Drooling, not eating
I have some good news!
Rufi began to eat radish leaves in such an amount that he would maintain his weight without hand feeding. Nevertheless, I still give him a small amount of mix with the main ingredient being pellets. He also eats limited amounts of apple, cabbage or cucumber.
The only downside is that he doesn't cuts his leaves, but tears them using his front legs and mouth.
Rufi began to eat radish leaves in such an amount that he would maintain his weight without hand feeding. Nevertheless, I still give him a small amount of mix with the main ingredient being pellets. He also eats limited amounts of apple, cabbage or cucumber.
The only downside is that he doesn't cuts his leaves, but tears them using his front legs and mouth.
Then it looks like the Chin-Sling is doing its job! You can gradually reduce the hours he wears it as his jaw muscles redevelop. At some point he may not need to wear it at all. You will be able to tell as the usually first sign of jaw muscle weakness on one side is slanted incisors.
Weight is also a good way of keeping track of his chewing ability.
I had a pig who only needed to wear the Chin-Sling every third day. On the third day her incisors developed a slight slant. Her eating problem was due to a weak heart. Actually she was our first official heart pig after we concluded guinea pigs couldn't get Walking Pneumonia(diagnosis from radiologist) and survive. The "pneumonia" was fluid in her lungs and when we gave her Lasix, her very pronounced pea eye disappeared which told us the pea eye was not due to fat but to fluid. That lead us to understanding Pea Eye could be an indication of circulation problems i.e. heart issues. And then the battle of convincing other vets pigs could get heart disease began and as long time members will remember it was a frustratingly long and difficult battle with even a member's vet taking part by writing his experiences with heart issues in pigs and allowing Lynx to publish it (thanks to Bug's Mom's vet). And now exotic textbooks finally have heart disease for guinea pigs covered. Can't honestly say this was due to Guinea Lynx but I like to think we put the bug in the veterinary community's ear.
Depending on Rufi's age and the reason his jaw muscles weakened - a trial of heart meds may be advisable. Pigs with weak hearts tend to choose breathing over eating resulting in weight loss and jaw muscles weakened thru underuse.
With senior pigs, malocclusion and heart problems often go hand in hand.
Weight is also a good way of keeping track of his chewing ability.
I had a pig who only needed to wear the Chin-Sling every third day. On the third day her incisors developed a slight slant. Her eating problem was due to a weak heart. Actually she was our first official heart pig after we concluded guinea pigs couldn't get Walking Pneumonia(diagnosis from radiologist) and survive. The "pneumonia" was fluid in her lungs and when we gave her Lasix, her very pronounced pea eye disappeared which told us the pea eye was not due to fat but to fluid. That lead us to understanding Pea Eye could be an indication of circulation problems i.e. heart issues. And then the battle of convincing other vets pigs could get heart disease began and as long time members will remember it was a frustratingly long and difficult battle with even a member's vet taking part by writing his experiences with heart issues in pigs and allowing Lynx to publish it (thanks to Bug's Mom's vet). And now exotic textbooks finally have heart disease for guinea pigs covered. Can't honestly say this was due to Guinea Lynx but I like to think we put the bug in the veterinary community's ear.
Depending on Rufi's age and the reason his jaw muscles weakened - a trial of heart meds may be advisable. Pigs with weak hearts tend to choose breathing over eating resulting in weight loss and jaw muscles weakened thru underuse.
With senior pigs, malocclusion and heart problems often go hand in hand.
I have good news again!
Rufi started to eat fresh grass. I had to leave town in the weekend, so I took Rufi with me. When I put him in the grass, he ate a little bit! Interestingly, he won't eat hay, but eating grass (though not in large amounts) is a huge development. It must be the chin-sling...
And now the problems: he lost 5% of his weight in the weekend. Maybe because of the stress of the car travel? In the last week he was maintaining his weight with me giving him just a few syringes of mix/day. I will hand feed him more aggressively. He is very thin for a 1 year old GP: just 420 grams.
@Pinta: I think and hope that he doesn't have heart issues. He had a jaw dislocation and, I presume, he didn't want to eat because of the pain, so his muscles have weakened.
P.S. Though I am just a new member of this forum, I am grateful that I found this place. Without you guys Rufi would not be living. So, (and there are many more reasons) guinea lynx certainly makes a difference...
Rufi started to eat fresh grass. I had to leave town in the weekend, so I took Rufi with me. When I put him in the grass, he ate a little bit! Interestingly, he won't eat hay, but eating grass (though not in large amounts) is a huge development. It must be the chin-sling...
And now the problems: he lost 5% of his weight in the weekend. Maybe because of the stress of the car travel? In the last week he was maintaining his weight with me giving him just a few syringes of mix/day. I will hand feed him more aggressively. He is very thin for a 1 year old GP: just 420 grams.
@Pinta: I think and hope that he doesn't have heart issues. He had a jaw dislocation and, I presume, he didn't want to eat because of the pain, so his muscles have weakened.
P.S. Though I am just a new member of this forum, I am grateful that I found this place. Without you guys Rufi would not be living. So, (and there are many more reasons) guinea lynx certainly makes a difference...