Cali Ate Cornstarch!

[Rochester Piggy]

So I was trimming Cali's nails and accidentally cut her quick on her front right foot. Knowing what to do, I dipped her foot in the small container of cornstarch I keep in her first aid kit for just this. The bleeding stopped soon after this. I apologized to her and sent her back to her cage with a fistful of organic cilantro. I put her first aid kit away, then went to check on her to make sure the bleeding had actually stopped. The cilantro was gone, and I found her in the loft pigloo, licking the cornstarch off her paw! Can this cause any damage to her body? What should I do? It was a very small amount of cornstarch. I have a bag with nearly every piggy safe medicine possible in it, should I give her Baytril or Meloxacam or something like that?

 

[Swissgreys]

If it was only a small amount from her foot then she will be fine.
Just keep an eye on her poo output, but I don't think a little cornstarch will do her any harm.
Please don't give any medicines like antibiotics without the advice of a vet, and certainly not for having eaten a small amount of corn starch.

 

[Wiebke]

So I was trimming Cali's nails and accidentally cut her quick on her front right foot. Knowing what to do, I dipped her foot in the small container of cornstarch I keep in her first aid kit for just this. The bleeding stopped soon after this. I apologized to her and sent her back to her cage with a fistful of organic cilantro. I put her first aid kit away, then went to check on her to make sure the bleeding had actually stopped. The cilantro was gone, and I found her in the loft pigloo, licking the cornstarch off her paw! Can this cause any damage to her body? What should I do? It was a very small amount of cornstarch. I have a bag with nearly every piggy safe medicine possible in it, should I give her Baytril or Meloxacam or something like that?

Don't panic!

Too much starch is not good for a guinea pig diet (starch converts to sugar), but it is not poisonous. All parts of sweet corn are edible to a guinea pig as it belongs to the grass family; it just should be more of a seasonal treat than a daily part of their diet, like other grain products too (mostly found in pellets).

 

[rome_italy]

you did the best thing! don't worry of that tiny amount of starch. My piggies one day stole a little piece of chocolate fallen on the floor...

 

[Rochester Piggy]

Don't panic!

Too much starch is not good for a guinea pig diet (starch converts to sugar), but it is not poisonous. All parts of sweet corn are edible to a guinea pig as it belongs to the grass family; it just should be more of a seasonal treat than a daily part of their diet, like other grain products too (mostly found in pellets).

Thank you. Because of the sugar I don't think I'll give her any fruit for the next few days.

 

[VickiA]

I think at some time most of us have had piggies that have eaten things they shouldn't have done. Don't blame yourself. But rest assured this small amount of cornstarch is most unlikely to be harmful to Cali

 

[rome_italy]

Timothy Grass Meal, Soybean Hulls, Soybean Meal, Cane Molasses, Wheat Middlings, Sodium Bentonite, Soybean Oil, Salt,(...)
These are the ingredients of the "best" pellets produced by Oxbow... a daily and constant bomb for glycemia...
Therefore don't worry of those milligrams of cornstarch!

 

[Rochester Piggy]

Timothy Grass Meal, Soybean Hulls, Soybean Meal, Cane Molasses, Wheat Middlings, Sodium Bentonite, Soybean Oil, Salt,(...)
These are the ingredients of the "best" pellets produced by Oxbow... a daily and constant bomb for glycemia...
Therefore don't worry of those milligrams of cornstarch!

Cali loves Oxbow pellets!

 

[rome_italy]

Cali loves Oxbow pellets!

therefore you don't have to worry for a milligram of starch licked...
and you were so brave in keeping your calm when the blood started flowing! I would have screamed.. And long ago it happened that my daughter (she was little) inserted a hook into her finger... luckily there was my husband there... if it were for me the hook would still be there...