My gp has some mouth problems and I would like advice. I put timothy hay in her cage to eat last Sat. night (a usual food for her). She started mouthing (like peanut butter stuck in her mouth). I though she had a piece of hay stuck. I flushed her mouth out with water in a syringe with no needle and used Q-tips to swab around her teach and gums to see if there was anything stuck. She was still doing to odd mouthing. She was still eating and drinking and breathing fine. I took her into the vets and her teeth were not overgrown and their was not hay stuck anywhere as far as could be seen. Of course she would not do the mouthing at the vets so they could see what I was talking about. She mouthed a little after we got home. She does not bite her cage bars, oddly enough, but I was wondering if she could have pulled a muscle or fractured something on the hay. Has anyone had something like this happen with hay? She still eats but not with her usual habits.
Anyone is welcome to respond, but if Pinta is reading this can you tell me anything else about the chinsling I read about at the teeth info area? Or how I can contact the person who came up with it for exact directions so I get it right? I´m trying to decide if this would help her out.
mouth problems- need advice- Pinta available?
Pinta designed the sling. It is designed to be used as suppostive care for pigs with malocclusion or weak muscle jaw (leading to malocclusion). Is your vet experienced with pigs? Has he consulted with an animal dentist? It is fairly easy for unexperienced vets to miss molar problems.
I´ve had one pig do the mouthing thing that you describe. It was a rescue baby whose teeth had overgrown due to near starvation (no food to chew on).
Pinta is usually around on evenings. I´m sure she´ll have more to add.
I´ve had one pig do the mouthing thing that you describe. It was a rescue baby whose teeth had overgrown due to near starvation (no food to chew on).
Pinta is usually around on evenings. I´m sure she´ll have more to add.
Last edited by Evangeline on Wed Aug 28, 2002 6:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
You need to identify the problem before trying a treatment. If her teeth aren´t overgrown then she is obviously grinding them. Usually pigs with malocclusion are missed by owners who don´t regularly weigh their pigs because there are no obvious symptoms like what you describe until much later. By the time the drooling starts and the pigs are skin and bones, the malocclusion has been going on for weeks.
If the molars are already getting good contact - The Chin-Sling probably won´t help since it´s primary purpose is to force the molars to connect and it sounds like they are connecting.
Has your pig lost weight? Is your pig losing weight. Is your vet experienced with pig teeth? And totally off the wall - has your pig been biting the fur on one side of the body lately?
A dental xray might be advisable and while the pig is sedated (usually necessary for dental xrays) the vet could do a thorough examination of the teeth and throat.
Another thought - were the ears checked. It´s possible that discomfort in the ears could cause the pig to do odd mouthing action.
One of my pigs once was drooling suddenly and I think mouthing as though something was caught (long time ago, can´t remember all the details). Rushed him to the vet who agreed there was a problem and sedated him to check out his throat. Couldn´t find a thing. When the pig came out of sedation, he was fine and no longer drooling. The vet surmised that during the exam whatever was "stuck" got dislodged. Since it wasn´t obviously visible, I figured it might be a hair. This boar already had malocclusion which was being treated with the Chin-Sling so I knew it wasn´t a teeth problem since he was under a dental vet´s care and got regular checkups.
The action you describe, I´ve also seen with pigs who have something stuck on their incisors.
If the molars are already getting good contact - The Chin-Sling probably won´t help since it´s primary purpose is to force the molars to connect and it sounds like they are connecting.
Has your pig lost weight? Is your pig losing weight. Is your vet experienced with pig teeth? And totally off the wall - has your pig been biting the fur on one side of the body lately?
A dental xray might be advisable and while the pig is sedated (usually necessary for dental xrays) the vet could do a thorough examination of the teeth and throat.
Another thought - were the ears checked. It´s possible that discomfort in the ears could cause the pig to do odd mouthing action.
