Potentially Dangerous Cage Accessories And Toys

V

Veggies Galore

Senior Guinea Pig
Joined
Dec 23, 2013
Messages
12,822
Reaction score
15,599
Points
2,125
Location
UK
Dangerous Toys and Accessories

A photo is being shared on FB of a guinea pig with it's head stuck in a veggie ball

FB_IMG_1452328168517.webp

I would like to remind people of 2 old threads too

Hay/veggie Balls - Warning.

Hay Rack Warning



We have also had reported incidents of guinea pigs getting their heads stuck in Guinea Pig Toys such as loofah rings and toilet roll tubes. . This is easily solved by splitting the ring before using.
 
Last edited:
Chief Guinea Pig said:
Was the pig ok? Must be terrifying to see your piggy in that state.
Click to expand...

I'm afraid I don't know. Person who posted photo asked for it to be shared. I agree it must be terrifying which is why I am relieved people share these experiences. If it avoids it happening to someone else , at least some good has come out of it.
 
@Chief Guinea Pig The guinea pig was fine, she was stuck like that for several hours, the owners had checked the CCTV and saw what went on. They then contacted Ancol with the screenshot etc. They said they would change it to something else :) I follow the FB page of the person it happened to so it popped up on my wall.

Platinum Piggies
 
Last edited:
I must add that the dried corn on the cobbs have become stuck on my guinea pigs 2 bottom teeth before, It happened to my Jerry years ago so I never bought them again and we recieved some as Christmas presents so I put them in the cages when I was supervising the guineas and a piece of corn became stuck ony francis's bottom teeth too so please be aware of this happening if your unsure of what I mean I will upload a picture of them so please be aware of this image.webp
 
Also another one to avoid is this plastic ball which I bought off ebay, the plastic is cheap and nasty and where the little opening door thing is there is a little piece of plastic that fudge chewed off and I found it in his mouth because he was what looked like heaving, and there it was a piece of yellow plastic wedged in his mouth and it had cut his bottom lip inside image.webp

image.webp
 
Stayc1989 said:
Also another one to avoid is this plastic ball which I bought off ebay, the plastic is cheap and nasty and where the little opening door thing is there is a little piece of plastic that fudge chewed off and I found it in his mouth because he was what looked like heaving, and there it was a piece of yellow plastic wedged in his mouth and it had cut his bottom lip inside View attachment 41726

View attachment 41727
Click to expand...

My boys only get these supervised but have never chewed on them.
 
I was looking at one of those treat balls today. I decided against it as although it felt quite robust I just wasn't sure!

It was also the tread on the pig stuck through one of those hay balls that made me buy something else! My pigs had a metal spiral hay holder and after seeing that photo of the hay ball I got worried that they might somehow get stuck. I now have hay cubes which the girls seem to like.
 
It is very worrying reading things like this but if it could save a life or stop pets becoming injured then it needs to be said, I always worry when trying new things because of the corn incident it really scared me and for it to happen twice to my guineas has shocked me even when I was supervising them it still happened again, and both times I had to pull it off because they were distressed, now I only buy little treats for them and hand feed it to them plus I find this more of a bonding process with them, a great alternative to the metal hay ball is this which my guinea pigs have its hollow in the middle and stuffed with hay and they seem to love it and had no accidents yet apart from head banging it out the way lol image.webp
 
Poor thing! I'm glad she's okay!

I used to have one of those treat balls hanging from the ceiling of my piggies cage. I removed it when I got the babies as I didn't want to run the risk of them getting caught in it. I was under the impression that these were okay as long as they were hung up and used with adults? Mine loved theirs and would ring the bell attached when they wanted treats. It'd be a shame to get rid of it, but obviously, safety comes first!
 
On Guinea Pig Fun, Facebook, someone just posted a piggy got the waist trapped on this:

yJTFTgW.jpg
 
PiggyOwner said:
A photo is being shared on FB of a guinea pig with it's head stuck in a veggie ball

View attachment 41042

I would like to remind people of 2 old threads too

Hay/veggie Balls - Warning.

Hay Rack Warning



We have also had reported incidents of guinea pigs getting their heads stuck in Guinea Pig Toys such as loofah rings and toilet roll tubes. . This is easily solved by splitting the ring before using.
Click to expand...
I have this ball hanging in my girls cage with their hay in, do u think I should remove it just in case?They have a hay rack on the side of the cage but seem to find the ball fun.
 
Stayc1989 said:
Also another one to avoid is this plastic ball which I bought off ebay, the plastic is cheap and nasty and where the little opening door thing is there is a little piece of plastic that fudge chewed off and I found it in his mouth because he was what looked like heaving, and there it was a piece of yellow plastic wedged in his mouth and it had cut his bottom lip inside View attachment 41726

View attachment 41727
Click to expand...

I used to have one of those for my old Guinea pig ted but he struggled to get treats out so didn't use it for long, never realised it was dangerous though
 
Anything like the little snack ball I only give supervised and remove when piggies get bored. The metal hayball is best suspended from the top of the cage so they can't get a grip on it and put themselves at risk. Securing it to the side is not advisable as it would be too easy to get stuck and have what happened to the guinea pig in the original picture.
This is one of those toys that need to state, 'do not leave unsupervised with pet as may cause entrapment'.
 
Gem789 said:
I have this ball hanging in my girls cage with their hay in, do you think I should remove it just in case?They have a hay rack on the side of the cage but seem to find the ball fun.
Click to expand...


If you want to keep the hay ball, please keep a close eye on them . I have disposed of mine as I think it is better to be safe than sorry.

I think the problems have been when the hay ball is close to the ground or falls off it's fixing.

I don't use hay racks either as we have had a warning about them .
 
You can adapt them so they can't get their heads stuck, also tie a piece of string around the base of the clip to the ball so if it did fail it wouldn't fall off, but I still wouldn't leave them unsupervised with either toys, doesn't mean they can't play with them at all though.
 
PiggyOwner said:
If you want to keep the hay ball, please keep a close eye on them . I have disposed of mine as I think it is better to be safe than sorry.

I think the problems have been when the hay ball is close to the ground or falls off it's fixing.

I don't use hay racks either as we have had a warning about them .
Click to expand...
Thanks for your reply, I will keep an eye on them with it
 
PiggyOwner said:
A photo is being shared on FB of a guinea pig with it's head stuck in a veggie ball

View attachment 41042

I would like to remind people of 2 old threads too

Hay/veggie Balls - Warning.

Hay Rack Warning



We have also had reported incidents of guinea pigs getting their heads stuck in Guinea Pig Toys such as loofah rings and toilet roll tubes. . This is easily solved by splitting the ring before using.
Click to expand...

:td:I have never used these metal hay/veg balls. I have always thought them dangerous. And now we know just how dangerous they are! I have never liked those hay racks either. I have never liked the way they fold up. A piggie could get a paw stuck in there. And the salt lick holder on the side could get in an eye. Plus they don't hold much hay.
 
two days ago on facebook,a picture of a guinea pig in wooden hay manager had mananged to get haed stuck iin the middle of collapsable hay manager.unfortunatley the piggie passed away.it is sold in the woodlands range,ive got one,but taken it out,it was a very young pig that had the unfortunate event,so please just be careful.ive not got a picture of it.
 
Gem789 said:
I have this ball hanging in my girls cage with their hay in, do you think I should remove it just in case?They have a hay rack on the side of the cage but seem to find the ball fun.
Click to expand...
I have a spiral ball hung from nearly the ceiling, i have trouble prising it apart to put hay in. Does anyone know if this is safe?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top