[Gpdd] [health] teeth: Pooh girl

[Dr Kay Dudman]

Hi Mary

It sounds like your piggy Pooh girl has a problem with her molars.  If her
front teeth needed clipping, it is usually a sign that there is a problem
with the back teeth as well.  I expect your vet looked at your piggy's teeth
with an otoscope, but this does not give a full view - there could be a
spike or a spur which wasn't visible.  It is very difficult to look in a
piggy's mouth because of the buccal (cheek) pads, and also there are usually
particles of food.  The angle at which piggy teeth grow means that the lower
molars can arch over (and sometimes trap, or cut in to) the tongue, while
the upper molars can grow into the cheek.  The fact that the vet prescribed
eye drops also indicates that there is likely to be a problem with her
molars, as the roots of the upper teeth can extend and push into the eye
socket, which can make the eyes water, but it is the teeth that are the real
problem.

Some things you can try to get her eating are:

* take the green pellets from her dry mix and soak them in warm water to
make a paste, and syringe that to her, or offer it to her on a teaspoon

* some fruit or veggie baby food (no onions) that is for around 3 month
babies, and syringe that to her; you could also mix in a little critical
care or bran for variety and extra fibre

* syringe her some drinking water; sometimes put a little vitamin C in it,
although not in her water bottle

* ask your vet for some fibreplex which is a carrot flavour paste which will
help her gut bacteria (particularly as she is on antibiotics)

What you could try is to slide your little finger in Pooh girl's mouth - if
she will let you.  Make sure your fingernail is trimmed right down, and
slide the tip of your finger in behind the front teeth towards the back of
the mouth.  Of course, if Pooh girl gets distressed, stop at once.  You
should be able to feel her lower back teeth fairly easily.  If they feel
sharp then there is a problem as they could be making her tongue sore.  If
you finger comes out with a tiny puncture (and I don't mean a bite!) you
have your answer - the teeth need attention.  Alternatively, you might be
able to feel if the teeth are too close over her tongue.

Take Pooh girl to a vet who really knows about guinea pigs.  

Some people prefer teeth to be trimmed without anaesthetic, and it is
sometime possible to do this with bone rongeurs (like little pliers).
Personally, I prefer my piggies to have a whiff of isoflurane (a gaseous
anaesthetic) with oxygen as my vet uses a high speed burr to trim the teeth.
Rongeurs can remove spikes and spurs, but I'm not convinced that they can
successfully trim teeth that are overgrown.  I also take the view that
clipping the teeth can cause other problems as the action can sometimes
cause the teeth to split and an abscess then form in the jaw.  I would
strongly advise against having any injectable anaesthetic as it can take
piggies a long time to recover from these, and can trigger gut stasis.
Isoflurane is much preferred because it doesn't linger in the body like
injectable anaesthetics.  I would add that these are my personal views, and
I appreciate that other people might have different opinions.

I hope this helps, and that little Pooh girl gets better very soon.

Kay