Question
Madelyn's 1st Hallowee
Hello,
I have a 3yr old mini pot who for the past year has developed a habit of grinding her teeth ALL the time! Also, within the last month or two has started licking blankets/carpeting whenever possible. Have you ever heard of this issue and if so is there anyway to make it stop - it gets quite annoying after a while.
AnswerPigs grind their teeth for many reasons. It may signal happiness or anger, contentment or discomfort. Try to get a look inside her mouth, or put your finger in her mouth to feel around for anything stuck behind her teeth or inside her mouth that may be causing discomfort. If she's licking blankets and carpeting, wads of fiber may be stuck in her teeth.
The licking is very unusual behavior. One possibility is that something on the blankets or carpeting tastes/smells really good. This could be from a laundry detergent or deodorizer. If that's the problem, then eliminating the deodorizer and switching laundry soap should help. It might take a couple of weeks to notice a difference, because whatever she likes could linger for awhile, and because pigs are creatures of habit. Give her some toys, like busy balls or infant toys, or more outside time to distract her from the licking.
If there's nothing in her mouth, and she continues to lick long after you've switched detergents, soaps, etc., then the licking might be a signal that something serious is wrong.
One possibility is a problem with her food. Usually pet food bags contain exactly what they are supposed to contain, but not always - mistakes, sometimes fatal, have happened. It's hard to tell one kind of pelleted food from another, the food made for rabbits and guinea pigs and horses all look just like pellets made for pot-bellied pigs. In Ohio, a food company once accidentally filled bags of alpaca food with antibiotic-laced chicken feed and many alpaca died from eating it. Poor storage and handling can lead pelleted food to spoil or mold, or the bag may have been contaminated with something like salt. In short, toss her current bag of food and get a fresh bag in a different brand or from a different store and check the expiration date.
Often pica, or the eating of non-food items, indicates a medical condition that requires treatment. The licking, combined with constant teeth grinding, could indicate a partial obstruction in her digestive system. So if the steps above have no effect, piggy will need to see a vet for blood work and maybe x-rays. That should give some clues as to what is wrong and what to do next. There's a list of vets that treat pot-bellied pigs at www.farec.org
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