Our girl Cherry has taken ill and has lost some of her appetite

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu Feb 13, 2020 8:51 am


So happy to hear it looks like he is "slowly getting back to her old self". That is the best we can hope for.

I hope she continues to improve.

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Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Thu Feb 13, 2020 11:41 am


Ditto! Thanks for the update.

duskern

Post   » Mon Feb 17, 2020 4:40 am


Things are still good and Cherry seems fine. I'm still a bit puzzled about what the problem was/is. She is eating all the stuff she has always been eating, but just at a slower pace. She seems to have trouble taking bites, but she always finds a way. Stuff like salad or cucumber for instance, she used to be able to eat it faster than the other pig she is living with, but now she's a bit slower. Sometimes when Luna is done eating her cucumber, Cherry is only approximately half way done. I'm not worried as such, as I guess something like this could take some time to get entirely back to normal. I've never experienced something like this before, and I find it a bit strange.

What do you guys think?

User avatar
Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Mon Feb 17, 2020 8:27 am


I still think it sounds like something dental. Did the vet take x-rays, or just do a visual exam? There are things like elongated roots or issues with the jaw itself that aren't obvious without x-rays. I'd really want to rule that out completely before looking to other possible causes, given that she seems to *want* to eat but can't (with certain foods) or can only do so slowly.

How is her weight?

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon Feb 17, 2020 9:15 am


I agree with Sef's advice. Things like pain can slow up eating too. Pain slows a lot of things.

duskern

Post   » Tue Feb 18, 2020 10:01 am


Thx for the advice. I will look into it. They only did a physical exam.

duskern

Post   » Wed Feb 26, 2020 3:47 am


Turns out it actually was elongated roots. We have only had her for like 6 months, so this is quite a blow. She was 2 when we adopted her, some time after we lost our Abigail and found out that our Nellie had cancer. We wanted to make sure that our girl Luna had a friend. As of now it's unclear how the future looks for her. We fell in love with her instantly, so we are really sad about this :(

I'll do an update later on how she's doing.

PippathePig85

Post   » Wed Feb 26, 2020 9:21 am


I am so sorry :( Prayers and hugs!

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed Feb 26, 2020 10:17 am


I too am very sad to hear this. How serious is this? Are both the upper and lower teeth causing problems? Do you have any xrays you could share?

A case that is not too far along supposedly can be managed for a while by grinding down the molars but this is indeed serious.

duskern

Post   » Thu Feb 27, 2020 7:14 am


I'm currently not aware of how serious this is. I can perhaps get a hold of the xrays. They filed down at least one spike on a molar. They told me that only time will tell, but that it might be possible to keep at good health by keeping her molars filed down and making sure she gets branches and stuff to chew on, and lots of hay. The first couple of days, since she had this done Monday, she wasn't really eating that much by herself. She often sat still in hiding or was relaxing. Sometimes you could tell that she wasn't feel good. She's much better now. She has started eating almost by herself now. She's more active and almost seems like herself now. We still do give her CC and FP, but not that much. She is eating both hay, pellets and vegetables now. She is still on pain meds and I think she will have to have it for a while.

She is only a couple of years old, so I really hope we can keep at good health for a long time. I can post a picture of her later. She is such a beautiful red pig <3 She reminds me a bit of a smaller Abigail, but with a more dark red color.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu Feb 27, 2020 9:22 am


Glad she is on pain meds and eating well. She is so young. I hope the diagnosis of elongated roots is mistaken (or at least can be interrupted).

If your vet is amenable, perhaps you could ask if they would seek a second opinion on the xrays regarding elongated roots? Dr. Legendre in Canada is a published expert who understands the challenges, has worked with one of our member's guinea pigs, and could likely give feedback as to how serious this is via a consultation with your vet.

Unfortunately, I just checked the https://www.avdonline.org/ website and they are in transition and basically have no contact information up at all. I did find this doing a search online:
https://www.avdc-dms.org/dms/list/diplomates-map.cfm
https://www.wcvds.ca/about-us/

User avatar
Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Thu Feb 27, 2020 3:33 pm


Ditto Lynx's suggestion to contact Dr. Legendre for a possible consult.

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