Guinea Pig lost teeth

[BooksChocolateAndSleep]

Hi all, does anyone have any experience of Guinea Pigs being ok after losing teeth?

We noticed our 9 month old female eating strangely this morning so we had a look at her and her top front teeth are gone. She's eating hay and nuggets ok but struggling with big salad leaves, she's kind of ripping them apart instead of the fast nibbling they normally do and then giving up and walking away. I hand fed her earlier smaller bits of leaves and she was fine with that and I've also given her water through a syringe just in case she can't work her bottle.

I've made her a vet appointment for Monday but the lady on the phone sounded very grim about it and told me to keep an eye on her over the weekend.

She seems ok in herself but over the last week she has been very grumpy with her sister!

I've got a very upset 7 year old so I was wondering if this has happened to anyone else and the gp has been fine?

Thanks!

You need to start syringe feeding her now, it’s an emergency.
If Guineas don’t eat virtually constantly their guts stop working and your on a slippery slope.

Have a look at www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/complete-syringe-feeding-guide.115359/
This website is brilliant, if you post on their you will get amazing help.

I’ve never heard of a pig loosing their front teeth, their teeth grow constantly which is another reason they need to eat non stop., maybe they’ll grow back.

Good luck

Ah, poor baby! They will grow back. If she's eating, she'll be fine, just monitor her carefully. You can grate carrot and cut things up so she can easily scoop them up with her tongue and eat them with her other teeth.

P.s. this happened to one of ours. He went a bit sheepish and stopped swiping at his cagemate till they grew back 😅

My pigs did , sometimes one tooth , sometimes 2 .
They will need easy to eat food ( like grated carrot or cucumber )
Things like parsley or celery leaves they'll manage .
Be careful with cubes or celery stalks ( stringy)

Its good that she's eating pellets .and hay . Make sure she can get to her water bottle ok .
If your guinea-pig is ill Vit C supplement helps .

If she struggles to eat then you'll need to syringe feed
Get yourself some fine grind Critical Care or similar
You can mash pellets with water as an emergency . Needs to be runny and you can use a syringe (Calpol syringe will do ) or the tip of a teaspoon handle .
You need to deposit a bit behind the teeth and let them chew , then they'll swallow . Don;t squirt it , you can get it into their windpipe .

Guinea pig teeth grow constantly so they'lll grow back . And as they're greedy little varmints they love to eat .

Does your piggie chew the bars ?

Hi. Just wanted to say that I took her to the vets yesterday and he said that her teeth haven’t fallen out she has snapped them off! He said that she may have caught them while chewing something so she just has two little stumps remaining. He can’t see any reason why they won’t grow back so I just need to check them weekly to make sure they are growing fine, he also trimmed her bottom two as they were becoming too long. Apart from that she is a healthy little pig and as he described her “a feisty little one as well”!

So I'm now basically her slave and you will find me in the kitchen cutting her food into nice edible strips. Parsley was a good idea as she can eat that fine and as it comes, I don't think she will need syringe feeding as the strips of food seem to be working for her but I will keep a close eye and change to a syringe if she is struggling. I was worried about her water bottle but the vet said she should be fine and that I can also put a small bowl of water in their cage.

I'm just so glad she's ok and have a very relieved 7 year old!

@70isaLimitNotaTarget yea she does chew the cage bars, not all day normally when she wants food or she hears/sees me coming with food. They are like a double act, you walk into the room and one squeaks loudly and hole she chews the bars! Maybe that's how she did her teeth poor little thing.

@70isaLimitNotaTarget

Is there anything that can help them not chew the bars? One of our pigs does this, and I’m just waiting for teeth problems. She’s 11 months. She chews in a frenzied way for food, but also at other times too...

Cherry some pigs are just naturally more drawn to them
We gave our guineas cardboard boxes whhich they loved chewing ( noisy but not as noisy , less damage to their teeth )

They love the moise and once they know it gets a result , (attention/food) they're on it !
3am listening to little piggies being all riot-ey
"Pigs knock it off you aren't hamsters"
No , but while you're up we could use some more parsley .......

And they don't bloody learn either ! Losing a tooth/teeth doesn't stop them .

I found DD first boar (GP1) chewed the plastic base/bar upper cage , but the others weren't bothered by the C&C type bars - white coated . Maybe they dodn't make the noise they liked ? Or they were happier chewing cardboard and the water bottle
GP1 did lose teeth more than once

Thanks so much @70isaLimitNotaTarget. Interesting about them liking the noise 🙈

It’s a C&C cage. She chews so hard the coating is coming off She’s got a cardboard box hidey as well but rarely chews that. If she’s asking for food/strokes, will not rewarding the bar-chewing work? It’s like it’s her equivalent of wheeking...

Is your C&C lined ? The ones I've seen on their website have a plastic lining to fit neatly , though if they can reach the edge they'd probably chew the edge

I had a thick layer of cardboard on the base to protct their paws and if I was clever , it came up the sides .
It helps keep their mess in but then they cannot see out .

Would a thin clear plastic sheet/perspex liner work? Drill holes in the corners and secure with cable ties ? Put it on the inside and they cannot get their rodenty teeth onto the bars .

They need protected from themseves don't thet

Thanks 70 - I think Perspex is the way to go. The C&C is lined up to a certain height, but she stands on her back legs and stretches up tall to chew the bars above the lining. She’s determined!