Please don't tell me this is Ragwort?

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Tara95

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My boyfriend picked this up on the way back from working thinking it was a sow thistle/dandelion.
Really worried as he put it in their Cage. I've just taken it out now as it doesn't 100% look like a dandelion/sow thistle. They've eaten a little bit but seem fine. Many thanks.MVIMG_20210408_165703.webpMVIMG_20210408_165644.webpMVIMG_20210408_165647.webp
 
I’m not great with identifying but I think it likely is to my eye. X
 
its definitely not dandelion or sow thistle.
it does look like ragwort to me
 
However a quick google says don’t panic. They have likely only eaten a small bit and it says it’s more a cumulative effect thats damaging.
 
:agr:
It is the cumulative effect which does the damage.
keep an eye on them but as long as it was only a small amount, then definitely don’t panic
 
Piggies&buns said:
:agr:
It is the cumulative effect which does the damage.
keep an eye on them but as long as it was only a small amount, then definitely don’t panic
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Lavinia said:
However a quick google says don’t panic. They have likely only eaten a small bit and it says it’s more a cumulative effect thats damaging.
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Piggies&buns said:
its definitely not dandelion or sow thistle.
it does look like ragwort to me
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Thank you guys for quick response. I'm lucky I was home when he was he's got in huge amounts! They seem absolutely fine and it's been about 20 minutes is there anything I can give them to help? Like some veggies or something? What kind of damage can it do in small amounts? Many thanks
 
I’m sorry Tara I really don’t know much more. Hopefully someone else can come along and enlighten us!
 
With humans and horses, and I assume most mammals, its a liver toxin - pernicious as the effect is cumulative (as said) and there isn't really anything you can do to reverse the damage. There's two bits of good news though:

1) mammals can tick along reasonably well with just 20% of their liver functioning
2) when its fresh its not very tasty. That combined with your quick action means they're unlikely to have eaten much

Keep an eye on them and if they seem off colour then definitely talk to your vet and mention the ragwort - but really do try not to worry. Its unlikely they've eaten much, and unlikely the little they've eaten will cause them problems.
 
To my knowledge a small bite one time is unlikely to build up enough to do anything.
With enough eaten it can cause damage to the liver but ive heard it described as similar to the effects of alcohol (just repeating what I have heard from my time with horses years ago) - you have to have enough, enough times for the damage to be done. Obviously the amounts required to do damage would be less in a smaller animal as compared to a horse for example, but if you know it was only a very small amount, then i think it unlikely to be a risk.
Please do call your vet for advice though if you are worried.
Just continue to feed them normally
 
Tangle said:
With humans and horses, and I assume most mammals, its a liver toxin - pernicious as the effect is cumulative (as said) and there isn't really anything you can do to reverse the damage. There's two bits of good news though:

1) mammals can tick along reasonably well with just 20% of their liver functioning
2) when its fresh its not very tasty. That combined with your quick action means they're unlikely to have eaten much

Keep an eye on them and if they seem off colour then definitely talk to your vet and mention the ragwort - but really do try not to worry. Its unlikely they've eaten much, and unlikely the little they've eaten will cause them problems.
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Lavinia said:
I’m sorry Tara I really don’t know much more. Hopefully someone else can come along and enlighten us!
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Piggies&buns said:
To my knowledge a small bite one time is unlikely to build up enough to do anything.
With enough eaten it can cause damage to the liver but ive heard it described as similar to the effects of alcohol (just repeating what I have heard from my time with horses years ago) - you have to have enough, enough times for the damage to be done. Obviously the amounts required to do damage would be less in a smaller animal as compared to a horse for example, but if you know it was only a very small amount, then i think it unlikely to be a risk.
Please do call your vet for advice though if you are worried.
Just continue to feed them normally
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Many thanks guys. It was only a very small amount. They were all tucking into it though like it was tasty. They seem absolutely fine at the moment. Thank you for reassurance. :)
 
It’s ragwort, please remove from your house as it’s quite poisonous and wash your hands too
 
Tara95 said:
Have done and have binned it! Thank you x
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I wish there was a really good book which would identify all these nasties.
Not that long ago I picked some really nice grass from our local churchyard. Hector tucked in and then suddenly started to dribble at the mouth, all chewed up green stuff and was wiping it on his paws trying to get it out of his mouth. I thought he had been stung at first by a hibernating bee or something but when I looked through the grass there was small green grass like leaves of a bulb which I think may have been snowdrop? luckily after a minute or so he was fine but it gave me such a shock (and him) and a lesson to check through grass (something I’ve never done over the years) If you come across ragwort again you will know exactly what it is 😉
I’m sure your piggies will be fine, no harm done x
 
For those of you who, like me, have little to no plant identifying skills and don't have any botanist friends, there are apps available for your phone!
My gardening friends recommend Picture This or Google lens. I tried google lens and it seemed pretty accurate in identifying plants.
 
After many years of ragwort picking fields (for horses) I can also confirm it is ragwort.
It’s very bitter tasting and animals only tend to eat it as a last resort if there’s nothing else around,

hope your guys are ok!
 
Bill & Ted said:
I wish there was a really good book which would identify all these nasties.
Not that long ago I picked some really nice grass from our local churchyard. Hector tucked in and then suddenly started to dribble at the mouth, all chewed up green stuff and was wiping it on his paws trying to get it out of his mouth. I thought he had been stung at first by a hibernating bee or something but when I looked through the grass there was small green grass like leaves of a bulb which I think may have been snowdrop? luckily after a minute or so he was fine but it gave me such a shock (and him) and a lesson to check through grass (something I’ve never done over the years) If you come across ragwort again you will know exactly what it is 😉
I’m sure your piggies will be fine, no harm done x
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Ohh gosh that's so scary! So glad he was ok! Just from one bulb aswell! Perhaps the Ragwort mine had wasn't as potent. I'm so lucky the pigs seem fine really hyper and excited after a cage clean. Squeaking a bit more for food than usual but nothing worrying.x
Mikatelyn said:
For those of you who, like me, have little to no plant identifying skills and don't have any botanist friends, there are apps available for your phone!
My gardening friends recommend Picture This or Google lens. I tried google lens and it seemed pretty accurate in identifying plants.
Click to expand...
Good advice! I used the app to double check when he put it in and it did come up with Ragwort I thought that can't be right as we both thought it looked similar to the sow milk thistle with the yellow flowers (that we saw on the guinea pig forum picture) For now on I'm going to be really strict with everything. Lesson learnt! My boyfriend said it was a bit too easy to pick! There's always a catch!
Bradshaw Piggies said:
After many years of ragwort picking fields (for horses) I can also confirm it is ragwort.
It’s very bitter tasting and animals only tend to eat it as a last resort if there’s nothing else around,

hope your guys are ok!
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Thank you! They seem really well and excited after a cage clean. They must've been hungry then maybe I'm not giving them enough veg!x
 
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