Let's Talk Teeth! Guinea Pigs have 20 teeth in total!

Let’s talk Teeth! Guinea Pigs have 20 teeth in total! 





- A pair of upper and lower incisors
- No canines
- A pair of upper and lower premolars
- Three pairs of upper and lower molars

  • Malocclusion happens in Guinea Pigs, It happens when their teeth are overgrown causing misalignment causing mild to severe health problems. In some cases, they are born with teeth problems.  
  • Check teeth regularly, sometimes not visible to the eye and needs to be further examined by an Exotic specialist. 

    • Over grown teeth may cause your small companion great pain and distress discomfort. Look for the following symptoms. 

    - Drooling
    - Loss of appetite and refusal from favorite treats. 
    - Less active than normal. 
    - Weight loss. 
    - Front teeth incisors uneven. 
This is why hay is very important part of their diet. Hay is the only and best way to keep their teeth (which constantly grow) in good shape! 
Provide piles of hay in your Guinea Pigs Habitat, many hay racks/holders, & Balls are dangerous and do not even hold enough for them. Hay is 80% of diet and should be of access 24/7. 
Guinea Pigs are naturally burrowing animals, they would love to hide in hay, use it as a bed and munch. What we think is mess is only our imagination, Guinea Pigs prefer to be in mess. They are pigs after all! All you need to do is spot clean wet soiled hay daily (Buying in bulk helps and keeps cost down) and watch the Popcorn fun begin! 

How to prevent malocclusion?

• Provide LOTS of hay everyday, Hay is essential part of their diet to help maintain their teeth growth, they are constantly growing! But hay also helps their overall digestion. 

 Natural chew toys are recommended for boredom breakers, and may help grind their front teeth incisors but toys do not help the back teeth, which we can't see.  Toys help very little. What we think toys do, may not be that important. Toys are good to provide for mental stimulation but not every guinea Pig will play or chew on toys. 
• Some Guinea Pigs may require regular teeth trims by an exotic vet, to help keep their teeth at an appropriate length. 

“Say HAY for a healthy smile “

Comments

  1. I agree with a lot of the points you made in this article. If you are looking for the Local Dentist Manhattan, then visit Studio Smiles NYC. I appreciate the work you have put into this and hope you continue writing on this subject.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Backslide: After a corrective teeth brightening treatment, it is normal for teeth tone to relapse fairly after some time. This is regular and ought to be steady, yet it very well may be sped up by presenting your teeth to different staining specialists, like espresso, tea, tobacco, red wine. confidentortho.nl

    ReplyDelete
  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts