Guinea with post-op maloclusion trimming/eating problems

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Mum
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Sat Jan 20, 2007 11:45 pm


Yes, always cut the tip off the end of a 1cc syringe - otherwise you can't get the critical care through it.

Push it to the back molars, and only push the CC through when the pig is chewing on the syringe.

You can also syringe extra water in, separately from the CC. If the pig isn't drinking at all you need to give 60ccs per day.

Metacam is important, but not as important as handfeeding. Be sure you get at least 50cc of CC into the pig in a 24-hour period.

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Becky

Post   » Sun Jan 21, 2007 12:55 pm


Can you email Charybdis? I believe she's in San Diego and might be able to help you out with a subq.

Don't worry about how runny the CC is. It's more important to get food into him, as others have said.

Also, vets always trim molars under anesthesia.

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Onihrapiggy

Post   » Sun Jan 21, 2007 2:14 pm


They go downhill sooooo quickly without food and water as I am sure you are discovering. The amount of weight they lose when they don't eat happens so fast too.

If your pig is too weak at this point to even make an attempt at swallowing you are going to have to try and get little bits into him at least every half an hour. When I have had pigs get to this point, I am just trying to get anything into them as often as possible. I have even used chewable vitamin C tablets dissolved in warm water just to get some kind of energy into them. My pigs like the flavour. I know the sugar isn't great for them, but if your pig can get up enough energy from the Vitamin C solution he might be able to take the CC better.

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jeffestes

Post   » Wed Jan 24, 2007 1:52 am


Hi All - Chester is doing GREAT now. He's gained weight, is chipper, wheeting and moving around quite a bit. We're still hand feeding him every 3 hours but the real saviour was....Gatorade! We all had the flu this week, one left-over bottle was in Mom's view around 3:00am and viola! He wants to eat regular food but his incisors were cut too short so hand feeding continues.

Thanks for all the help and advice - Chester is alive because of your help!

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sus4rabbitsnpigs

Post   » Wed Jan 24, 2007 1:54 am


Pedialyte is actually better than Gatorade. Go Chester! Good luck.

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Mum
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Tue Feb 06, 2007 5:07 pm


My pig became ill 3 weeks ago, took him in & he had severe malocclusion. His molars & incisors were trimmed. He nearly died but pulled through with diligent syringe feedings, antibiotics, etc.
Today I took him for a 2 week post op check & the vet said his incisors are being worn down uneven and also his molars are already growing across his tongue again & the back ones into his cheeks. She said he is most likely going to need ongoing syringe feedings and teeth trimmings will be forever. She believes he has a heredity (or possibly from an injury) jaw deformity. We adopted him as a 1 year old (or about that), so we don't know much about him. We have had him 2 years and never showed any symptoms of problems until Mid December when he started getting picky about which snacks he wanted. Until by Jan. he was only eating leafy greens and nothing hard, except hay & pellets.
Has anybody ever had this problem?? My vet basically said Chester's chance of becoming a "normal" happy piggy is very slim to none. I'm so sad.
You do have access to a very good dental vet who visits California from Arizona every couple of months - Dr. Lyons. If you can make it up to Manhattan Beach when he's here, it might be well worth the visit.

Pinta is very knowledgeable about teeth issues - you might email her also.

pinta

Post   » Tue Feb 06, 2007 5:24 pm


If the malocclusion is the result of genetics, it probably would have shown up sooner. Same thing with an old injury.

Most likely he's losing muscle strength in his jaw(TMJ). Very common in senior pigs and age related onset can happen at 3 years of age. Does his mouth hang slightly ajar when he's not eating?

Read up on Willie's case history on the Chin-Sling page which is under teeth in the Care Guide.

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Amadeus-sFam

Post   » Wed Feb 07, 2007 9:41 am


Jeffestes, my pig has teeth problems, too. If the incisors are wearing unevenly it suggests that he favoring one side when he chews. Having gone through the malocclusion experience (several times over), I encourage you to be proactive. I wish this summer I had been more proactive with my piggy. By proactive I mean doing massages to his jaw, looking into the possibility of his heart causing some of his teeth problems (and getting meds for it) and purchasing a chin-sling. My pig hates the sling (well, the putting it on part at least) but nothing else has worked yet. I regret not using the sling early on- Pinta made a good comment in another thread about using it as a first resort instead of last one. Now, since I have used it as a "last" resort, Ama has elongated roots which make eating even more difficult for him.

I would encourage you to weigh diligently (daily). When Ama loses weight, that is my cue that his teeth problems are back.

And consider buying out a syringe company. I have lost count how many syringes I have gone through in feeding him.:)

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jeffestes

Post   » Sat Feb 10, 2007 2:59 pm


Poor Chester has never resumed eating on his own. We have continued to feed him Critical Care, which he loves so much. We returned him to the same vet this week; she said his teeth are growing over his tongue again and he may have a jaw problem. I wasn't aware that Guinea teeth could grow so fast. When he eats the Critical Care from the syringe a horrible sounding grind occurs - not a normal grind. But he takes down quite a bit of food in this manner.

Her last comments were that Chester's prognosis is not good and we should think about life after Chester.

That is not an option with us. Chester has the desire to eat, he has a healthy appetite but he just can't seem to keep the food in his mouth and chew it. We've spent around $800 on him on this latest illness and can't really afford to continue these trips to the vet with no positive resolution.

Does anyone have any idea of what could be done to resolve his problem? We're getting real scared here.

Thanks

HollyT
Get on your bike.

Post   » Sat Feb 10, 2007 3:02 pm


Would a chin sling be of any help here? Although I will say, Dr. Ceceil is not the person to go to with this (if you did).

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jeffestes

Post   » Sat Feb 10, 2007 3:29 pm


Holly - where would we find a chin sling? Also - he's bumblefoot on both rear feet now. We have change to a softer version of carefresh and have been changing the carefresh hourly.

I just looked into poor Chest's moth and his front teeth are wearing diagonally, like he's chewing from top left to bottom right.


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