Worried About Teeth

[EternallyCynical]

Today I was sweeping out Pepper's cage and when I was getting everything back to normal, I noticed him have a little grooming session where he was pawing at his face a lot and then grooming his chest. When I went to give him a scratch I noticed RIGHT under the front of his lower lip looked like it might be a little wet, but I couldn't tell if it actually was or if his fur was a bit mussed and that's just how it looked (his fur's not the thickest and often just giving him a scritch or whatever will muss it up and might make it look a little damp where there are darker areas showing). I haven't noticed him eating any less than usual, but since I've had him he's never been a major hay eater (he likes to chuck it around.... 9.9) and he pays little attention to his chew toys (but is happy to chomp at the wooden support blocks under his new wheel, or the edges of his wooden house, and he'll TRY to chew metal....).

He doesn't seem to be acting off, he didn't want to hang around and be scratched as long today but he has days where he's just like that and gets standoff-ish and just ignores me. He also tends to get quite exciteable and maybe a little stressed when I clean, because I have to temporarily cut him off from half the cage because otherwise the little booger would just sit in my dust pan and make it impossible for me to do anything (he doesn't like me thwarting him and constantly looks for ways into the other half of the cage when he's cut off). His eyes are bright and clear, no wetness, and he's been pooping normally, and LOTS as usual. I don't know if he was just grooming himself and I'm totally overreacting or what. I've seen him rub at his mouth on the VERY odd occasion very briefly if he was a little anxious/uncertain, and this time he wasn't focused on his mouth (he was kinda rubbing both arms in larger motions back/forth over a larger area of face). Could the little bit of wetness have just come from vigorous grooming? I haven't noticed constant drooling or anything.... maybe I'm paranoid. I'm HOPING I'm just paranoid because we've already had to fork over something like $600 in medical bills for the cat last month and I'm terrified of what my mom's going to say if we have a staggering vet bill for the chinchilla coming..... I have some money saved and I don't want to have to drain it but I will if its a fixable issue that just costs a lot to resolve, and I can try and find another job if I have to even though I didn't want to pick up another job for a while b/c its crazy trying to balance with my course load at school. Should I be seriously worrying or does it sound like I'm freaking out over nothing? I'm definitely going to be monitoring for a while and if the wetness gets worse or persists I'll get him to a vet and try and find a way to deal with the costs somehow....

 

[EternallyCynical]

Updating: I managed to get a bit of a look at his front teeth, they're a good dark orange and look pretty neat/straight, nothing chipped or overgrown from what I could actually see, anyways, but when I offered him a twig he started to chew it and then kinda stopped and kind of rubbed at his face again a wee bit...... :/ He's not always interested in the twigs since all I have at the moment is pet store willow twigs that have probably been prepared to death, but its just making me more paranoid.... gah. On the upside, his chin looks dry, so that's good, I guess. Ugh.... I'm so paranoid right now and its making me so anxious, I hate it....

 

[obcsed]

The best way to spot teeth problems is routine weighing. If he is losing weight, then he may be having difficulty chewing. For now, I would invest in a cheap gram scale and weigh him once or twice a week to see what he is doing. Of course, if he continues to paw at his mouth or keeps getting a wet chin or obviously stops eating, then a visit to the vet is needed. Teeth issues can range from simply something stuck in them to full blown malo with elongated roots. The only way to diagnose it is a visit to the vet and a good set of X-rays.

 

[EternallyCynical]

All right..... I'll take a look around and see if I can't find a cheap scale to weigh him with. I offered him some thinner twigs which he was happy to chew on and he's being his usual bratty fickle self so if something's bugging him its not so much that there's obvious behavioural changes. Its entirely possible that I'm over-reacting, I've been known to rush my guinea pig in to the vet just because its ears were more red than normal and I thought it might have been from scratching (mites) ^^;;; I'm extremely paranoid when it comes to my babies. For now I'm going to monitor, see if I can't find a scale around to keep an eye on his weight and if his chin looks wet more often then rush him in. Right now though the fur around his chin doesn't even feel stiff like it might have been wet, so who knows. But we'll see. Either way a scale has been on my list of things to buy for a while since my mother would be thoroughly displeased if I tried to use her kitchen scales... >___>;;

 

[ticklechin]

Pull the chins lips back and see if the surface of the teeth are wet or the gums are wet-if so its not normal and the start of drool.

 

[EternallyCynical]

I tried lifting his lip when I looked at his teeth before, but he wouldn't say still and I could only get a quick look at his two front teeth :/ I couldn't tell if they were really wet or not. I've been checking on him regularly, and since yesterday there's been no wetness, he's pooped lots and his poops are normal size/shape/colour, attacked his hay, eaten a bunch of pellets, chewed a bunch of stuff (including the bigger twig he'd ignored yesterday and his hay cubes, as well as fresh twigs I've offered). I'll see if I can get a better look in his mouth but he's a wriggly lil' brat and he's tricky to handle.... going to pick up a scale tomorrow and keep watching for any wetness or odd behaviour that'd give my paranoia merit.

 

[EternallyCynical]

I tried lifting his lip when I looked at his teeth before, but he wouldn't say still and I could only get a quick look at his two front teeth :/ I couldn't tell if they were really wet or not. I've been checking on him regularly, and since yesterday there's been no wetness, he's pooped lots and his poops are normal size/shape/colour, attacked his hay, eaten a bunch of pellets, chewed a bunch of stuff (including the bigger twig he'd ignored yesterday and his hay cubes, as well as fresh twigs I've offered). I'll see if I can get a better look in his mouth but he's a wriggly lil' brat and he's tricky to handle.... going to pick up a scale tomorrow and keep watching for any wetness or odd behaviour that'd give my paranoia merit.

Managed to get a better look at his front teeth/gums. Nothing looked wet! Hopefully that means I'm just overreacting, but I'll keep a close eye on him anyways. I'd rather be paranoid and be sure that nothing's wrong than dismiss a suspicion and prolong pain .~.