[Gpdd] chin sling

[warmbreath at comcast.net]

Teeth dont usually go bad because of age. I am not expert but guinea pig 
teeth grow quickly so I suggest over growth in the molars so that he cant 
push food back far enough to swallow or an abscess which is very common. 
X-ray can determine both. To find out if your vet is really teeth savvy ask 
if he uses bucal separators to examine and aid in trimming the molars. If 
not dont go forward with that vet, get a referral to a veterinary college 
with an active rodent program or tell us where you live and we will see if 
someone here knows a good one near you.  A good vet can trim these teeth 
without anesthesia which is dangerous for piggies, using anesthesia is 
dangerous to be clear. I believe we have a procedure in our archives written 
by Ann Evans or some one at the Cambridge Cavy Trust in England, I will see 
if I can find it, also I recommend a letter to our Ann Evans, I believe she 
knows about proper procedures for teeth.Also check www.guinealynx.info  for 
info on teeth and procedures and join their forum as there are very 
knowledgeable people on that board. In the meantime try to make the hand 
feeding as frequent as possible and thin so he can just swallow. I will 
forward your info to Ann and see if can add to this.

Dont use too much orange juice as it is very sweet which is also harmful, 
elder pigs can and do get diabetes from too many sweet. As long as you are 
making a slurry you might add ground up Vit C rather than allot of juice

Some vets will want to use anesthesia for x-ray also, but a piggy can be 
restrained properly without, a recent procedure using a shoebox the same 
size as the piggy was mentioned. Again old age doesn't make teeth go bad or 
chin muscles deteriorate, the sudden onset indicates a fast growing 
obstruction or infection.If so a chin strap would seem to me to be less 
helpful than trimming the teeth or treating the abscess.  So good luck and 
stay in touch  Also please try to determine if your piggy is in pain, the 
massage I mentioned yesterday should bring pleasure not pain, if you find a 
sore spot you have a clue where to focus your search. Also have the tongue 
checked well as an overgrowth of teeth can cause a sore tongue or even a 
blister.  Sandy and Shipwreck Sam