Chewie's front paw

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Atomicoxy

Post   » Wed Mar 21, 2018 11:37 pm


Ok, so some know I'm having trouble with Flake's teeth since December, and today, I just arrived home from school and saw Chewie, my third boar, having difficult to walk, I just noticed that he won't touch the ground with his left front paw, and his 'wrist' area is swollen, I called the vet and she said that could be a fracture or just a torsion, and she prescribed some medications (that I'm giving to Flake) to Chewie. He is eating normally, as I gave him some greens and he ate without problem.

I would like you opinion, I didn't found any topic on the Medical & Care guide about pigs having problems to walk. If it was just a torsion, any idea on how long would the recover take? Could it be something more serious?

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Thu Mar 22, 2018 12:13 am


He could have injured it, it could be arthritis, it could be some sort of growth. I'd want an x-ray for a better diagnosis.

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Atomicoxy

Post   » Thu Jun 27, 2019 1:47 am


Good evening, it's me again, unfortunately, with teeth problems, for the third time... With my last pig...

Well, last week Chewie was eating normally, he was eating hay, cutting carrots, etc, like usual, but then on the other day he couldn't cut things anymore, so I started to cut things in little bits so he could eat, and he did, I called the vet and we did an x-ray, it revealed that his molars were good, the only overgrown teeth were his lower incisives, but the vet thought that was not the reason he wasn't eating, because she noticed something wrong with his ear in the x-ray.

So we started to medicate him with anti-inflammatory for 4 days, he got a little better and ate more things in those days, but on the last day on medicine, he just won't ate anymore, and I started hand-feeding him, I mean he was doing pretty well, and suddenly he couldn't and wouldn't eat anymore, did the teeth really grow that fast? Or is it pain? (but he was still on medicine when he eating stopped completely).

I called the vet and she will be doing teeth planning Thursday or Friday. I really hope that the problem is only his lower incisives and not the molars, I think the recovery could be better and faster. I'm really hopeless, because everything I've been through with Flake and Foster, it was a total of 5 teeth planning, and none of them solved the problem, it only delayed it... And everything that happened to them seems to be happening exactly the same with Chewie, I hope I'm wrong, but it's hard to stay positive sometimes...

I would like to know if there are cases where malloclusions have been successfully treated and the pig had a normal life after it.

User avatar
Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Thu Jun 27, 2019 6:33 am


You will need to aggressively hand feed in order to keep him alive if he isn't eating on his own. See:
https://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html

See also:
https://www.guinealynx.info/teeth.html

You mentioned something wrong with his ear(s) in the xray...what was it? Infection? If there is an underlying infection going on, any anti-inflammatory alone won't fix it. What medication has he been on?

Is this vet experienced with exotics? For anything teeth-related, I'd want an exotics vet who knows how to properly deal with dental issues. Otherwise, any improper trimming or planing of the teeth could make the problem even worse.

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Atomicoxy

Post   » Thu Jun 27, 2019 9:30 am


You will need to aggressively hand feed in order to keep him alive if he isn't eating on his own. See:
https://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html
Oh yeah, I'm already handfeeding him. The only thing that bothers me is when I start handfeeding my pigs too much, they start to do a "grooting" song, and they have to cough for it to stop, I give feed them slow and only bit by bit...
You mentioned something wrong with his ear(s) in the xray...what was it? Infection? If there is an underlying infection going on, any anti-inflammatory alone won't fix it. What medication has he been on?
She wasn't sure if it was an inflammation or an infection, she wanted to start with anti-inflammatory only so he wouldn't need antibiotics, but looks like it wasn't only an inflammation after all, but I asked for a teeth planning already because all his signs are like my other 2 pigs that had teeth issue...
Is this vet experienced with exotics? For anything teeth-related, I'd want an exotics vet who knows how to properly deal with dental issues. Otherwise, any improper trimming or planing of the teeth could make the problem even worse.
Yes, she is an exotic vet. But all the teeth planning she did on my pigs, the incisive seems to be too short... I'm not sure...

User avatar
Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Thu Jun 27, 2019 10:31 am


I wouldn't have incisors planed unless there is a very clear, obvious overgrowth. If the vet has a history of trimming too much off, and if you have another guinea pig without dental issues, take that one along so that the vet can compare.