One of my pigs once was drooling suddenly and I think mouthing as though something was caught (long time ago, can´t remember all the details). Rushed him to the vet who agreed there was a problem and sedated him to check out his throat. Couldn´t find a thing. When the pig came out of sedation, he was fine and no longer drooling. The vet surmised that during the exam whatever was "stuck" got dislodged. Since it wasn´t obviously visible, I figured it might be a hair. This boar already had malocclusion which was being treated with the Chin-Sling so I knew it wasn´t a teeth problem since he was under a dental vet´s care and got regular checkups.
The action you describe, I´ve also seen with pigs who have something stuck on their incisors.
Hi. I posted something just a little while ago but is does not look like it is going to come up. So here we go. Thanks for the advice. Her incisors are not diaganolly cut so that is good news. She is doing a lot less mouthing. Her weight has had some slight changes but overall about the same (I weight her once a day). The vet looked at her ears as well and found no problems. She is an exotic vet so she should know the basics- but I appreciate your adive about does she know teeth. She is eating and drinking and actually today I have not caught her grinding her teeth yet. I´m still monitoring her. I´m going to check out her incisors again to see if I see anything stuck.
Pinta -
And totally off the wall - has your pig been biting the fur on one side of the body lately?
What is the significance regarding biting the fur on one side of the body? My Frosty has been doing this a lot lately, and I mentioned it in one of my threads regarding him.
https://www.guinealynx.info/forums/threa ... &styleid=1
And totally off the wall - has your pig been biting the fur on one side of the body lately?
What is the significance regarding biting the fur on one side of the body? My Frosty has been doing this a lot lately, and I mentioned it in one of my threads regarding him.
https://www.guinealynx.info/forums/threa ... &styleid=1
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kleenmama
- I GAVE, dammit!
You are right, Pinta. I knew where you were going with that.
Buddy had a large tumor on his left adrenal gland, and was regularly reaching back with his mouth to bite at his left side. We found the tumor on autopsy.
Buddy had a large tumor on his left adrenal gland, and was regularly reaching back with his mouth to bite at his left side. We found the tumor on autopsy.
Last edited by kleenmama on Sat Aug 31, 2002 11:12 am, edited 1 time in total.
Would an x-ray show the tumor or should I have an ultrasound done? He still isn´t eating many pellets after 5 weeks of syringe feeding and 3 weeks of Trimethoprim Sulfa. He isn´t just biting his side but also his leg. No scratching though, just biting. He isn´t doing it as often now.
Last edited by SandraVE on Sat Aug 31, 2002 2:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Okay - maybe it was someone else who had a pig with an adrenal problem that was biting its side...
Utrasounds although expensive are a better diagnostic tool then an xray, revealing much more information.
However an ultrasound is only as good as the technician reading it. A vet who was inexperienced only charged $50 to do one - reflecting her skill level. The expert technician charges about $200. I don´t think the inexperienced vet would have been able to diagnose Cushings Disease in one of our pigs. The pricy vet/technician initially charged us $150 since he hadn´t done pigs before. But now that he´s done a few - the price is back to normal.
Utrasounds although expensive are a better diagnostic tool then an xray, revealing much more information.
However an ultrasound is only as good as the technician reading it. A vet who was inexperienced only charged $50 to do one - reflecting her skill level. The expert technician charges about $200. I don´t think the inexperienced vet would have been able to diagnose Cushings Disease in one of our pigs. The pricy vet/technician initially charged us $150 since he hadn´t done pigs before. But now that he´s done a few - the price is back to normal.
I did have a little sow who died of an adrenal tumor 2 years ago. I don´t remember if she bit her side or not. My Cocoa who was just put to sleep on Monday bit her side and she had a spleen/pancreas tumor in addition to bilateral ovarian cysts.
I will check into having an ultrasound done on Frosty. If I can do something more for him I want to help him all I can.
I will check into having an ultrasound done on Frosty. If I can do something more for him I want to help him all I can.
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