Drooling, not eating

Talishan
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Post   » Fri Apr 03, 2015 4:38 am


His mouth should not have swollen that badly, and the vet should NOT have clipped the bottom front teeth that short.

That said, their mouths are very small and difficult to work in, especially if the vet does not have specialized (and expensive) equipment.

It is good news that the dislocation appears to be resolving. Handfeed him aggressively, both to keep his weight up and to keep his newly-trimmed molars from overgrowing again. You may need to give him pain medication for several days, or more, to help him be comfortable while things normalize in his mouth.

Hang in and keep going. You're doing a very good and dedicated job of caring for him. Keep us posted.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri Apr 03, 2015 1:25 pm


Some tips on teeth that have been trimmed too short:

www.guinealynx.info/_broken.html

Rufi

Post   » Wed Apr 08, 2015 2:19 pm


In the meantime Rufi's front teeth had grown a bit, now there is food which he can grasp, but cannot cut. He grasps the sweet pepper, then he tries to tear the food into smaller pieces by using his weight. Sometimes, he succeeds. Unfortunately, it still hard to hand feed him and he wouldn't eat food cut by me. I think he still has pain, either because his dislocated jaw, or because his trimmed molars (or both).
Which leads to my question: I was giving him pain medicine, which I think it worked (it is easier to feed him). Today I called the vet since I ran out of pain killers, but he said I should stop administering the medicine, since it could lead to ulcer.
What should I do?

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Lynx
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Post   » Wed Apr 08, 2015 3:29 pm


It really does sound like you need more pain medication. www.guinealynx.info/.html

Have you made clear to the vet the signs of pain you are observing, the fact that he is not eating, the fear that there may be more issues if he doesn't eat enough?

I would do all you can to convince your vet your guinea pig still needs pain medication. Don't tell him simply that he needs pain meds but do it by describing how he was able to eat when on pain meds, what you observe in his behavior before and after, if you are weighing daily (should be), you can say he's losing weight and describe the signs of pain. You can say you think the pain medication made a huge difference and you are afraid he is going downhill.

If a guinea pig does not eat or can't eat well, they lose weight and the back teeth can start overgrowing.

I think you can see what I am trying to get at. You can also explain that you have not found guinea pigs to develop ulcers from meloxicam (is this what you're giving?). If he eats, he lives.

Talishan
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Post   » Wed Apr 08, 2015 10:29 pm


Huge ditto to Lynx. Not eating is a far FAR worse risk than GI ulceration.

We've had multiple pigs on NSAIDs long-term, and I have not had ONE single case of GI ulceration. Not one.

You can use infants' or children's Tylenol or Motrin (acetominaphen or ibuprofen) if you absolutely have to, but meloxicam (Metacam) or carprofen (Rimadyl) are preferable.

Rufi

Post   » Thu Apr 09, 2015 2:30 am


@Lynx, @Talishan: Thank you for the replies!
I will acquire meloxicam or carprofen. I can administer both orally, no?

Talishan
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Post   » Thu Apr 09, 2015 3:45 am


Yes, they're both oral. Meloxicam (Metacam) will, hopefully, be easier to get. Carprofen (Rimadyl) is in a tablet form and has to be compounded into a liquid. Metacam comes as a liquid for oral use.

Just to be clear: you'd use one OR the other -- not both together.

SardonicSmile

Post   » Thu Apr 09, 2015 4:53 am


Okay in some countries, like mine, carprofen actually does come in liquid form for small critters. It is worth looking into.

Talishan
You can quote me

Post   » Thu Apr 09, 2015 6:02 am


Excellent. I wish we had a liquid form in the US.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu Apr 09, 2015 4:45 pm


www.guinealynx.info/.html

Rufi

Post   » Fri Apr 10, 2015 4:24 pm


Thank you for the link! It's very helpful.
I purchased Loxicom(meloxicam).

Talishan
You can quote me

Post   » Sat Apr 11, 2015 4:20 am


Excellent.

Use the lowest effective dose that seems to keep him comfortable. It can be used long-term.

Please keep us posted on how he's doing.

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