[Mum]

Help - they're stuck in the pig's mouth. Anybody had this experience before?

[snowflakey]

Ack! Did they break so that they won't squeeze in to remove them? I hope you get them out soon.

[Mum]

not broken - stuck

[snowflakey]

Poor pig. I have no experience with using them myself. I hope you can unstick them soon.

[Mum]

eff it - I'm going to have to go to the ER, and it's at least an hour away.

How can this be?

Anybody?

[rshevin]

I've never used buccal pad seperators myself but all I can imagine is the pig got nervous and has contracted the muscles in his mouth and is holding the instrument in there. Try to stay calm and try to get the pig calm, perhaps going into a dark room. Sit there together for a few minutes and then try to gently ease the instrument out. If you can, you may also want to wiggle, gently of course, to release any suction that has occured between the cheeks and the pads. The emergency vet is not a bad idea of course.

[Lynx]

Are they the ones on the teeth or the cheeks? Can anybody give you a hand? Are the teeth wedged in some way?

I have to confess that I was never brave enough to use the buccal pad separators I got on any of my pigs. I suppose this makes me a whimp.

I am so sorry you are having problems with them.

[Fweeprluvr]

I just found this and just e-mailed you, but if you check here first and need help, just call me. I don't know anything about them, but would be glad to come help if you need someone.

[klynne]

Holy crap.

Mum, what happened? I hope all is well now.

[Mum]

We're back from the ER.

I want to make sure everyone is warned about this:

These are the separators I got from Vedra. I put the first one in the pig's mouth, turned it horizontally, and it went into position as it was supposed too. Except that it was trapped on both sides. I slipped one side of the other separator in to see if I could ease the one stuck in there out, and it too slipped right in and stuck.

I tried to get it out for an hour, and eventually realized it wasn't coming out.

The wonderful ER vet, who I've seen before and knows about guinea pigs, had to actually cut the separators off, inject the pig with Lidocaine, cut under the chin and take them out. They'd pierced her like a fish hook

I'll post pics of the separators (in pieces) tomorrow, but the curve of the ends was rough, and there was a small gap in the middle of the curve. That's the part - we think - that did the damage.

All I can do now is to hope the mouth doesn't abscess. This pig has been on Doxy for some days for pneumonia, but I had stopped the Baytril after 4 days because she wasn't tolerating it. She's now back on both a/bs, and I just hope I can get her through this.

[Fweeprluvr]

Geez Mum, how scary. Poor baby pig. If it isn't one thing it is another, huh?

I still don't understand how they work. Was her mouth stuck open? Was she freaking out? Has your heartrate returned to normal?

[Fweeprluvr]

Will you contact Vedra about this?

[Spike789]

Oh, boy. I hope she is ok. Poor baby.

[PiggiesGalore]

Oh Mum how scary for you, I do hope she is ok. It will be interesting to hear Vedra's take on this!

[JHand]

Oh Mum, I am so sorry. I hope everything turns out ok.

Maybe you can get Vedra to pay the vet bills?

DOn't beat yourself up over this. This isn't something you would have done intentionally.

[Lynx]

Wow, how scary! I never would have thought the ends would get caught in the flesh itself.

Please note on the buccal pad separator page that the cool directions Mike gave for making one of your own include dipping it in a rubber like material to make it softer for the inside of the mouth. This also seals the ends so nothing could get caught.

I am so sorry for you and your guinea pig, Mum. It does sound like this was absolutely an emergency.

[snowflakey]

Oh, that sounds horrible! Thank goodness you had a good vet. I hope everything heals up without further incident.

[Mum]

Sorry, I was typing the first part last night with the pig on my lap, so words were short!

The worst part is that this is a pig I offered to look after while she was sick.

I didn't even order the separators directly from Vedra - Webs got them for me, so I'm pretty sure there's no recourse at all.

I'd really like to hear from anybody else who's actually used them. I wonder whether mine were faulty, or whether it was this pig's anatomy. I'm very concerned that someone else may use them and have the same problem.

Pig's looking pretty bad this morning - I'm going to h/f, subcue, and medicate. She was supposed to be going back home last night, but obviously I'll need to keep her longer.

[caregiver]

Mum, I am so sorry to hear about this. How awful and frightening for both you and the gp.

I have no experience using these pads, but I did pass this information on to a vet once with other material who became very angry and said they were dangerous. I had no intent on using them and am also aware that some vets can be prejudiced as it is a potential business loss for them.... In fact this vet's method of teeth trimming was far from conservative either.... so in truth, I made no judgement about it.

I have no doubt this pig is in the best hands possible with you and I am hoping she will have a uncomplicated recovery.

[Lynx]

I think you said you'd post pics of the parts. I can compare them to what I have. Possible that during the removal the wire was bent so may not actually be how it was when you first inserted them into the mouth.

I would like more feedback from people too. I take it you've used the buccal pad separators before? Depending on what I find out, I may remove them from the site and just leave up the ones that Mike gave directions for.

At the very least, I ought to put a warning on the separator page.