Green Onion Possibly Ingested—-Panicking

[Tennesseeguinea]

Hello! For all the time I have spent on here and other corners of the guinea pig internet, the information that onions are toxic has somehow completely just passed me by. My girl had some green onion in her veggies tonight, and now I am very worried.

I do not fully know if she actually ate it—once I realized this info and ran over to her cage, there was one piece of the white part left that I immediately grabbed, along with all the rest of her veggies since they had touched. I prep her veggies for the week in one big bowl, so I don’t know how much was actually in tonight’s portion. It could’ve been just that one piece, could’ve been more.

Is there anything I can do? Is this an immediate vet trip in the morning?

 

[Truffolo]

They can cope with small amounts so she should be OK, but no harm in going for a check up with your vet if you have any concerns

 

[Truffolo]

Apparently the green leaves are OK, but are not generally fed to piggies. She seems to have left the white part, which has sulphur in it, instinctively knowing that it isn't good for her

 

[Wiebke]

Hello! For all the time I have spent on here and other corners of the guinea pig internet, the information that onions are toxic has somehow completely just passed me by. My girl had some green onion in her veggies tonight, and now I am very worried.

I do not fully know if she actually ate it—once I realized this info and ran over to her cage, there was one piece of the white part left that I immediately grabbed, along with all the rest of her veggies since they had touched. I prep her veggies for the week in one big bowl, so I don’t know how much was actually in tonight’s portion. It could’ve been just that one piece, could’ve been more.

Is there anything I can do? Is this an immediate vet trip in the morning?

Hi and welcome

Please take a deep breath. Any bulb plants are not good for guinea pigs but the majority of them, especially the varieties we eat, are not immediately deadly just from ingesting a little.
They should just not be part of a regular diet as the toxins will build up in the liver over time.

Thankfully, most toxic plants or plant parts tend to taste bad, so guinea pigs have that natural protection. They will also generally not eat a lot of any new food that tastes a bit dubious for that reason.

It is however good to ask for confirmation.

The one highly toxic common garden plant that unfortunately doesn't taste bad to guinea pigs are foxgloves (digitalis) where even a little bit of a leaf can kill. Buttercups (especially the creeping variey on the lawn are also not good, as are any members of rununculeae family but piggies need more than just a nibble for that to happen.
Plus fresh dog pee can be a killer if it is on the grass or fresh forage they eat.

With most other plants, including house plants, a small one-off is usually not a problem in our 20 years of existence where we get fairly regularly contacted about things piggies should not eat but have got somehow hold of.

What most lists or online info don't distinguish or appreciate is the difference between mildly toxic and highly toxic and then there is the inevitable panic.

But you do not need to see a vet and you should not expect to see any symptoms whatsoever.