GP will only eat pellets!

Question
About 2 weeks ago, my 3 year-old g.p. stopped eating hay and fresh food. She still loves her pellets. I brought her to the vet who trimmed her incisors. Since then (one week ago), she  shows interest in veggies and hay (wheeks and
runs around, sniffs and licks) but wil not eat them. I've been feeding her extra pellets to keep her weight from dropping anymore (currently 1 lb., 10 oz, down
from 2 lbs). Water consumption seems normal.

She still seems to be afraid to use her incisors. She used to chomp on the pen bars to get my attention or nibble my shirt to be put down. She'll still do it but with her tongue sticking out between the bars and her teeth.

Two nights ago, I finally got her to eat some carrot that was chopped into pellet-sized bits but she lost interest after 5 or so pieces and wouldn't take any last night. Is this still reasonable recovery from the pain of dental work? She never had malocclusion before--why now? Is she
being stubborn because pellets are an easy source of calories? Is there something else the vet should check?

Thanks.


Answer
Hi Aldona,

    First let me say that I am very happy to hear that you are so concerned about your guinea pig and are taking every measure to make sure she is as comfortable as possible.  Also, know that vitamin C will help your piggie's teeth to grow strong and healthy.  Vitamin supplement drops can be purchased at your local pet store to be added daily to food and water.

    I took note that you mentioned a trimming of her incisors, but not her molars.  Malocclusion also involves molars' overgrowing, and can entrap the tongue causing it to stick out more.  There are some vets who are very inexperienced in the area of guinea pigs but will do the best they can and diagnose to the best of their knowledge - is it possible that the vet who saw your guinea pig did not check her molars?

    Guinea pig molars are very difficult to check because of fat-pads called buccal pads located in the animal's cheeks.  There are even special instruments used to separate the pads to aid vets in examining guinea pig teeth.  A helpful website that talks about malocclusion and buccal pads can be found here (a list of links is to the left - the link called "malocclusion" is especially helpful):

http://guinealynx.com/send_separators.php

    Thank you for your question, I hope I have been of some help to you.  If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to ask.  Good luck with your guinea pig (=

                                                 - Nicole