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Guineapig ate plastic and not pooped in 24 hours

Peanut&Pumpkin

Peanut&Pumpkin

New Born Pup
Joined
Aug 28, 2024
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Location
Uk
Hi,

My girl Peanut ate the corner of a plastic puppy pad that my partner left near the cage. She has been eating fine afterwards, eating hay and romaine lettuce, but I noticed her a bit puffed up yesterday.

last night I isolated her in a separate cage from my other two piggies and when I checked this morning there was no poo in the cage at all. she definitely looks bloated too.

what can I do? it's a bank holiday and the emergency vets now won't do much for guineapig as they aren't experts.

please advise, I'm at a loss.
 
I’m sorry to hear this.

First, please reunite her with her friends. It’s so important that they stay together - separating them causes stress so doesn’t help them.

You can’t watch food intake by poop output (which is another reason why we don’t recommend separating them - it doesn’t serve a particularly useful purpose) as poop output is 1-2 days behind food intake so is unreliable.

You need to switch from the routine weekly weight checks and instead weigh her each morning. This gives you real time information on hay intake.
Please step in with syringe feeding a recovery feed or mushed pellets in the absence of recovery feed. Aim for a minimum of 40ml per 24 hours but ideally 60ml if she isn’t eating enough hay.

Please do see the emergency vet today - whether they are expert or not. She needs to be seen particularly as she may be displaying signs of pain (being puffed up). At the very least they can prescribe pain and gut motility meds until you can get to a knowledgeable vet.

I’ve added guides below to help with the syringe feeding information

I hope she is ok

Emergency and Crisis Care as well as Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
How to Improvise Feeding Support in an Emergency
Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures
 
Hi and welcome

I am sorry that you are having such a worry.

If your piggy is still eating and drinking, and is not salivating, this means that the gut is still working and that there is no total blockage with the constantly produced stream of saliva having to come out at the wrong end.

I would however strongly recommend to speak to your vet today and to have her checked/x-rayed if needed. It all depends on the size of the piece of plastic. The vast majority of plastic actually passes harmlessly or ends up in the much larger appendix compared to ours.
Please keep an eye out for signs of pain or discomfort, like the fur coat standing up, sitting somewhat hunched up or the belly blowing up in just one more localised place (can be a sign of a blockage) as well as any signs of reduced/failing appetite.
It is always more stressful on a bank holiday. :(

What we are asking you to do is well within the training of a general vet and they have also access to the UK online veterinary medical information for each species that lists exactly any licensed medication and in which range it is safe to prescribe it. They will consult this before prescribing any gut or pain meds. ;)

I agree fully with the advice of @Piggies&buns and would encourage you to please read the very helpful links that she has included in her post so you will know more about your supportive care at home and will feel a bit more in control as there are thing you can do instead of just hovering anxiously.

Signs of Pain in Guinea Pigs

All the best!
 
thanks all for the advice, after @Wiebke and @Piggies&buns left their recommendations, I took Peanut to the emergency vets.

She was examined and they said she didn't look like she was bloated, even though I can see she is a lot rounder than she usually is. They gave her a metacam injection and checked her temperature.

They basically said that she looked okay, and just to monitor her over the next couple of days. I reiterated that I was concerned because she hadn't pooped in a long time even though she was still eating, but they didn't seem too concerned and just said it would probably work its way out.

I'm definitely taking what they said with a pinch of salt, because to me she definitely looks quite round and bloated, and her tummy is definitely tender, but hopefully with the metacam injection she'll start to feel better soon.

Since getting home she has done one tiny runny poo, now I know runny poos are not a good thing, but some poo is definitely better than none!

ill continue with critical care and hay for now and will try to get her in with our guineapig vet in the next couple of days.

thank you all so much for your concern and help! xx
 
Ramia said:
Striking pig.

My boy ate the handle of a plastic bag and had funny poop for a couple days then it went back to normal.
Click to expand...
thank you! I'm biased but she's a very pretty pig ☺️

Oh that's reassuring thank you! They are such tinkers!
 
Aw, she is gorgeous. I hope the nasty bits of plastic come out. Yes, getting meds from your exotic vet is a good idea.
 
Peanut&Pumpkin said:
thanks all for the advice, after @Wiebke and @Piggies&buns left their recommendations, I took Peanut to the emergency vets.

She was examined and they said she didn't look like she was bloated, even though I can see she is a lot rounder than she usually is. They gave her a metacam injection and checked her temperature.

They basically said that she looked okay, and just to monitor her over the next couple of days. I reiterated that I was concerned because she hadn't pooped in a long time even though she was still eating, but they didn't seem too concerned and just said it would probably work its way out.

I'm definitely taking what they said with a pinch of salt, because to me she definitely looks quite round and bloated, and her tummy is definitely tender, but hopefully with the metacam injection she'll start to feel better soon.

Since getting home she has done one tiny runny poo, now I know runny poos are not a good thing, but some poo is definitely better than none!

ill continue with critical care and hay for now and will try to get her in with our guineapig vet in the next couple of days.

thank you all so much for your concern and help! xx
Click to expand...

Fingers crossed that your striking girl will feel better again soon!
 
What a gorgeous piggie!

I have a menace boar who adores eating plastic (bin bags or the correx in his cage usually). He’s always been fine after but I keep a close eye for signs of pain or discomfort just in case and you’ve had excellent advice already

Well done on getting her seen, I hope her symptoms improve soon
 
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