Coco's tooth

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Marjorie_61

Post   » Wed Jan 23, 2008 12:05 am


Hi, my baby Coco has somewhat long lower incisors and one is thinner than the other, there is a gap forming between them. All which would just make me think he needs them trimmed however, the one thicker tooth has turned yellow and the gums at the bottom of it look swollen and red. I have a picture of it, however I am not too computer savvy and don't know how to put it up on here. If anybody thinks they have some knowledge about cavy dental issues, I will gladly email the picture to you. I know this doesn't replace going to the vet. I just live in a really small community right now as I am going to college, so the vets I will be going to will not know much about guinea pigs and all the help I could get would be greatly appreciated. My thoughts are that we should trim the teeth and see what that does, and if it doesn't work, may have to pull out the entire tooth. If anybody also has any stories of having to pull a tooth and how your guinea pig was after that would really be great as well. Thanks in advance for any help :)

HollyT
Get on your bike.

Post   » Wed Jan 23, 2008 12:08 am


You can email me the picture and I;ll post it for you.

Marjorie_61

Post   » Wed Jan 23, 2008 12:15 am


that would be great, I just sent you my email through here so that you can give my yours. Thank you so much! :)

HollyT
Get on your bike.

Post   » Wed Jan 23, 2008 12:25 am


Image

Image

Marjorie_61

Post   » Wed Jan 23, 2008 12:35 am


Again, thank you so very much, I really appreciate it. If anybody wants to see a more up close detailed picture though, I can still email it. I understand on here it probably cant be that big; being so small they really don't show the extent of the problem.

HollyT
Get on your bike.

Post   » Wed Jan 23, 2008 12:40 am


Sorry about that. Let's try this again:

Image

Image

User avatar
Mum
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Wed Jan 23, 2008 1:41 am


I wonder if that lower incisor is cracked at the base - it looks as if it might be in that picture.

An xray of his mouth (dental xray done under light anesthesia) should give you a better idea of what's going on with that front incisor.

I had a pig who had to have a front incisor removed, and she did ok. Unfortunately, it's extremely hard to remove the whole root in a guinea pig incisor, and it had to be removed twice.

Usually incisor problems are caused by molar issues, but an xray will tell you if that's the case. In my pig's case it was caused by a tooth that was knocked out and became infected (this is rare).

You wouldn't want to mess with the incisors without getting a dental xray of his molars as well as the incisors.

Marjorie_61

Post   » Wed Jan 23, 2008 8:14 am


Thanks so much Mum. I heard that incisor problems are usually caused by molar problems, I am hoping in my case it isn't cross my fingers. But I will now ask for an x-ray first. He actually had an x-ray when he was younger for his stomach, because it is just so big and mushy that I thought he might be bloated, turned out it was just all filled with food, my little porker! Although they didn't need any anesthetic. I am a vet tech student and know all the dangers of them, so it really scares me. Especially since he was on Baytril when he was younger for an URI and almost died...actually after that is when he got the weird mushy stomach. So his health has always been on my mind. I will be calling the vets around here in a few minutes, once they open....I just wonder how closely related guinea pigs are to say beavers, weasels, etc., because the one vet around here deals with wildlife but not guinea pigs, maybe she will be my best bet. I just want to have all the information I can before going in, thank again now I know where to start.

User avatar
Mum
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Wed Jan 23, 2008 9:07 am


Dental xrays are the one xray that do need to be done under light anesthesia.

I hope you can find a vet who can do this!

Marjorie_61

Post   » Wed Jan 23, 2008 9:15 am


Well I made an appointment at the cat/dog, wildlife vet....the receptionist said she treat's guinea pigs. Still not too sure though, I do have my regular guinea pig vet that lives 3 hours away that I could go to. However when Coco had a possible URI (which I really don't think he did) she put him on Baytril I think...that was soo long ago and he stopped eating and got really bad diarrhea so I went back in and she tried to give him a penicillin shot, and I said no, because I read on here that it is bad for them and can kill them. So I don't know if its any better to drive down and see her since I'm not sure if she really knows what she is doing. This really is stressing me out, makes me want to go become a guinea pig vet just so their are more. Thanks for help Mum, I really don't want to sedate him, seeing as that can cause death itself.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed Jan 23, 2008 9:54 am


Marjorie_61, let me know if you'd like me to permanently add your two pics to this thread.

Marjorie_61

Post   » Wed Jan 23, 2008 11:12 am


Lynx that would be great, thank you.

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