Guinea Pig eating funny

Question
QUESTION: Hi my Guinea Pig is about 3 years old and has started eating funny. He appears to have trouble eating properly. He is alert and as greedy as usual but is also having problems drinking although he is managing!
Since he started acting this way the other male Guinea Pig who is VERY timid has started fighting with him. Stopping him from going to bed which means he has to sleep in the front of the hutch. Can you shed any light on this? I was wondering if an abscess could be the problem? Thanks!

ANSWER: Hi Andrea,

Problems with eating are almost always caused by some sort of mouth issue. It could be an abscess, but it is more likely to be mouth ulcers (do you overfeed fruit?) or overgrown teeth (is there anything in the cage for him to gnaw on?).

To be on the safe side, I'd recommend you whisk your boy off to a specialist small animal or exotic pet vet - whilst most minor oral complaints can be treated at home, tooth problems in particular can be an early sign of several more serious illnesses that you will want the vet to catch early.

It seems strange that the other piggy has started fighting with him, though. Perhaps the one with the trouble eating is being a bit grumpy because of it, and it's annoying the other piggy.

Let me know how things work out and if you have any other questions, just ask.

Jenny.


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Jenny

Thanks for the information. The vet gave him a full examination and found his heart etc to be in good working order. They checked his throat and ears. After removing a whole heap of gunk from his ears they trimmed his front teeth and gave him an antibiotic injection, mite injection and ear drops.

He is however still finding eating hard work. As far as I can see he isn't eating his Guinea Pig Food and I am having to hand feed him cucumber, lettuce and the like. We have tried dampened Guinea food too!

On further inspection I am not sure now if the vet has cut the bottom front teeth too short as his tongue totally covers them and he can't tear with them!

Do you think the trouble he is having now is a result of this and will clear up as he either gets used to it or when they grow back. Or possibly could it be due to the back ones being overgrown or something else entirely?!!

I am encouraged by the fact he is so alert and still drinking and practically taking my hand off when I feed them coz from past experience I know how fast they go downhill!

Thanks!

Answer
Hi Andrea,

That's good news that the vet says he is in good general health, and as you say, even better news that he still seems alert and happy. Did you find the vet helpful? I'm quite wary of vets and absolutely hate being there myself, but am thinking of taking my boys for a check-up soon as it's a good idea to do so every 6-12 months.

If his teeth has been trimmed they'll be very sore. Can you imagine how much that must hurt? Ouchie! This will be why he can't eat properly at the moment. Keep up the good work of giving him soft veggies like cucumber - try some fresh parsley too. Don't feed him carrot or anything with a big crunch until he's eating normally again, but you can try feeding him pepper etc if you cut it up small. I'm not sure how long it takes for trimmed teeth to feel normal, but one of my piggies lost a tooth once and it took only four days to grow back completely, so it shouldn't be a long time.

The bottom teeth are supposed to be very short - I think guinea pigs use their top teeth to do all the hard work, and the bottom ones to help take bites. To keep them nicely ground down and avoid another trim in the future, there are several things you can do (once he's eating normall again). Don't cut his food up too small - the bigger it is, the better workout it will give his teeth. I tend to slice carrots into thick chunks, feed cabbage leaves whole, etc. The only exception is celery - you must cut this up small to prevent your piggy from choking on the threads. Make sure he gets plenty of hay, and put a gnawing block (untreated wood from a pet shop) or an edible tube (like a stripey chube) in his cage.

I hope he feels better soon, and if you have any other questions ... just ask!