Jaw misalignment after tooth filing?

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Mirgss

Post   » Sat Dec 31, 2022 5:45 pm


Hi,

Bun bun (my avatar) is basically Methuselah - he is probably 7 or 8 years old. On Wednesday we noticed he was having trouble eating and took him for an emergency appointment (cavy savvy vet). Dr said his molars were growing over his tongue and recommended a tooth filing, which we did. Dr sent us home without any pain meds, and advised us to supplement with critical care (which I had already been feeding him).

The next day he still wasn't eating on his own so we took him back to the vet (same Dr). Blood and urine were normal, and they did an x ray and found "something" in his bladder area. He wasn't sure what it was, so that day he sent us home with some Cipro and some Meloxicam.

Today, he is still not eating. I have been feeding cc every 2 or so hours (he was down to like 885g but back up to 961 earlier today). I cut up some carrots into tiny pieces and he was able to eat with difficulty. Ditto for single pellets. He acts interested in food - goes crazy over hay - but I'm not sure he is able to eat any of it. I tried a single stalk of hay with the delicious bit at the end and he tried chewing but was unable to get it, and it fell out of his mouth. Then as I was feeding him these tiny pieces of things, I noticed his jaw. Is this something I possibly did when feeding with the syringe? What is going on here? Pics of another pig mouth for reference.

I know he is super old but until the other day he has been a happy pig, and I just lost another pig less than 3 weeks ago and I am desperate. Does anyone have any thoughts or experience with a situation like this? I did set up an appointment for first thing on Monday just in case, so he can be seen then for whatever can/should be done.

https://imgur.com/gallery/yO3NjUS

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Dec 31, 2022 6:45 pm


Can he chew at all? Can you get food into him?

Pinta has described one of her guinea pig's jaws being misaligned. Fuzzy on this but vaguely remember her veterinary physiotherapist gently rocking the jaw back into place. I do not think this is something that should be done by anyone unfamiliar with the musculature and bone structure and how this can be done safely. Dislocation/misalignment could possibly be caused by a vet during an examination or procedure. I tend to think it unlikely your feeding him would cause it. It is somewhat difficult to see what is going on from your picture. I believe a misaligned jaw would hang open (Pinta could comment on this much more authoritatively than I could).

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Mirgss

Post   » Sat Dec 31, 2022 7:09 pm


Oddly, I have been able to get a few small pieces of carrot and a couple of pellets into him; other than that it's just been cc. Oh and a small piece of lettuce, but all those things are tough going. At first it seemed to me like he had forgotten how to eat.

I'll keep on the cc and hopefully someone can tell me something on Monday. I also think it's unlikely that my feeding could have done this, but I'm looking over pics we took yesterday and it seems more normal. Like you said, it's hard to see though.

Thanks for the reply :)

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