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Guinea Pig May Have Ingested Apple Seeds

G

Guineapiggos

Often, when I'm not around and one of my family members slices an apple, they will give my pig the core. This makes two problems: one, I don't know about it and give him more treats, which leads to over feeding and two, they don't remove the seeds. Apple seeds contain trace amounts of cyanide that don't usually harm humans, but can be dangerous in small doses to guinea pigs. This has happened many times over the course of their lives. Because I wasn't there at the time, I don't see him eating the seeds, but I also seen no remains of them. What should I do to make sure he's okay? I'm really upset.
 
Please try not to worry too much. If your piggy has had this many times over the course of his life and has shown no ill effects then I wouldn’t worry too much. Admittedly the pips contain a small amount of arsenic so should not be fed. But unless your piggy is showing signs of illness I am not sure what the vet would do. I would explain to your family member this and your concerns and ask the family member not to give them apple cores in future.
 
Sorry you worried. I was not aware that the seeds could contain arsenic. . I don't give them to my piggies tho. . .
Good to know. .
I'm sure piggie be ok. .
 
Guineapiggos said:
Often, when I'm not around and one of my family members slices an apple, they will give my pig the core. This makes two problems: one, I don't know about it and give him more treats, which leads to over feeding and two, they don't remove the seeds. Apple seeds contain trace amounts of cyanide that don't usually harm humans, but can be dangerous in small doses to guinea pigs. This has happened many times over the course of their lives. Because I wasn't there at the time, I don't see him eating the seeds, but I also seen no remains of them. What should I do to make sure he's okay? I'm really upset.
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Hi!

Please take a deep breath! It is in my own experience not a problem. I would however recommend to not feed fruit as a regular part of the diet if you know that they are getting it behind your back.

Anyway, instead of treating your piggies, why don't you turn regular feeding time into fun time? This keeps the piggies healthy but still provides you with the feel good factor that giving treats does for you.
- Weight - Monitoring and Management (includes working out overweight or not, exercise and dealing with treats/pester power)
- Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
- Enrichment Ideas for Guinea Pigs
 
My pig is a-okay, I was mostly worried about the long-term side effects. Thank you for all the help! I have brought it up with the family members who give him cores, and they all said that they wouldn't do it any more/remove the seeds and they would tell me when they gave it to him. The biggest problem with the situation was probably the amount of apple he was consuming because of them over feeding it (sometimes two or three cores a day). Thank you again!
 
Guineapiggos said:
My pig is a-okay, I was mostly worried about the long-term side effects. Thank you for all the help! I have brought it up with the family members who give him cores, and they all said that they wouldn't do it any more/remove the seeds and they would tell me when they gave it to him. The biggest problem with the situation was probably the amount of apple he was consuming because of them over feeding it (sometimes two or three cores a day). Thank you again!
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Please ask your family to not feed that much apple - it is like keeping him on a cupcake diet!
You may want to show your family this poster here; it applies to guinea pigs just the same, with the exception that too much herbs and apple/pear tree leaves are not good for guinea pigs because they are rather high in calcium and can cause bladder stones if overfed long term.

I agree that it is tough when you try to do your best but your family is acting behind your back!

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