Lizzie has Malocclusion - Paw Talk

Jess · #1 02-08-2009, 01:18 PM

Lately our guinea pig, Lizzie, has been losing alot of weight. Of course, no one EVER listens to me when I think a pet is sick, so my sister just dissmissed it because shes getting a little older (Sunny & Lizzie are both about 4 years now). Id been noticing she wouldnt eat certain hard treats, and she was dropping lil pieces of food out of her mouth too, and last night we finally put 2 and 2 together- she has malocclusion, wich is overgrown teeth and molars for those of you who dont know.
We are hand feeding her now to make sure she eats more, and we are buying some more things for the piggies to chew on today. Vets arent open untill Monday, so we will call and probably take her in then.

*sigh* Im really worried about her! Filing down her teeth will require an anethetic wich is also kinda risky, and Im worried that she might have to be put down if my sister cant pay for it.

Ugh, were having a terrible weekend here, and now we have even more to worry about... Just say your prayers for her every body, and Ill keep you all updated.

canadiancritter · #2 02-08-2009, 02:20 PM

I'm so sorry to hear that.

I'll keep Lizzie in my thoughts. I hope she gets better

**Dragonrain** · #3 02-08-2009, 04:01 PM

Aww I'm sorry!

Are you sure it's malocclusion and not just overgrown teeth? I thought malocclusion is when the teeth arn't alligned properly, which of course can cause overgrowth if they are not alligned and not wearing down from rubbing against each other. But overgrown teeth can be caused from things other than malocclusion, so overgrown teeth doesn't automatically mean that they have malocclusion.

I'm just asking because malocclusion means that the teeth are actually not in the right spots, and sometimes need to be pulled or filed down every couple of months. If the teeth are just overgrown but alligned properly, then they can be filed once and then hopefully kept down by the animal chewing and wearing them down naturally.

At least that's how things work with bunnies!

Good luck with Lizzie! I hope you can get her fixed up and feeling better soon!

Jennicat · #4 02-08-2009, 04:04 PM

Malocclusion is a misalignment of the teeth, but then the malocclusion typically allows the teeth to overgrow in the front. A malocclusion can be an ongoing problems due to congenital misalignment, or can be fixed by filing down the teeth if it's been caused by poor husbandry.

Jess, fixing teeth problem like this isn't overly dangerous to the pig if the vet is knowledgeable. We've never lost a pig to anesthetic during surgery.

Jess · #5 02-09-2009, 04:02 PM

Well, we took her to the vet today, and there acually wasnt anything major wrong eith her teeth. She has a heart murmer, and they think shes going into heart failure.

We will probably get some X-rays done to make sure there isnt something else thats causing it. I offered to pay, so that shouldnt be a problem.
Gosh, this is even worse than teeth problems... at least those can be fixed! The vet said Lizzie isnt suffering, but I feel terrible for her... And for my little sister (Lizzies her piggie), and Sunny if she loses her friend...

BTW, I thought that malocclusion WAS overgrown teeth... The articles I read online made it sound like they where the same. Thanks for clearing that up for me.

Jennicat · #6 02-09-2009, 04:16 PM

Heart problems aren't that big a deal, overall. They can be treated with daily medication, and many pigs live for years with them!