As far as aspirating on the handfeeding formula...what size syringe are you using? If you use a 1cc with the tip cut off and you *go slowly* with the syringe pointed to the side of the cheek vs. straight back, aspiration shouldn't be an issue. If the pig is choking on it, you're possibly pushing too much at one time and the pig isn't able to fully chew before swallowing it (you should see a chewing movement of the mouth), and/or it's too watery and you're pushing it down too quickly.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu Jun 27, 2019 10:58 am


What medication was he given? Any chance there were elongated roots? An inexperienced vet might think with no molar spurs, tongue entrapment, or growth, the teeth look okay. Glad you had an xray done. Maybe see if you can have your vet solicit a second opinion on the xray, like emailing it to Dr. Legendre in Canada?

User avatar
Atomicoxy

Post   » Thu Jun 27, 2019 11:18 am


I wouldn't have incisors planed unless there is a very clear, obvious overgrowth. If the vet has a history of trimming too much off, and if you have another guinea pig without dental issues, take that one along so that the vet can compare.
Unfortunately, Chewie is my only pig.
As far as aspirating on the handfeeding formula...what size syringe are you using? If you use a 1cc with the tip cut off and you *go slowly* with the syringe pointed to the side of the cheek vs. straight back, aspiration shouldn't be an issue. If the pig is choking on it, you're possibly pushing too much at one time and the pig isn't able to fully chew before swallowing it (you should see a chewing movement of the mouth), and/or it's too watery and you're pushing it down too quickly.
I'm doing like you said, the syringe pointed to the cheek and to the back of the mouth, I also give it slowly. Another question, how many ml should I handfeed per session? And what about total per day? He is weighting around 950 grams.
What medication was he given? Any chance there were elongated roots? An inexperienced vet might think with no molar spurs, tongue entrapment, or growth, the teeth look okay. Glad you had an xray done. Maybe see if you can have your vet solicit a second opinion on the xray, like emailing it to Dr. Legendre in Canada?
It was 1 drop of dipyrone each 12h for 5 days, and 1 drop of Profenid (with my searchs, it's seems to Ketoprofen in the USA) each 24h for 4 days.

Those are his x-rays, on the first one he hadn't teeth issues (February 2019). (He had to make an x-ray because he wasn't eating, but it turned out to be another thing).
Image

And this is his most recent x-ray, which the report says the only problem is lower incisive being too big and (using automatic translation for this too technician terms) "Thickening of the right tympanic bulla, associated with discrete areas of high radiopacity
soft tissues in topography of auditory ducts bilaterally (mineralization?)"

Comparing both, the molars seems to be quite good (maybe the lefts one is too big?), also, the vet checked him and there were no wounds in the cheeks/tongue. But I doubt it's not teeth problem, as it's happening literally like my others pigs...
Image

Another question, does handfeeding turns pigs poop soft? Because it is and it smell really bad/strong. It's not diarrhea but it's soft.

Also, are there any good recovery for teeth planning? All the topics I read seems to be really rough for them, I even have experience with 2 others that didn't turned very well.

User avatar
Atomicoxy

Post   » Thu Jun 27, 2019 2:39 pm


The vet just messaged me that Chewie's teeth planning was succesful, she said his molars were bad, but the pre-molars were fine, she will call me when I can pick him up.

User avatar
Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Thu Jun 27, 2019 7:13 pm


That bottom set of incisors almost looks misaligned to me. There should be more of an overbite with the upper teeth, with lowers wearing along that ridge on the corresponding uppers (at least, from what I've seen of normal head x-rays), but maybe someone else can weigh-in on it.

Were you given any pain meds to administer if needed? To what did the vet attribute that thickening of the timpanic area? I can see it, I think, but I don't know what that represents.

Handfeeding could cause loose stools if the formula is very watery.

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Atomicoxy

Post   » Thu Jun 27, 2019 7:46 pm


Were you given any pain meds to administer if needed? To what did the vet attribute that thickening of the timpanic area? I can see it, I think, but I don't know what that represents.
I'm giving him pain meds, the mouth had no injuries, which is good, he's already trying to eat some leafs, but he almost shocked and I will only handfeed him for 1-2 days. About the timpanic area, they kind of just ignored it as the really trouble was the teeth, I asked about it and she said that she observed while he was under anesthesia and said it's alright.
Handfeeding could cause loose stools if the formula is very watery.
Okay, thanks.

User avatar
Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Fri Jun 28, 2019 7:01 am


I don't understand: "He almost shocked, and I will only handfeed him for 1-2 days." Did you mean "choked" rather than "shocked"? If he doesn't eat enough on his own, you *MUST* handfeed him. A guinea pig who isn't getting enough food in his or her system risks having the gut slow down to the point where the GI tract can shut down altogether and he pig will die.

See important information on handfeeding here:
https://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html

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