Chews/Eats EVERYTHING!

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mittenpie

mittenpie

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My guinea pig Baby has a really bad habit of chewing anything and everything that's he can get his teeth into - I'm beginning to get very worried.

So far he has nibbled a plastic bag and about a 1 inch piece of cotton embroidery thread which I didn't see on the floor until it was disappearing into his mouth and is forever pulling at the fleece they are bedded on.

I feel absolutely terrible that this has happened and try and keep EVERYTHING away from the cage. He seems fine in himself and is eating and drinking normally. I'm just really worried that these things won't pass through his system and will cause problems later on.

Billy is never interested in chewing things he shouldn't so why does Baby?! And is there anything I can do to make sure the things he has chewed/swallowed don't cause him problems?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
 
Young ones are just exploring the world, but some can become "professional" nibblers - cardboard, plastic and threads/ribbons/carpet fringes seem to be particular faves. It gets dodgier with cables and wallpaper...

Mostly, they don't come to any harm, even with a fair piece of plastic bag dissappeared. Just keep an eye on him in case of bloat.

I've got a five year old with a PASSION for plastic and a knack of finding any scrap before me!
 
I came home one day from work to see Columbia backing across the conservatory floor pulling on the rubber sealing strip from around the bottom of the conservatory door. It was the sort you put down from a tube. Silicon based. Luckily she hadn't choked herself on it.

She had eaten a fair bit of it, but it didn't bother her digestion at all. Neither did shoelaces, a small portion of brick, wooden chair legs, coir matting, threads from fabric edging, mud from the underneath of shoes, spiders, woodlice, beetles, rubber soles etc etc. (I'm not kidding about the brick, she left toothmarks in it - using it as a chew toy)

Columbia lived to just over 7. So really, I wouldn't worry too much. Plastic generally is a choking hazard though, I never left any bags near the floor or had plastic ends on the laces type of thing. Watching her try to finish a portion of shoelace in double quick time while looking as if butter wouldn't melt is one of my favourite memories of her!
 
Yeah why is it that guineas eat insects? My house rabbit eats spiders when they come too close. I think he has a phobia but it never seems to upset their stomachs at all. Misty has a particular flavour for woodlice....i just don't get it with animals sometimes :)
 
Thank you for putting my mind a little more at ease! My pig isn't the only one with a taste for strange things!

I shall keep an eye on Baby for bloat. It's difficult to see how round his belly is because his fur has grown so long since I first had him!
 
Sarah from Chucklebunnies said:
I came home one day from work to see Columbia backing across the conservatory floor pulling on the rubber sealing strip from around the bottom of the conservatory door. It was the sort you put down from a tube. Silicon based. Luckily she hadn't choked herself on it.

She had eaten a fair bit of it, but it didn't bother her digestion at all. Neither did shoelaces, a small portion of brick, wooden chair legs, coir matting, threads from fabric edging, mud from the underneath of shoes, spiders, woodlice, beetles, rubber soles etc etc. (I'm not kidding about the brick, she left toothmarks in it - using it as a chew toy)

Columbia lived to just over 7. So really, I wouldn't worry too much. Plastic generally is a choking hazard though, I never left any bags near the floor or had plastic ends on the laces type of thing. Watching her try to finish a portion of shoelace in double quick time while looking as if butter wouldn't melt is one of my favourite memories of her!
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Have you ever thought of buying guinea pig food for your piggies lol :(|) :(|) :(|) x x xx
:(|)
 
I have found that my piggies like to eat things like hay baskets made from willow they don't like willow sticks but will eat things that are thinner like the bits that make baskets etc.. maybe try giving them one of those! saying that I bought two a few weeks back and they were about £4 and georges was gone in 3 days! I was like where I am meant to put your hay now :))
 
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