[Gpdd] Health: Chin Sling Good, Malocclusion Bad!

[Carla Martinez]

Hi Digest Buddies,

I just wanted to share some good news for piggies with malocclusion. You
know our Snowball has been having a lot of trouble with his teeth. I was
reading up on Guinealynx about the chin sling and then at the vet I saw
this girl who was very experienced with guinea pigs and she also
recommended getting one. Then the vet said she would work with us on it.


So I emailed the inventor/designer Ingrid Rice and she made one up for
Snowball on a rush (he had two anesthesias from June 14 to July 1
because his teeth grew that much during that time period) She custom
measured for his head size and everything. We got it right away and he's
been wearing it for most of July. He's gotten to accept it pretty well
and is eating well for the most part, except for still avoiding his hay.

And today when we saw the vet for a check-up, she said she really likes
what she sees, his front teeth are meeting and he's able to close his
mouth much better. She said that is all due to the chin sling.

So we are still fine tuning Snowball's program, but so far, between the
chin sling and a good vet, it looks like it will prevent a lot of molar
planning. Of course I hope I'm not speaking too fast on this, don't want
to jinx it. It's just that today was the first sort of preliminary
evidence with our vet's positive opinion.
Yay for good things, good animals and good people. 

Carla, Snickers and Snowball