Keds Medical Thread - not eating on own

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maggieP

Post   » Fri Aug 14, 2020 9:48 pm


We went to Avian and Exotics Clinic in Monterey today (also on the recommendation page here). They did seem very experienced and confirmed that flank surgery is often done and said her back looks fine. Not sure what the Castro Valley doc was going off of, maybe he is not that familiar with GPs. They were able to get her in for a dental trim; her lower molars were definitely bridging. I’m a bit worried they trimmed the incisors too much as she is having trouble with veggies and picking up food... unsure if that was necessary or not. We’re on a new dosage of Meloxicam (.25 once a day, twice a day for a couple days first) and a new antibiotic- azithromycin. She said it was likely she has an oral infection as well based on the drool and apparently some odor there.

So far she seems much more interested in food and is taking the CC without as much protest as the past week. She ate some matchstick bell peppers with my help, which seems like progress. Hoping we see more over the next week.

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maggieP

Post   » Fri Aug 14, 2020 9:55 pm


Also, she said she suspected a possible URI. Keds did have some crackly breathing after the surgery which I thought was probably due to anesthesia, but it seems to be recurring a bit (not constant). And still a bit of crusty eyes.

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ItsaZoo
Supporter in 2023

Post   » Fri Aug 14, 2020 10:03 pm


I hope she starts eating better now that her teeth have been taken care of. Did the vet think the azithromycin would also take care of the URI? That's a lot to deal with at one time.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri Aug 14, 2020 10:16 pm


Some tips below on feeding guinea pigs whose teeth have been trimmed too short (you are right to worry). Unless the incisors are interfering with closing the mouth or there is another compelling reason to trim them, they generally should not be trimmed at the same time the molars are trimmed.
https://www.guinealynx.info/teeth_broken.html

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maggieP

Post   » Fri Aug 14, 2020 11:59 pm


Yeah, she thought this antibiotic would be good for both the respiratory and mouth issues.

Her bottom incisors did seem slanted and possibly too long but unfortunately it does seem like they trimmed them too much. Hopefully they grow back even and healthy quickly. She does seem to be doing less drooling and pawing at the mouth.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Aug 15, 2020 10:36 am


The bottom incisors were likely slanted due to malocclusion of the molars. When the molars are corrected, the incisors should self correct.

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Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Sat Aug 15, 2020 10:50 am


The one incisor likely needed to be filed down to remove the sharp edge, but I didn't think the bottom teeth looked like they should have been trimmed from the photo. Many vets make the mistake of taking too much off, though. As Lynx said, fortunately they will grow back fairly quickly.

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maggieP

Post   » Sat Aug 15, 2020 1:02 pm


I’m so upset she still can’t eat. Seems we traded one problem for another. Not sure if we should go back to Monterey again; they wanted to check and possibly trim again in four weeks.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Sat Aug 15, 2020 1:46 pm


Cut her food in matchstick sized strips and poke it back to her molars. If she can get her back teeth on it, she can eat it.

You may need to handfeed Critical Care. You definitely don't want her developing bloat issues because she's not eating enough.

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maggieP

Post   » Sat Aug 15, 2020 2:13 pm


We’ve been doing CC already, vet also suggested she might prefer Emeraid for a little while so I ordered some of that. She ate some small bell pepper pieces that I pushed towards her molars. Was just hoping she would eat on her own now as she seems much more interested in the veggies.

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maggieP

Post   » Thu Aug 20, 2020 12:22 am


I noticed a lump on her chin this week and we got her in to Berkeley today. I think the vet we have there seems more experienced than the others. She had a light sedation to clear it out and we are seeing huge improvement right now. She is slurping down lettuce and pellet mash currently.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu Aug 20, 2020 9:29 am


I hope it clears up completely (sounds like there was an infection). Is she getting antibiotics at the moment?

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