Hi all,
Our Tijger had been slowly losing weight due to teeth problems... We are trying to find a solution but so far she had 2 dental corrections of her molars in the time frame of a month. Vet and slave are trying to find the cause and it seems to be a problem in a her jaw muscles... guinea pig jaws can make quite a lot of movements. Tijger can do back to front grinding and from right to left. But left to right is something she cannot do (well). Tijger and slave visited a vet an hours drive away who also does chiropractic treatments. He is one of three vets in The Netherlands who does this. He loosened her muscles, so she should be able to do left to right grinding again, but unfortunately we haven't seen (much) improvement.
She really wants to eat, and tries it all the time, getting extra pieces of veggies all the time (not fair!). Slave made a mix of bran and oatmeal mixed with hot water, which we seem to enjoy more than Tijger does... she also gets pellet mush. But our question, because we really like to keep Tijger in our herd and we are a bit worried, is do you know of any other fattening foods or mixes to feed her? Also tips on how to get her to eat that, she can eat by herself just really slowly, are welcome!
Slave is planning another trip to the vets: one to probably get her teeth filled down again and one for another treatment to loosen the muscles (we think it was called a locked jaw). In the meantime we really want her to fatten up!
Here'so a picture of Tijger looking happy, this was after dad shoving pieces of chicory down her throat!
The worried Guinygirlz: Peaches, Raani and boar Bérke
When my late Gulliver had problems eating, he was able to eat a dish of Readybrek by himself. This is a porridge type breakfast cereal and I wonder if it is available in the Netherlands. You just add hot water and stir to the consistency that you need. Gulliver loved it and would lap it up until I had time to syringe feed him his pellet slurry. He could also manage a plate of mashed banana by himself. He used to come to work with me and I took his dishes along with us and he could munch on those until I had time to poke in a dandelion or chicory leaf. It is not a permanent solution but it could keep Tijger going until her jaw is mended.
ReplyDeleteIf you can buy Fibreplex from your vet or online, I will explain how to use it. It makes up for the lack of hay being eaten. It is made by Protexin and is labelled for rabbits but you can use it for piggies too.
All the best to Tijger.
I know sweetcorn is a fattening food but we are not sure how you would get Tijger to eat it sorry
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