat hay before. however today there was a big step forward and he started to eat hay. hope it won't be far that he will fall in love with the hay and will eat it without me forcing or helping! anyways, thanks a lot!
 
Where abouts in Australia are you? I recently had to have my piggy's teeth filed back and it cost $150. He has an x-ray booked that I've been quoted only $80 for.
Also, where are you getting you're hay from? Pet Barn do occasionally have good quality meadow hay or oaten hay, otherwise I try to hunt down a CRT (broken link removed) or something similar because they move their hay quite quickly and buy in bulk from their suppliers so it is usually of a better, fresher quality.
 
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i live in sydney chatswood. i got hay in st leonard at a veterinary hospital and it costs me 100 for 4 kg of oxbow orchard hay, which is really pricey. where do you get yours?
i got my pig's teeth and desexing surgery done in st leonard too (it's all done by experienced exotic vets) and it costs me $500 for the teeth-grain surgery and 160 for the desexing. i cannot buy any good hay except there, too.
 
There is a Pet Barn at Chatswood (broken link removed) and they have more affordable hay, so I would have a look. They usually stock meadow and oaten. I get mine from a farm supply store and their prices are around $8 for a biscuit of hay, or $14 for a bale. My father gets a little too keen and often shows up at my house with a bale which is nice to start off with, but I have to be super generous with it so they get through it while it still has that fresh hay smell.
I live up the coast from you and see an exotic vet at my nearest Greencross Vets (broken link removed) . If you're happy with the care at your current vet, stay there, but if you are feeling that you need something more affordable so frequent visits are less stressful call up and ask for quotes.
Shop around. Check your Yellow Pages directory, you're sure to find other ways of getting supplies!
 
i think i saw this website before. it's too far away from where i live because i don't have a car. i will have to walk there and i think it'll probably take me more than an hour walking there ;(
i'm happy with my vet currently because there are real nice and and think it is reasonable to be pricey because they are all good doctors and are really patient to my guinea! and yea because it's close to me XD anyways thanks for your effort and nice to meet a aus friend that loves guineas like i do ! :)
 
I don't drive either. I think that's why my Dad drops huge amounts of hay off at my house. That, and I think he misses the furry babies since I moved out :)
If you do continue to have dental issues, let me know. Willy piggles has recently started having problems with malocclusion which may be caused by either heart problems or old age, (we're still figuring it out). So in the past few weeks I've received some amazing help from people who really know their stuff and would be happy to refer you to them.
 
also just wondering, does petbarn sell hay? can't see any in their selling list and catalogue...
 
They do. In a few different sizes. They don't sell any pellets that any good but they do stock hay. There are two near me that are more convenient for me to drop into than the farm supply store :) I get all my bowls, bottles, igloos, brushes and nail clippers from there.
From memory, they usually have meadow, oaten, lucerne, and straw. So have a look at their meadow or oaten. If it's greenish and smells good, try it!
 
but my parents don't drive either... so i will have to walk...
i'm actually really stressed on my pig. my mom is not going to pay anything for my pigs (vet fees only) because it's always expensive. i would be great if you'd know any where that has affordable exotic vets who are experienced.
my pig is only 1.5 yrs old and i hope that he can start eating hay. he is the only pig that does not eat hay and so he keeps having dental issues. i really don't want to put him down if anything worse happen. he is my first pig.. so i hope everything can be fine on him / i can find a affordable exotic vet so i can pay the bills without my mom's help..
anyways THANKS HEAPS!!!
 
Look for some grass on your walks. Bring it back and wash it, and see if he will eat it. Some pigs who don't eat hay will eat grass, which is just as good for grinding down the teeth.
 
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