Top 100 Cavy Breeders

smithsville stud · Posted: Fri Jan 26, 2007 5:51 pm Post subject: teeth loose

HELP!!!!

What would you do , one of my piggies caught his two front teeth in the show pens bars and they are loose would you pull them out or leave them till they fell out???????????????????????

Rolling Eyes

jencamcavies · Posted: Fri Jan 26, 2007 6:28 pm Post subject:

Leave them i would ??
some times the gums are more plyable so they move and then all goes back to normal or they fall out ?
but just leave it and it will be fine they grow quite quick anyway ?! Very Happy

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Wheekster · Second in Comand Joined: 09 Oct 2006 Posts: 545

Can he eat okay or not? Its important that he keeps eating to keep his gut moving... if he can't eat then maybe its better to see if his teeth can be gently pulled out to encourage new ones to grow back through quicker? You will need to syringe feed him until he can eat on his own again and watch that in the mean time his back teeth don't get over grown if he is unable to nibble on hay.... he may still be able to do that though and that will help to keep the back teeth worn down. Vicky will be able to give you more info, she is great with piggy health and knows alot about their teeth Very Happy

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smithsville stud · Posted: Fri Jan 26, 2007 7:15 pm Post subject:

He is still eating fresh and dry and drinking !! it is just they are loose!! It does not seem to bother him that much !!

Pingley Dell Cavies · Posted: Fri Jan 26, 2007 7:24 pm Post subject:

Hello here I am Smile

Poor piggy. its not nice when they hurt their teeth.

It all depends on how he is eating. If he is uncomfy while chewing, the loose teeth are in the way of his jaw movement and ought to come out. They will probably drop out on their own if the damage is bad enough to need them to come out. (Biting will be difficult whether they are loose or completely fallen out) You'll know if he has probs chewing because he will make funny faces while chewing, and even not want to eat because of it. if so, I would give them a gentle wiggle to see how loose they are, see if you can wobble them out without hurting him.

If they move easily and a great deal, he can't chew and can't bite, but the teeth won't come out, I would say you do need to try to 'help' them out. Stop if its hurting him. If the teeth are badly wobbly and won't drop out, food could get into the root cavity and cause an abcess. Abcesses in the jawbone are really bad news and hard to cure. if you notice that happening I'd go to the vet and have them pulled out. (ouch poor baby)

If he is managing to bite on his own ie carrot then its probably not that bad.

If he can't eat very well, you will need to help him out, but you don't want to feed him totally mushy food or his molars will overgrow from lack of grinding. I grate carrots and slice apples into match sticks, and post pellets in one by one or cut them up. Grass is fab, because its fibre, easy to snuffle up without teeth, and is basically and all-in-one package of vitamins.

When my Almond fell and smashed his front teeth out I used the nail clippers to cut the pellets into 1/4 sized peices so my boy could slurp them into his mouth and get them to his molars for chewing up. He had no front teeth at all, but after a week they were grown in enough for him to chomp his own carrots again.

You may find if teeth won't come out when wobbled, will one day suddenly drop out of their own accord, and the pig has to wait for a new set to come through. If so, don't trim the bottom ones. Yes, they will grow longer as there is nothing to grind against, but once they meet the new teeth, a few weeks of grinding normally gets them to an equal length. Magic!

smithsville stud · Posted: Fri Jan 26, 2007 11:35 pm Post subject:

thank you so much all of you for your help !! I will let you know what happens. Laughing

lilaccavies · Posted: Sat Jan 27, 2007 1:58 pm Post subject:

Hi smithville,

I know this is late, but I would agree with what has already been said. Pingley, you are mind full of info Very Happy

. I would say though that if you feed grass at this time of year, there is not much VitC in there, so other veg needs to be fed as well. I found this out the hard way a few years ago, when I fed mostly grass in late Sep after it being very mild still, and my poor piggies got scurvey Crying or Very sad

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Pingley Dell Cavies · Posted: Sat Jan 27, 2007 2:37 pm Post subject:

Oh poor piggies:( I didn't know that about winter grass not being high in C, thanks for that.

We have a meadow out the back of us, which is so handy for grass, the pigs eat practically nothing else during spring and autumn.

smithsville stud · Posted: Sat Jan 27, 2007 3:59 pm Post subject:

Hi Guys!!

His teeth fell out this morning without me touching them I was hand feeding him some cucumber and they came out !! you can already see the new teeth coming through which is great!!

Thank you everyone for all your advise , it is so great to be able to come on here and get advise from other people who sometimes know more than you or just agree with what you where thinking in the first place!!
no doubt I will be back with another problem in the future. Laughing

Pingley Dell Cavies · Posted: Sat Jan 27, 2007 5:37 pm Post subject:

Awww thats great news!

He will be fine Smile

Bless him!

lilaccavies · Posted: Mon Jan 29, 2007 10:27 am Post subject:

Thats great news, I am sure he will make a full recovery Very Happy

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Coronet, Sheltie, Merino, Lunkarya & Tortoiseshell Guineapigs!

Website: www.lilaccavies.piczo.com