[Gpdd] [HEALTH] Anorexic Pig/ Sid/Teeth

DebJonSara at aol.com DebJonSara at aol.com
Thu Mar 30 03:51:31 EST 2006


Angela, I was one of the people who emailed you when you first posted about  
your problems syringe feeding Sid, and I would just like to express my most  
sincere condolences on his departure for the Rainbow Bridge. As you may  
remember, I had a similar experience with Red Dandy, although he was having to  be 
syringe fed every hour couple of hours except at night. I know how  
heart-wrenching it feels when one finally has to accept that they are not going  to make 
it, and I do think syringe feeding strengthens the already powerful bond  
between slave and piggie, making the separation doubly painful.
 
As it happens, I have been privileged to have the rodentologists who  cared 
for him over his final week to stay here in France for a couple of days,  to 
give all my piggies health checks and treat two erupted sebaceous cysts on  one 
piggie. I naturally questioned them further about Red Dandy and teeth  
problems, and they said that it is probably only about 10% of cases of anorexic  
piggies needing their teeth trimmed for whom that is their only problem. In  other 
words, in 90% of cases, overgrown or misaligned teeth are only a symptom  of 
some other underlying and more serious/less easily treatable medical problem,  
which causes a reduced intake of hay, which leads to the teeth overgrowing  
because they are not being worn down. 
 
I felt this information to be so significant that it should be posted here.  
I'd be interested to hear from other vets or rodentologists whether they also  
felt dental problems were the primary cause of anorexia in such a small  
percentage of cases, and were more often a symptom than a cause. Previously, I  
for one thought overgrown teeth/malocclusion was a primary problem in itself,  
and that adequate dentistry avoided/removed the problem. When Red first had his 
 teeth trimmed, I expected him to start eating again and get back to normal,  
and it was a huge disappointment when this failed to happen. 
 
What continues to frustrate me more than anything is the fact that guinea  
pigs have been laboratory animals for so long, and used to test products for the 
 benefit of human health for so long, and yet there is so little medical data 
 widely available about them in terms of diagnosing medical problems, other 
than  by post-mortem examination.
 
Anyway, Angela, once again, I express my sincere condolences on your loss  of 
Sid. I know the presence of the other 10 piggies will be of little comfort -  
even when I had more  than 20, I broke my heart whenever anyone went to The  
Bridge. As you say, Sid is at rest now, and he will have known he was  loved. 
You did all you could for him - these little furbies are so frighteningly  
fragile.
 
Hugs from France
 
Debbie and the 17 Dolly Mixtures  

"The animal  shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete 
than ours they  move finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the 
senses we have lost or  never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. 
They are not brethren,  they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught 
with ourselves in the  net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendour 
and travail of the  earth". 

Henry Beston





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