Guinea Pig Wont Eat

Question
I have two young guinea pigs that I keep together (they were left abandoned on a doorstep so I adopted them from a friend who found them) and one of them, a long-haired female named Peanut, is not eating. I leave hay and guinea pig pellets for her and her sister, Cashew, but she is not eating anything. I tried to hand feed her some hay, but she'll sniff at it or just ignore it. She is drinking water, and when I put in a fresh bowl of pellets in the cage, she perked up and ran over, but only pushed it around and then went back to her hut and lied down. She is currently lying down near the food bowl, but wont eat anything. Her teeth are long, but I am not sure what TOO long is. Please help! She is loosing weight and is very thin.

Answer

Front view of cavy tee  

Side view of cavy teet   The front teeth on a guinea pig appear much longer than what you would expect them to be.  But it's not the front teeth that are so often the problem, but the back teeth.

The front teeth are used to bite down on their food, but it is ground up by the back teeth. I suspect she has what is called a 'malocclusion' which means the teeth are overlapping because they've overgrown and she is unable to chew.

You might try getting some Critical Care to supplement her diet. It's a liquid much like Ensure is for humans. You can hang another water bottle with the Critical Care and that will help to at least keep her nutritional status up.  She needs to be seen by a vet asap. Their little bodies require constant sustenance, so refusal to eat is a serious issue.

Here are a couple of pictures of properly aligned cavy teeth. The back teeth are almost impossible to see unless you are able to get the mouth open wide enough. The skin from the cheeks folds inward when you try to open the mouth, thus making it impossible to see those molars. It is a good example of what the teeth should look like.

From the side view you can see how the teeth must meet together like a puzzle. If they become overgrown the animal cannot grind the food so it can swallow. Sometimes a tooth will actually cut into the cheek, making it very painful.

This is not something you can do yourself. Front teeth are not so much a problem, but if it is the molars you need a vet. I hope the pictures help you visualize what the anatomical structure of the teeth is like.

I just realized I sent the same picture twice. I am revising this to show the front view that I missed the first time.