Vital Pet Health

Health warning signs to look out for...

To ensure your guinea pig is in the best of health weigh him once a

month and keep a note of his weight. Weight loss can be the first

sign of illness.

Watch out for a continually wet chin, chronic wasting and small or no

faeces.

Make sure that you have twice yearly veterinary check- ups that

include a dental check.






Teeth

Guinea pigs have open rooted back teeth – they grow continually and so

need to be worn down. If the upper back teeth aren’t worn down

adequately, they grow up into the skull. The root can puncture the

sinuses, causing respiratory problems or it can grow towards the

eyeball, causing eye infections. The lower molars also grow downwards

through the jawbone and painful abscesses can form.

Both sets of molars will also continue growing into the mouth and it

can get to the stage where your guinea pig is unable to shut his

mouth. He will not be able to eat or swallow properly. A sign to

look for in a guinea pig with this problem is a continually wet chin.

This is caused by excessive saliva.

Other symptoms to watch out for are dramatic weight loss due to not

being able to eat properly, chronic wasting and small or no faeces.

If the guinea pig is grinding his teeth, this could be a sign that he

is in a great deal of pain. An X-ray of the skull is usually the only

way to determine if he is suffering from this and sadly the long term

prognosis is often not good.